The Bon Accords – An Appreciation
by Derek Hamilton
B&F November 2008
I first met The Bon Accords – Robin and Deryn Waitt, a husband and wife team – away back 30 something years ago. It was at the West of Scotland Championships in Straiton, Ayrshire run single-handedly by Jock Loch.
My mate Ritchie Holland and I used to play accordion duets the various clubs including Straiton, again run by Jock Loch. He had persuaded us to enter the competition at his West of Scotland Championships. We arrived in Sraiton about 9.00am and the village was already buzzing with accordionists and their families.
The Black Bull Hotel, the Accordion Club meeting place, was already shaping up to be one of the main attractions of the day, although the competitions were being held in the local hall close by.
In the Black Bull main bar were a couple of box players just sitting playing tunes. I recall they did that most of the day, never seeming to tire of the music. They weren’t being paid to entertain the vast crowds that passed through the pub. They just did it because they loved playing and were steeped in the music. They were, I discovered, The Bon Accords.
I remember being fascinated by the pair, who were most unorthodox in their use of the boxes. He, Robin, played a Shand Morino 3-row and she, Deryn, played a piano box. Nothing unusual about that you might think, but there was. Deryn played lead and Robin played second box! This was mighty unusual at the time. Come to think of it, it still is quiet uncommon for a button-box player to play a second box part. Chords don’t come easy on the right hand of a Shand Morino!
But not only did Robin play chords, his grasp of harmony was brilliant and all off the top of his head.
When Deryn played Robin accompanied.
I had never seen this pair before and really, at this stage, didn’t even get the chance to speak to them very much. If truth be known, I thought they were away above my station in the music scene and they, strangely, thought the same of me!
I got to know Robin and Deryn well much later. In 1983 the famous Irish accordion virtuoso, Dermot O’Brien, packed up life in the ould country and headed for the big attractions of the USA. He disbanded his world famous trio. He came back in 1984 to do his annual round of Accordion Club guest spots. Deryn used to organize his British tours and when Dermot was looking for musos to play with him on the tour Robin and Deryn suggested I would fit in. Consequently I got a call and, to cut a long story short, did the gigs. I got to know Robin and Deryn well at that time and became quite a fan of their unique style of playing. They did the support act for most of Dermot’s shows. They worked with many Irish stars like Brendan Shine, Johnny McEvoy, Bridie Gallagher, Paddy Reilly and Daniel O’Donnell in his early days. They toured Ireland extensively and built up a repertoire of Irish music and songs that is second to none. I guess there are very few Irish songs that Deryn doesn’t know the words for and you can bet Robin knows the tune!
I would go as far as to say that Robin Waitt is one of the most under-rated button-box players on the scene. There are valid reason for this of course, the major one being that they have always been far too busy playing at dances and functions, entertaining probably millions of people over their career, to be part of ‘the scene’. They are so popular that they have built up a huge following in the South of Scotland and the North of England as well as Ireland. They are entertainers and very professional.
It might be unfair to say that Robin is the musical brain of The Bon Accords because of the implications for Deryn, but I know that she won’t mind me saying that. She’s the boss!!! Deryn is an organiser as well as a musician. Robin is a musician – full stop! Oh yes and a bit of a technical wizard as well, having MIDI’d his box himself.
Robin has a knack, I suppose it’s a gift, for being able to accompany any box player with his unique style of second accordion work. He can chord, harmonise at will and pick up the melody with little or no effort at all. He is also a first class exponent of the button-box as a lead player too. Even after all those years he loves to play and enjoys the challenge of accompanying. Over recent years Deryn has been organizing an annual get-together of musicians and friends. Venues as far flung as Dornie, Tinglecreek, Roy Bridge, Killarney and Castle Douglas have seen us meet just for the craic.
It’s always The Bon Accords that are there enthusiastically setting the tune going. Robin just revels in sitting in on second box with anyone who turns up for a tune. They don’t do many Accordion Club guest spots. I, for one, would say not enough. They are different, even unique, in what they do but they do it with an enthusiastic approach that belies nearly 35 years in the business. Keep doing what you do guys – just do more of it!!
