Joan Blue
“Accompanist Extraordinaire”
by Norrie Williams
A fiddle rendering of the slow air “Margaret Anne Robertson” by one of the leading exponents, in typical pose with an expression of relaxed contentment, eyes loosely closed. The lilting “Balintore Fisherman” from a equally well-known accordion player, tall, lean and wiry with an enduring weather-beaten tan, his calloused fingers sporting the odd plaster, curled over the button keys of a Shand Morino.
The faltering laboured notes of a young beginner doing a spot at an Accordion Club and pressing on with dogged determination through “Scotland the Brave” and the “Rowan Tree” to breathe more easily at that welcome final chord.
All good performances, at their respective levels of competence with each giving of his or her best and most significantly each gaining a great psychological and musical lift from the sympathetic and tasteful piano accompaniment provided by a certain lady whose obvious enjoyment of the job in hand is plain to all.
Or to go back a few years and the finals of the Grampian Television talent competition “Pick of the North”. Amongst the six finalists are two young Forgandenny housewives who, as well as being next door neighbours, have also built up quite a reputation as a close harmony singing duo with one of them doubling up as accompanist on piano.
Or back still further to the early ‘50s and the very popular children’s dancing spectaculars presented annually in the City Halls by the Perth Co-operative Society. The ages of the performers, trained by Miss Nan Sutherland, range from 3 years upwards and the accompanist for the dancing, embracing every conceivable type of tune and rhythm – songs from the shows, light classical, “modern”, you name it – is supplied by a young woman at the piano.
You will no doubt have guessed by now that all the pianist mentioned in the foregoing are one and the same person – the name on the dancing spectacular programmes, Miss Joan McNeill, now Mrs Joan Blue.
Not surprisingly, Joan, a native of Perth, comes from a musical family, her grandfather a violin teacher, her father a pipe band drummer in his younger days, as well as a fiddle player, and her mum a keen singer. “Way back, her male forbearers held the post of official Perth Town Drummer”.
Joan’s mother, who liked nothing better than joining her daughter in a party piece duet of negro spirituals, was born in Muthill near Crieff. An event in her family history backs up the saying that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction. One of Mrs McNeill’s great, great aunts was Helen Gloag of Muthill who by an amazing quirk of fate in the latter half of the eighteenth century was to attain the exalted position of Empress of Morocco. Space precludes the telling of the remarkable story here, but the long and short of it was that while emigrating to South Carolina in 1769 the ship on which Helen Gloag was travelling was attacked by Salle pirates and all those on board who survived were taken to Morocco to be sold as slaves. Helen’s fresh natural beauty attracted the attention of the Sultan who became completely infatuated, made her his fourth wife and gave her the status of Empress. The full account of this remarkable incident is contained in an article by A. C. McKerracher in the July 1983 issue of the “Scots Magazine” under the title of “The Empress from Muthill”. (I see from the Internet there’s also a historical-fiction account in a bbok by Debbie Taylor call The Fourth Empress.”)
But back to Helen’s grand, grand, grand niece. Joan’s formal musical education began at the age of 10 when she started learning piano, first with Mr Edwards and latterly with a Miss McLean, both of Perth. The classical training continued for 5 years until at the age of 15 an awareness of other types of music developed – the second stage of Joan’s apprenticeship had begun and a very commendable one at that. She began to play as solo accompanist for no less than 3 Scottish Country Dance classes per week at Bankfoot, Almondbank and Tulloch, all within easy striking distance of Perth. Being too young to drive she was transported to and fro by the respective dance instructors.
The curriculum of one of these classes included “The Lancers” and to help Joan with the somewhat tricky tempo , bar and tune sequences, the assistance of one Jimmy Robertson was sought. Jimmy, a friend of Joan’s father, went up to the house, heard Joan play, was impressed and promptly invited her to play with the Cavendish Dance Band (not to be confused with the Edinburgh players of that name).
The group played for ballroom dancing and comprised saxophone, trumpet, Jimmy Robertson leading on violin and Joan on piano reading copy all the way.
Just consider for a moment, we rave about today’s young players, and justifiably so, but here quite a few years back, was a teenager being asked to join a reputable and experienced dance band – speaks volumes.
