John Ellis
John Ellis, fiddler and bandleader of the famous Highland Country Band was born in Tealing outside Dundee and brought up at Burnside of Duntrune, attending Murroes School near Kellas. His mother was Angus Fitchet’s father’s cousin and they often had family get togethers which included singing and playing Scottish music. John enjoyed the music and especially admired Jimmy Shand’s band and, as a result, wanted to play the button-box, but that never happened. His uncle, Dave Ellis, played the fiddle and so did his father. John remembers the house being full of family ceilidhs and “bothy ballad” musical nights. The Fitchets were also trying to encourage John to take up the fiddle and on his 14th birthday, John was given a fiddle after becoming increasingly influenced by the sound of Jim Barrie (fiddler with Shand’s band). His uncle taught him initially using a Honeymoon Self-Tutor book.
John then went to a John Gall at Middleton Farm, Dundee. He would cycle miles to get to lessons and had to be told by his mother to put the fiddle down as he was always practising – every spare few minutes he could find. John Gall had a Scottish band and he was asked to join it. It included John Gall’s sister, his brother Hugh Gall and Stan Manson. This was the first band John played in. They played at local gigs and after 1yr he joined the “Blue Bonnets”, consisting of Jimmy Scott (acc), John Philip (fiddle), Arlene McLeay (piano), Ron Howie (drums). They auditioned for BBC Radio in 1950, passed and subsequently broadcast. John had only been playing the fiddle for 4 years! He remembers that the fee for the entire band was £25!
John only ventured into the competition scene once, after serious coercion by Hector MacAndrew. He remembers the adjudicators were Yehudi Menuin, Hector MacAndrew and Jim Hunter. John states “a lad fae Shetland won” and John decided he preferred playing in bands to playing solo!!!
When John left school aged fourteen he served an apprenticeship as a gardener then as a landscape gardener. Aged twenty-one, he started his own nursery business and although now retired, he still provides bedding plants to customers to this day.
In 1953 John did his National Service in the War Office in London. Word got around that John played the fiddle and he went to hear the best Scottish band in London at that time, who were playing one night in Fleet Street - The Donnie McBain Band. Before the dance started, Donnie McBain approached John (having heard he played fiddle in a band in Scotland) and asked him where his fiddle was as they needed a fiddler that night He took John back to his digs, got his fiddle, played that night and John became a member of the band for the next two years whilst based in London. They played all over the London area, at Balls and other prestigious events and travelled to Birmingham and Worcester. In 1954 they made a TV recording for Children’s hour for the BBC. At this time only two people in Wellbank had TVs, so the entire village were crowded around those two sets desperate to see the local hero on television!
When in London, John also took saxophone lessons from Harry Hayes (the teacher of Ronnie Scott), although finding somewhere to practice was difficult, despite having employed tactics such as stuffing socks down the sax to reduce noise and waiting until lunch hour in his 15th floor office. He was actually ordered to stop practicing in his lunch hour at the office, as everyone walking past the war office stopped to hear the music flooding out of the 15th floor of the building. This was seen as drawing attention to the war office building and so may have been a compromise to national security!!!!
When his National Service came to an end, in 1955, John came back to Scotland and was immediately asked to join two different bands. Finding it difficult to make a decision, he asked advice from Jimmy Shand. His response was “Start your own one”. So John did, and the “Highland Country Band” was born.
The original line up consisted of Arlene McLeay (piano), Johnny Philip (fiddle), John (fiddle), Aileen Simpson (McIntosh) accordion and Sandy Ford (drums). An accordion was required so John advertised in the Dundee Courier. Irene Dear applied, was duly welcomed to the band, and has remained for over fifty years.
The personnel changed over the years, but included Jimmy Boal (accordion) and Jean Dowell (piano). In 1960 another accordionist was required and John again advertised in the Courier. This is when Douglas Muir joined the band. The first album was recorded in 1968 with CBS simply entitled “John Ellis and the Highland Country Band”.
Other memorable recordings include Volumes 1,2,3 by Emerald Gem in the 1980s, Polydor in 1980s, and Lismore during the later years.