My mate Ritchie Holland and I used to play accordion duets the various clubs including Straiton, again run by Jock Loch. He had persuaded us to enter the competition at his West of Scotland Championships. We arrived in Sraiton about 9.00am and the village was already buzzing with accordionists and their families.
The Black Bull Hotel, the Accordion Club meeting place, was already shaping up to be one of the main attractions of the day, although the competitions were being held in the local hall close by.
In the Black Bull main bar were a couple of box players just sitting playing tunes. I recall they did that most of the day, never seeming to tire of the music. They weren’t being paid to entertain the vast crowds that passed through the pub. They just did it because they loved playing and were steeped in the music. They were, I discovered, The Bon Accords.
I remember being fascinated by the pair, who were most unorthodox in their use of the boxes. He, Robin, played a Shand Morino 3-row and she, Deryn, played a piano box. Nothing unusual about that you might think, but there was. Deryn played lead and Robin played second box! This was mighty unusual at the time. Come to think of it, it still is quiet uncommon for a button-box player to play a second box part. Chords don’t come easy on the right hand of a Shand Morino!
But not only did Robin play chords, his grasp of harmony was brilliant and all off the top of his head.
When Deryn played Robin accompanied.
I had never seen this pair before and really, at this stage, didn’t even get the chance to speak to them very much. If truth be known, I thought they were away above my station in the music scene and they, strangely, thought the same of me!
I got to know Robin and Deryn well much later. In 1983 the famous Irish accordion virtuoso, Dermot O’Brien, packed up life in the ould country and headed for the big attractions of the USA. He disbanded his world famous trio. He came back in 1984 to do his annual round of Accordion Club guest spots. Deryn used to organize his British tours and when Dermot was looking for musos to play with him on the tour Robin and Deryn suggested I would fit in. Consequently I got a call and, to cut a long story short, did the gigs. I got to know Robin and Deryn well at that time and became quite a fan of their unique style of playing. They did the support act for most of Dermot’s shows. They worked with many Irish stars like Brendan Shine, Johnny McEvoy, Bridie Gallagher, Paddy Reilly and Daniel O’Donnell in his early days. They toured Ireland extensively and built up a repertoire of Irish music and songs that is second to none. I guess there are very few Irish songs that Deryn doesn’t know the words for and you can bet Robin knows the tune!
I would go as far as to say that Robin Waitt is one of the most under-rated button-box players on the scene. There are valid reason for this of course, the major one being that they have always been far too busy playing at dances and functions, entertaining probably millions of people over their career, to be part of ‘the scene’. They are so popular that they have built up a huge following in the South of Scotland and the North of England as well as Ireland. They are entertainers and very professional.
It might be unfair to say that Robin is the musical brain of The Bon Accords because of the implications for Deryn, but I know that she won’t mind me saying that. She’s the boss!!! Deryn is an organiser as well as a musician. Robin is a musician – full stop! Oh yes and a bit of a technical wizard as well, having MIDI’d his box himself.
Robin has a knack, I suppose it’s a gift, for being able to accompany any box player with his unique style of second accordion work. He can chord, harmonise at will and pick up the melody with little or no effort at all. He is also a first class exponent of the button-box as a lead player too. Even after all those years he loves to play and enjoys the challenge of accompanying. Over recent years Deryn has been organizing an annual get-together of musicians and friends. Venues as far flung as Dornie, Tinglecreek, Roy Bridge, Killarney and Castle Douglas have seen us meet just for the craic.
It’s always The Bon Accords that are there enthusiastically setting the tune going. Robin just revels in sitting in on second box with anyone who turns up for a tune. They don’t do many Accordion Club guest spots. I, for one, would say not enough. They are different, even unique, in what they do but they do it with an enthusiastic approach that belies nearly 35 years in the business. Keep doing what you do guys – just do more of it!!