Shortly after this, Joan’s sister Margaret was playing piano accordion in the Bill Wilkie Band when a vacancy for a pianist cropped up, and Margaret persuaded Joan to go along and have a shot. It only took Bill a trice to twig that the piano technique, with right hand playing melody, was not giving the lift and depth needed to back his players, so right there and then he indoctrinated Joan into the left hand bass dunt, and the right handed chump, chump chords. The fruits of that wee impromptu lesson are there for all to hear. The intricacies of chord harmonies were passed on by another member of the band, a young painter from Auchterarder, Mickey Ainsworth.
Not infrequently on these practice evenings, held in a basement flat in Perth’s Charlotte Street, a tall, lanky young man with an insatiable thirst for accordions and accordion music came along just to listen. A hardy-looking chiel fee’d on a farm near Dunning, he quickly developed a stronger and equally enduring interest in the Wilkie Band. His name – Jimmy Blue! Jimmy in his turn got a wee band together with Joan on piano, Mick on second accordion, Malcolm Harcus on fiddle, Peter Malcolm on guitar and George Grant on drums. Although the group didn’t quite make the grade at an audition, they were very popular and were heavily booked.
But it was all change once again when Ian Powrie’s late brother Bill went to do his National Service with the R.A.F. in 1952, and Ian invited Jimmy to join him – the “Blue” ensemble was disbanded. Joan, who incidentally remained with the Bill Wilkie Band for 5 or 6 years, now became pianist with the appropriately named “Mansefield Scottish Country Dance Quartet” – appropriately because two of the players hailed from Scone, George Watson (piano accordion) and on drums the late Jimmy Miller. The fourth member of the group was fiddler Derek Auld from Perth, who later played with Tony Reid’s Glendaruel Band.
With the emphasis on Scottish Country Dance sets the quartet held weekly practices, auditioned successfully for the B.B.C. and did a broadcast in 1954 - a good sound.
When Joan became Mrs Blue in April 1955 she was still with the Wilkie Band and also with Ian Arnott’s SDB prior to its broadcasting days. Then in 1963 after a period of 8 years during with time she played intermittently with a number of different groups, Joan joined the Perth based Kinnoull Band and was to stay with them for six years, long enough to see four changes in the second accordion seat, initially Dave Forsyth, then Frank Thomson, Ian Henderson and lastly Ian Anderson. On lead accordion throughout was button key player Jimmy Lindsay of Glenalmond, on fiddle, from Scone, the leader of the band Jimmy MacFarlane and last but not least drummer Bob Doig, another well known name on the Scottish Dance Band scene.
While with the Kinnoull Joan added variety by exploiting her vocal talentsin such Beatles numbers as “When I’m Sixty Five” and “Hard Days Night”. Regrettably Joan no longer sings in public because in her post Kinnoull days her voice suddenly “went” dropping a pitch and becoming husky. Nevertheless it still sounds okay to me – Joan recently sang a couple of snippets over the phone to illustrate a point – and I was immediately struck by the pleasant quality and true pitch. She might just be persuaded some time, one never knows.
From 1966-1970 this singing ability was put to further good use as a visiting school’s music teacher covering five different establishments ranging from Goodlieburn in Perth to Milnathort in Kinross-shire. The sweet smell of success came Joan’s way at the former, when her school choir won their class at the celebrated Perth Music Festival. In 1970 the General Teaching Council stipulated formal training for school music teachers, but due to family commitments Joan was unable to undertake this and had to pull out, but it wasn’t long before she was back in harness as school secretary at Kilgaston near Bridge of Earn, a post she held for 17 years.
The job calls for considerable organisational ability, an attribute which Joan possesses in good measure and has demonstrated in many different contexts, as witness her handling of the Press and Scottish Office arrangements for the Princess Royal’s recent visit to Kilgarston, or her aforementioned training of school choirs, or how as a former member of Forgandenny W.R.I. she not only wrote but also directed pantomimes. Within a few months of starting at Kilgarston she became secretary of the newly formed Perth Accordion and Fiddle Club, a task she still performs today and ebtering her eighteenth year. Joan is also a very active member of the N.A.A.F.C. Musselburgh Festival Committee. One could go on and on. What on earth does she do with her spare time! I’m nearly out of breath just jotting it down. It would be difficult to list all Joan’s piano playing activities, but taking random examples, she was at the piano for 2 or 3 of husband Jimmy’s L.P.s recorded in 1977, played with the Ian Anderson Band, accompanied the late Bill Powrie on many occasions in Club Guest spots in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and of course has played for Ian at functions large and small; she has backed fiddler Willie Simpson of Chapelhill in Club Guest spots and to go back a bit, the Joan McNeill Trio featured in musical shows compered by the late comedian Peter Murray.
