Nicol McLaren & the Glencraig SDB
by Karyn McCulloch
B&F September 2004
Pick up any copy of the B&F magazine, cast your eye down the list of Guest Artistes in the Club Diary – the name of Nicol McLaren and the Glencraig SDB is more than likely to appear somewhere. They are one of the most popular bands on the Club scene and worthy winners in the ‘Guest Artiste of the Year’ category at the 2004 BAFFIs.
But how did it all start? Nicol McLaren grew up in a musical family – his uncle was the late Alex MacArthur – so music was always around. He started playing accordion at the age of 9 and was given lessons by Marion Campbell of LArbert. One night at Biggar Accordion Club, Uncle Alex persuaded Nicol to have a wee tune. He organised a ‘makey-up’ band to put round the youngster, as there were a “bunch of no-hopers” lurking in the background that night. The line-up of that ‘instant band’ was : lead accordion – Nicol McLaren ; fiddle - Ian Powrie ; second accordion – Jim Johnstone ; piano – Bobby Brown ; bass – Robin Brock ; and drums – (The Inimitable) Bobby Colgan. That was the night that Nicol decided that he wanted to lead his own band and, with that goal in mind, he practiced hard. However a few years later music was put on the back burner for a while, as Nicol was studying agriculture at Edinburgh University. (He passed with flying colours of course!) He did start again with a ‘folky’ band in his final year – when he discovered that free beer was available if you played in the pubs in Edinburgh!
Then in 1983, while he was working as a salesman with S.A.I. in Blairgowrie, he was asked if he could put a band together for a church social. So he rounded up a couple of pals – Dave Bell on drums and Lorna Webster (now Lorna Mair NAAFC Secretary) on accordion – and they played the gig. This led to several more gigs – and The Glencraig SDB began to evolve. (Incidentally, the band was named after two of Nicol’s working collies – Glen and Craig).
The diary was soon filling up nicely – and so was the band – with the addition of Suzanne Gray on bass, Gordon Howe on fiddle and Graham Berry on piano. The band recorded their first album in 1989 – the same year they made their first radio broadcast on Take the Floor. There have been another 11 broadcasts since then. Nicol has also been a Guest Presenter on Take the Floor, while Robbie was having a well-earned break.
Although the band line-up has changed over the years, the sound of the band remains constant. Gordon Howe is the regular fiddler, but in his absence Patsy Reid or Judith Linton keep the seat warm. Gordon was a classical violinist playing with orchestras, until he joined the band. His Uncle, Jim Howe, played fiddle with The Hawthorne Band. Nicol always refers to Gordon as the ‘Old Man’ of the band – but Gordon points out that Nicol is now the same age Gordon was when he joined the band!
Davie Bell is the drummer with the band. Yes, the same man as the tune Davie Bell the Green-keeper, written by Michael Philip. Davie has been a green-keeper at Blairgowrie Golf Club since he left school. 2003 was a significant ‘milestone’ year for him – he celebrated his 40th birthday, his 10th wedding anniversary, 25 years service at work – and it was his 21st year with the band! His other hobby is bowling – he was the youngest ever winner of the Blair Bowling Club Championship – and he now has over 300 bowling trophies!! (Need a big display cabinet for all those, Davie!) And another thing – Davie is the ‘Nip Drinking Champion’ of the band. (A drummer that takes a drink – surely that’s unheard of!!) Robert Simpson can also be found deputising on the drums when Davie is busy winning bowling tournaments. (Or recovering from a drinking session!)
Suzanne Croy (nee Gray) has been with the band for 18 years, playing double bass. Mum, Mabel, plays piano with Bill Black and brother, George, plays drums with Duncan Black (previously he was with Jim Johnstone).
Maureen Rutherford played piano with the band for 10 years and taught Nicol ‘loads’ about musical arrangements. Isobelle Hodgson (“absolutely rock solid”) has been with the band for the last 5 years – and adds some more”much-needed glamour” to the band. Graham Berry still fills in on occasion (and is equally as glamorous!!)
Neil Caul, Hamish Smith or James Leask are often seen playing second box. (Although not all at the same time!)