The band was in great demand, but due to the work commitments of teachers within the band, they were sometimes limited as to where they could travel to. John’s most memorable tours were of Southern Ireland arranged by Ronnie Coburn in the late 60s/early 70s and more recently celebrating the Millennium in Vancouver courtesy of RSCDS Vancouver branch. The musical highlight for all of the members of the band was the Annual Ball for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders held in Stirling Castle. The Highland Country Band played at this for twenty-five years. When the regiment was being disbanded, each member was touchingly presented with a miniature decanter and whisky glasses engraved with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander crest.
John states that over the years there are two sets that are most frequently requested – the marches Captain Cameron’s March by William Marshall and Scotlandwell by Douglas Muir (which is widely known as the signature set of the band) and also Mackays’ Medley. In fact John’s band was responsible for bringing the music of Crofter John Mackay to the airwaves through the instigation of Bobby Coghill who thought the tunes would marry up well with John’s band.
John feels that Douglas, Irene and himself all jointly managed the band with Douglas being responsible for all the musical arrangements and Irene organising the music for playing at dances. He attributes the tightness of the front line sound down to playing together regularly for many years. When asked about the unique sound, he responded by saying he thought the two Ranco accordions and the fiddle sat well together and created that sweet sound.
John first recorded for BBC Radio in 1950. His was the last band to play from the old Aberdeen Beechgrove studio – a live broadcast in 2007. Sadly, due to health problems, the band last recorded a full length Take the Floor in 2007 from Perth City Hall alongside Jim Johnstone SDB and Gordon Shand SDB and then a shorter Take The Floor programme as guest artistes in 2008. This makes The John Ellis Highland Country Band the longest standing broadcasting Scottish Dance Band to date.
John lists his main musical influences as Jimmy Shand SDB, and the fiddle playing of Jim Barrie, Ian Powrie Band, Jim Cameron SDB, Ian Downie SDB and Bobby MacLeod SDB. He likes music to be simple and arranged simply.
The Highland Country Band is not John’s only musical pastime however. John has also been involved with the Dundee Strathspey and Reel Society for many years and became Honorary Vice-President in 2001.
John says that although he can no longer play the fiddle due to shoulder problems, he “really enjoyed all the years. Commercialism was never in our minds, making good music was all that really mattered to us. Everyone had a part to play in the band. It was a happy band”.
John’s other passion and current hobby is racing pigeons. John has been racing pigeons since 1958 and is the only person ever to have achieved five Gold awards from the Scottish National Racing Pigeon Club and the Scottish National Flying Club. Each gold award represents five first places involving pigeons coming first in races from France back to Scotland). He is a very enthusiastic member of the Leuchars club.
John lives with wife Pat in Wellbank near Dundee. Their daughter Joan is also a talented fiddler and played with the Auld Reekie Ceilidh Band for ten years.
John then went to a John Gall at Middleton Farm, Dundee. He would cycle miles to get to lessons and had to be told by his mother to put the fiddle down as he was always practising – every spare few minutes he could find. John Gall had a Scottish band and he was asked to join it. It included John Gall’s sister, his brother Hugh Gall and Stan Manson. This was the first band John played in. They played at local gigs and after 1yr he joined the “Blue Bonnets”, consisting of Jimmy Scott (acc), John Philip (fiddle), Arlene McLeay (piano), Ron Howie (drums). They auditioned for BBC Radio in 1950, passed and subsequently broadcast. John had only been playing the fiddle for 4 years! He remembers that the fee for the entire band was £25!
John only ventured into the competition scene once, after serious coercion by Hector MacAndrew. He remembers the adjudicators were Yehudi Menuin, Hector MacAndrew and Jim Hunter. John states “a lad fae Shetland won” and John decided he preferred playing in bands to playing solo!!!
When John left school aged fourteen he served an apprenticeship as a gardener then as a landscape gardener. Aged twenty-one, he started his own nursery business and although now retired, he still provides bedding plants to customers to this day.
In 1953 John did his National Service in the War Office in London. Word got around that John played the fiddle and he went to hear the best Scottish band in London at that time, who were playing one night in Fleet Street - The Donnie McBain Band. Before the dance started, Donnie McBain approached John (having heard he played fiddle in a band in Scotland) and asked him where his fiddle was as they needed a fiddler that night He took John back to his digs, got his fiddle, played that night and John became a member of the band for the next two years whilst based in London. They played all over the London area, at Balls and other prestigious events and travelled to Birmingham and Worcester. In 1954 they made a TV recording for Children’s hour for the BBC. At this time only two people in Wellbank had TVs, so the entire village were crowded around those two sets desperate to see the local hero on television!