Although nowadays in public most of us see Joan involved with various branches of the “Hoochter Teuchter” scene, she has a very catholic taste in music. Always happy as a supporting player, Joan’s first love is as an accompanist for singing, whatever the idiom, however a greatly treasurer possession is a recently handed-down set of “Music Masterpieces” and “early birds” passing the Blue homestead between 6.30 and 8a.m. on weekdays will catch melodious snippets of light classical and opera, arias, music from the shows, and so on, as Joan relaxes at the piano before the day’s work. On the Sabbath, favourite radio programmes are the offerings from Richard Baker, Benny Green and Alan Dell. Not a 2/4 in sight!
Although it is a disappointment that Joan has given up vocalising, nevertheless there is a consolation in that her two daughters, Virginia and Sandra, have inherited mum’s love of singing and the talent to go with it, and mum and dad in their turn have inherited four grandchildren, 3 girls and a boy. As I said earlier, what about all this spare time!
All who have seen Joan in action at the piano must surely have been struck by the look of contentment and sincerity which reflects her enjoyment and complete mastery of the art. The home environment in Forgandenny is also conducive to a relaxed outlook, quietly and tastefully appointed, with well tended flower beds out front (not surprisingly with a resident head gardener) and “acres” of grass at the back, with a patio sporting one of the finest rustic bird tables I’ve ever seen, frequented by chaffinches, blue tits the size of blackbirds – a delightful spot.
“Margaret Anne Robertson”, “The Balintore Fishermen”, “Rowan Tree”. “Intermezzo from Cavaleria Rusticana”, yes and maybe even a 2/4, whether it be backing or solo playing, the music comes straight from the heart, full of expression – Joan Blue, nee McNeill, accompanist extraordinaire.
Box and Fiddle
November 1987
The faltering laboured notes of a young beginner doing a spot at an Accordion Club and pressing on with dogged determination through “Scotland the Brave” and the “Rowan Tree” to breathe more easily at that welcome final chord.
All good performances, at their respective levels of competence with each giving of his or her best and most significantly each gaining a great psychological and musical lift from the sympathetic and tasteful piano accompaniment provided by a certain lady whose obvious enjoyment of the job in hand is plain to all.
Or to go back a few years and the finals of the Grampian Television talent competition “Pick of the North”. Amongst the six finalists are two young Forgandenny housewives who, as well as being next door neighbours, have also built up quite a reputation as a close harmony singing duo with one of them doubling up as accompanist on piano.
Or back still further to the early ‘50s and the very popular children’s dancing spectaculars presented annually in the City Halls by the Perth Co-operative Society. The ages of the performers, trained by Miss Nan Sutherland, range from 3 years upwards and the accompanist for the dancing, embracing every conceivable type of tune and rhythm – songs from the shows, light classical, “modern”, you name it – is supplied by a young woman at the piano.
You will no doubt have guessed by now that all the pianist mentioned in the foregoing are one and the same person – the name on the dancing spectacular programmes, Miss Joan McNeill, now Mrs Joan Blue.
Not surprisingly, Joan, a native of Perth, comes from a musical family, her grandfather a violin teacher, her father a pipe band drummer in his younger days, as well as a fiddle player, and her mum a keen singer. “Way back, her male forbearers held the post of official Perth Town Drummer”.