Distance is not a problem for the band! As well as gallivanting all over the country to play at various Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, other regular annual gigs include The Island Fling, Skye (organised by Northbeat), The Shetland Festival (since 1992), Up Helly Aa (since 1993), Hogmanay in the Spittal of Glenshee and St Andrew’s Night in Bahrain!
In 2003 the band played for a St Andrew’s Night gig in Moscow – where the temperature was -30. They arrived home on the Tuesday – and on the Wednesday they were back on another plane heading for a St Andrew’s Night gig in Bahrain – where the temperature was +30.
In 2004 Nicol and the boys (and girls) were among the artistes invited to play at Stefano Bizzarri’s ‘Premio Internazionale per Fisarmonica Festival’ in Morro D’Oro, in Italy. This is the Italian equivalent of the Perth Festival the Bill Wilkie organizes – however the Italian job runs for 4 days! (And not a Mini in sight!) Nicol tells me that Marcosignori was top of the bill the night before the Glencraig Band! (Not that he likes to name drop or anything!)
Nicol has also been heavily involved in designing a brand new accordion – the SEM Scotia – which is aimed mainly at the Scottish market. This required several trips to Castelfidardo. Italy, where the accordions are made. (Oh, to live the life of a jet-setter!)
In between all these foreign trips, Nicol still finds time to adjudicate at various competitions and festivals. He is also in great demand as a compere – he’s even been known to Toast the Haggis or give The Immortal Memory!!
Readers of the B&F will know that Nicol is also the Chairman of the NAAFC (You’ll see the odd photo of him in the magazine now and again!!)
However, here are one or two things about Nicol you might not know –
He is a keen rugby man – he spent 12 years playing as a fullback for Murrayfield RFC.
In the early 1990’s he was runner-up on ‘The Krypton Factor’.
Nicol is a keen country dancer – so he can do the dances as well as play them! (Bet he can’t do both at the same time though!)
He has a weekly radio show ‘Sporran’s a’ Burlin’’ on Heartland FM.
With more foreign trips being planned, including a trip to Kazakhstan in January 2005, another CD in the pipeline and no doubt more radio broadcasts, the future looks bright for Nicol McLaren and the Glencraig SDB – appearing at an Accordion Club near you, soon. Probably!
But how did it all start? Nicol McLaren grew up in a musical family – his uncle was the late Alex MacArthur – so music was always around. He started playing accordion at the age of 9 and was given lessons by Marion Campbell of LArbert. One night at Biggar Accordion Club, Uncle Alex persuaded Nicol to have a wee tune. He organised a ‘makey-up’ band to put round the youngster, as there were a “bunch of no-hopers” lurking in the background that night. The line-up of that ‘instant band’ was : lead accordion – Nicol McLaren ; fiddle - Ian Powrie ; second accordion – Jim Johnstone ; piano – Bobby Brown ; bass – Robin Brock ; and drums – (The Inimitable) Bobby Colgan. That was the night that Nicol decided that he wanted to lead his own band and, with that goal in mind, he practiced hard. However a few years later music was put on the back burner for a while, as Nicol was studying agriculture at Edinburgh University. (He passed with flying colours of course!) He did start again with a ‘folky’ band in his final year – when he discovered that free beer was available if you played in the pubs in Edinburgh!
Then in 1983, while he was working as a salesman with S.A.I. in Blairgowrie, he was asked if he could put a band together for a church social. So he rounded up a couple of pals – Dave Bell on drums and Lorna Webster (now Lorna Mair NAAFC Secretary) on accordion – and they played the gig. This led to several more gigs – and The Glencraig SDB began to evolve. (Incidentally, the band was named after two of Nicol’s working collies – Glen and Craig).
The diary was soon filling up nicely – and so was the band – with the addition of Suzanne Gray on bass, Gordon Howe on fiddle and Graham Berry on piano. The band recorded their first album in 1989 – the same year they made their first radio broadcast on Take the Floor. There have been another 11 broadcasts since then. Nicol has also been a Guest Presenter on Take the Floor, while Robbie was having a well-earned break.