When in London, John also took saxophone lessons from Harry Hayes (the teacher of Ronnie Scott), although finding somewhere to practice was difficult, despite having employed tactics such as stuffing socks down the sax to reduce noise and waiting until lunch hour in his 15th floor office. He was actually ordered to stop practicing in his lunch hour at the office, as everyone walking past the war office stopped to hear the music flooding out of the 15th floor of the building. This was seen as drawing attention to the war office building and so may have been a compromise to national security!!!!
When his National Service came to an end, in 1955, John came back to Scotland and was immediately asked to join two different bands. Finding it difficult to make a decision, he asked advice from Jimmy Shand. His response was “Start your own one”. So John did, and the “Highland Country Band” was born.
The original line up consisted of Arlene McLeay (piano), Johnny Philip (fiddle), John (fiddle), Aileen Simpson (McIntosh) accordion and Sandy Ford (drums). An accordion was required so John advertised in the Dundee Courier. Irene Dear applied, was duly welcomed to the band, and has remained for over fifty years.
The personnel changed over the years, but included Jimmy Boal (accordion) and Jean Dowell (piano). In 1960 another accordionist was required and John again advertised in the Courier. This is when Douglas Muir joined the band. The first album was recorded in 1968 with CBS simply entitled “John Ellis and the Highland Country Band”.
Other memorable recordings include Volumes 1,2,3 by Emerald Gem in the 1980s, Polydor in 1980s, and Lismore during the later years.
The band was in great demand, but due to the work commitments of teachers within the band, they were sometimes limited as to where they could travel to. John’s most memorable tours were of Southern Ireland arranged by Ronnie Coburn in the late 60s/early 70s and more recently celebrating the Millennium in Vancouver courtesy of RSCDS Vancouver branch. The musical highlight for all of the members of the band was the Annual Ball for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders held in Stirling Castle. The Highland Country Band played at this for twenty-five years. When the regiment was being disbanded, each member was touchingly presented with a miniature decanter and whisky glasses engraved with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander crest.
John states that over the years there are two sets that are most frequently requested – the marches Captain Cameron’s March by William Marshall and Scotlandwell by Douglas Muir (which is widely known as the signature set of the band) and also Mackays’ Medley. In fact John’s band was responsible for bringing the music of Crofter John Mackay to the airwaves through the instigation of Bobby Coghill who thought the tunes would marry up well with John’s band.
John feels that Douglas, Irene and himself all jointly managed the band with Douglas being responsible for all the musical arrangements and Irene organising the music for playing at dances. He attributes the tightness of the front line sound down to playing together regularly for many years. When asked about the unique sound, he responded by saying he thought the two Ranco accordions and the fiddle sat well together and created that sweet sound.
John first recorded for BBC Radio in 1950. His was the last band to play from the old Aberdeen Beechgrove studio – a live broadcast in 2007. Sadly, due to health problems, the band last recorded a full length Take the Floor in 2007 from Perth City Hall alongside Jim Johnstone SDB and Gordon Shand SDB and then a shorter Take The Floor programme as guest artistes in 2008. This makes The John Ellis Highland Country Band the longest standing broadcasting Scottish Dance Band to date.
John lists his main musical influences as Jimmy Shand SDB, and the fiddle playing of Jim Barrie, Ian Powrie Band, Jim Cameron SDB, Ian Downie SDB and Bobby MacLeod SDB. He likes music to be simple and arranged simply.
The Highland Country Band is not John’s only musical pastime however. John has also been involved with the Dundee Strathspey and Reel Society for many years and became Honorary Vice-President in 2001.
John says that although he can no longer play the fiddle due to shoulder problems, he “really enjoyed all the years. Commercialism was never in our minds, making good music was all that really mattered to us. Everyone had a part to play in the band. It was a happy band”.
John’s other passion and current hobby is racing pigeons. John has been racing pigeons since 1958 and is the only person ever to have achieved five Gold awards from the Scottish National Racing Pigeon Club and the Scottish National Flying Club. Each gold award represents five first places involving pigeons coming first in races from France back to Scotland). He is a very enthusiastic member of the Leuchars club.
John lives with wife Pat in Wellbank near Dundee. Their daughter Joan is also a talented fiddler and played with the Auld Reekie Ceilidh Band for ten years.