Joan’s mother, who liked nothing better than joining her daughter in a party piece duet of negro spirituals, was born in Muthill near Crieff. An event in her family history backs up the saying that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction. One of Mrs McNeill’s great, great aunts was Helen Gloag of Muthill who by an amazing quirk of fate in the latter half of the eighteenth century was to attain the exalted position of Empress of Morocco. Space precludes the telling of the remarkable story here, but the long and short of it was that while emigrating to South Carolina in 1769 the ship on which Helen Gloag was travelling was attacked by Salle pirates and all those on board who survived were taken to Morocco to be sold as slaves. Helen’s fresh natural beauty attracted the attention of the Sultan who became completely infatuated, made her his fourth wife and gave her the status of Empress. The full account of this remarkable incident is contained in an article by A. C. McKerracher in the July 1983 issue of the “Scots Magazine” under the title of “The Empress from Muthill”. (I see from the Internet there’s also a historical-fiction account in a bbok by Debbie Taylor call The Fourth Empress.”)
But back to Helen’s grand, grand, grand niece. Joan’s formal musical education began at the age of 10 when she started learning piano, first with Mr Edwards and latterly with a Miss McLean, both of Perth. The classical training continued for 5 years until at the age of 15 an awareness of other types of music developed – the second stage of Joan’s apprenticeship had begun and a very commendable one at that. She began to play as solo accompanist for no less than 3 Scottish Country Dance classes per week at Bankfoot, Almondbank and Tulloch, all within easy striking distance of Perth. Being too young to drive she was transported to and fro by the respective dance instructors.
The curriculum of one of these classes included “The Lancers” and to help Joan with the somewhat tricky tempo , bar and tune sequences, the assistance of one Jimmy Robertson was sought. Jimmy, a friend of Joan’s father, went up to the house, heard Joan play, was impressed and promptly invited her to play with the Cavendish Dance Band (not to be confused with the Edinburgh players of that name).
The group played for ballroom dancing and comprised saxophone, trumpet, Jimmy Robertson leading on violin and Joan on piano reading copy all the way.
Just consider for a moment, we rave about today’s young players, and justifiably so, but here quite a few years back, was a teenager being asked to join a reputable and experienced dance band – speaks volumes.
Shortly after this, Joan’s sister Margaret was playing piano accordion in the Bill Wilkie Band when a vacancy for a pianist cropped up, and Margaret persuaded Joan to go along and have a shot. It only took Bill a trice to twig that the piano technique, with right hand playing melody, was not giving the lift and depth needed to back his players, so right there and then he indoctrinated Joan into the left hand bass dunt, and the right handed chump, chump chords. The fruits of that wee impromptu lesson are there for all to hear. The intricacies of chord harmonies were passed on by another member of the band, a young painter from Auchterarder, Mickey Ainsworth.
Not infrequently on these practice evenings, held in a basement flat in Perth’s Charlotte Street, a tall, lanky young man with an insatiable thirst for accordions and accordion music came along just to listen. A hardy-looking chiel fee’d on a farm near Dunning, he quickly developed a stronger and equally enduring interest in the Wilkie Band. His name – Jimmy Blue! Jimmy in his turn got a wee band together with Joan on piano, Mick on second accordion, Malcolm Harcus on fiddle, Peter Malcolm on guitar and George Grant on drums. Although the group didn’t quite make the grade at an audition, they were very popular and were heavily booked.
But it was all change once again when Ian Powrie’s late brother Bill went to do his National Service with the R.A.F. in 1952, and Ian invited Jimmy to join him – the “Blue” ensemble was disbanded. Joan, who incidentally remained with the Bill Wilkie Band for 5 or 6 years, now became pianist with the appropriately named “Mansefield Scottish Country Dance Quartet” – appropriately because two of the players hailed from Scone, George Watson (piano accordion) and on drums the late Jimmy Miller. The fourth member of the group was fiddler Derek Auld from Perth, who later played with Tony Reid’s Glendaruel Band.
With the emphasis on Scottish Country Dance sets the quartet held weekly practices, auditioned successfully for the B.B.C. and did a broadcast in 1954 - a good sound.
When Joan became Mrs Blue in April 1955 she was still with the Wilkie Band and also with Ian Arnott’s SDB prior to its broadcasting days. Then in 1963 after a period of 8 years during with time she played intermittently with a number of different groups, Joan joined the Perth based Kinnoull Band and was to stay with them for six years, long enough to see four changes in the second accordion seat, initially Dave Forsyth, then Frank Thomson, Ian Henderson and lastly Ian Anderson. On lead accordion throughout was button key player Jimmy Lindsay of Glenalmond, on fiddle, from Scone, the leader of the band Jimmy MacFarlane and last but not least drummer Bob Doig, another well known name on the Scottish Dance Band scene.