Although the band line-up has changed over the years, the sound of the band remains constant. Gordon Howe is the regular fiddler, but in his absence Patsy Reid or Judith Linton keep the seat warm. Gordon was a classical violinist playing with orchestras, until he joined the band. His Uncle, Jim Howe, played fiddle with The Hawthorne Band. Nicol always refers to Gordon as the ‘Old Man’ of the band – but Gordon points out that Nicol is now the same age Gordon was when he joined the band!
Davie Bell is the drummer with the band. Yes, the same man as the tune Davie Bell the Green-keeper, written by Michael Philip. Davie has been a green-keeper at Blairgowrie Golf Club since he left school. 2003 was a significant ‘milestone’ year for him – he celebrated his 40th birthday, his 10th wedding anniversary, 25 years service at work – and it was his 21st year with the band! His other hobby is bowling – he was the youngest ever winner of the Blair Bowling Club Championship – and he now has over 300 bowling trophies!! (Need a big display cabinet for all those, Davie!) And another thing – Davie is the ‘Nip Drinking Champion’ of the band. (A drummer that takes a drink – surely that’s unheard of!!) Robert Simpson can also be found deputising on the drums when Davie is busy winning bowling tournaments. (Or recovering from a drinking session!)
Suzanne Croy (nee Gray) has been with the band for 18 years, playing double bass. Mum, Mabel, plays piano with Bill Black and brother, George, plays drums with Duncan Black (previously he was with Jim Johnstone).
Maureen Rutherford played piano with the band for 10 years and taught Nicol ‘loads’ about musical arrangements. Isobelle Hodgson (“absolutely rock solid”) has been with the band for the last 5 years – and adds some more”much-needed glamour” to the band. Graham Berry still fills in on occasion (and is equally as glamorous!!)
Neil Caul, Hamish Smith or James Leask are often seen playing second box. (Although not all at the same time!)
Distance is not a problem for the band! As well as gallivanting all over the country to play at various Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, other regular annual gigs include The Island Fling, Skye (organised by Northbeat), The Shetland Festival (since 1992), Up Helly Aa (since 1993), Hogmanay in the Spittal of Glenshee and St Andrew’s Night in Bahrain!
In 2003 the band played for a St Andrew’s Night gig in Moscow – where the temperature was -30. They arrived home on the Tuesday – and on the Wednesday they were back on another plane heading for a St Andrew’s Night gig in Bahrain – where the temperature was +30.
In 2004 Nicol and the boys (and girls) were among the artistes invited to play at Stefano Bizzarri’s ‘Premio Internazionale per Fisarmonica Festival’ in Morro D’Oro, in Italy. This is the Italian equivalent of the Perth Festival the Bill Wilkie organizes – however the Italian job runs for 4 days! (And not a Mini in sight!) Nicol tells me that Marcosignori was top of the bill the night before the Glencraig Band! (Not that he likes to name drop or anything!)
Nicol has also been heavily involved in designing a brand new accordion – the SEM Scotia – which is aimed mainly at the Scottish market. This required several trips to Castelfidardo. Italy, where the accordions are made. (Oh, to live the life of a jet-setter!)
In between all these foreign trips, Nicol still finds time to adjudicate at various competitions and festivals. He is also in great demand as a compere – he’s even been known to Toast the Haggis or give The Immortal Memory!!
Readers of the B&F will know that Nicol is also the Chairman of the NAAFC (You’ll see the odd photo of him in the magazine now and again!!)
However, here are one or two things about Nicol you might not know –
He is a keen rugby man – he spent 12 years playing as a fullback for Murrayfield RFC.
In the early 1990’s he was runner-up on ‘The Krypton Factor’.
Nicol is a keen country dancer – so he can do the dances as well as play them! (Bet he can’t do both at the same time though!)
He has a weekly radio show ‘Sporran’s a’ Burlin’’ on Heartland FM.
With more foreign trips being planned, including a trip to Kazakhstan in January 2005, another CD in the pipeline and no doubt more radio broadcasts, the future looks bright for Nicol McLaren and the Glencraig SDB – appearing at an Accordion Club near you, soon. Probably!