While with the Kinnoull Joan added variety by exploiting her vocal talentsin such Beatles numbers as “When I’m Sixty Five” and “Hard Days Night”. Regrettably Joan no longer sings in public because in her post Kinnoull days her voice suddenly “went” dropping a pitch and becoming husky. Nevertheless it still sounds okay to me – Joan recently sang a couple of snippets over the phone to illustrate a point – and I was immediately struck by the pleasant quality and true pitch. She might just be persuaded some time, one never knows.
From 1966-1970 this singing ability was put to further good use as a visiting school’s music teacher covering five different establishments ranging from Goodlieburn in Perth to Milnathort in Kinross-shire. The sweet smell of success came Joan’s way at the former, when her school choir won their class at the celebrated Perth Music Festival. In 1970 the General Teaching Council stipulated formal training for school music teachers, but due to family commitments Joan was unable to undertake this and had to pull out, but it wasn’t long before she was back in harness as school secretary at Kilgaston near Bridge of Earn, a post she held for 17 years.
The job calls for considerable organisational ability, an attribute which Joan possesses in good measure and has demonstrated in many different contexts, as witness her handling of the Press and Scottish Office arrangements for the Princess Royal’s recent visit to Kilgarston, or her aforementioned training of school choirs, or how as a former member of Forgandenny W.R.I. she not only wrote but also directed pantomimes. Within a few months of starting at Kilgarston she became secretary of the newly formed Perth Accordion and Fiddle Club, a task she still performs today and ebtering her eighteenth year. Joan is also a very active member of the N.A.A.F.C. Musselburgh Festival Committee. One could go on and on. What on earth does she do with her spare time! I’m nearly out of breath just jotting it down. It would be difficult to list all Joan’s piano playing activities, but taking random examples, she was at the piano for 2 or 3 of husband Jimmy’s L.P.s recorded in 1977, played with the Ian Anderson Band, accompanied the late Bill Powrie on many occasions in Club Guest spots in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and of course has played for Ian at functions large and small; she has backed fiddler Willie Simpson of Chapelhill in Club Guest spots and to go back a bit, the Joan McNeill Trio featured in musical shows compered by the late comedian Peter Murray.
Although nowadays in public most of us see Joan involved with various branches of the “Hoochter Teuchter” scene, she has a very catholic taste in music. Always happy as a supporting player, Joan’s first love is as an accompanist for singing, whatever the idiom, however a greatly treasurer possession is a recently handed-down set of “Music Masterpieces” and “early birds” passing the Blue homestead between 6.30 and 8a.m. on weekdays will catch melodious snippets of light classical and opera, arias, music from the shows, and so on, as Joan relaxes at the piano before the day’s work. On the Sabbath, favourite radio programmes are the offerings from Richard Baker, Benny Green and Alan Dell. Not a 2/4 in sight!
Although it is a disappointment that Joan has given up vocalising, nevertheless there is a consolation in that her two daughters, Virginia and Sandra, have inherited mum’s love of singing and the talent to go with it, and mum and dad in their turn have inherited four grandchildren, 3 girls and a boy. As I said earlier, what about all this spare time!
All who have seen Joan in action at the piano must surely have been struck by the look of contentment and sincerity which reflects her enjoyment and complete mastery of the art. The home environment in Forgandenny is also conducive to a relaxed outlook, quietly and tastefully appointed, with well tended flower beds out front (not surprisingly with a resident head gardener) and “acres” of grass at the back, with a patio sporting one of the finest rustic bird tables I’ve ever seen, frequented by chaffinches, blue tits the size of blackbirds – a delightful spot.
“Margaret Anne Robertson”, “The Balintore Fishermen”, “Rowan Tree”. “Intermezzo from Cavaleria Rusticana”, yes and maybe even a 2/4, whether it be backing or solo playing, the music comes straight from the heart, full of expression – Joan Blue, nee McNeill, accompanist extraordinaire.
Box and Fiddle
November 1987