Ronnie Cooper
by Nicol McLaren
B&F December 2013
Ronald Cooper was born in 1934 and brought up in the family home at 16 Cheyne Crescent in Lerwick. He displayed his musical talents at an early age, being the lead choir boy in the local English Church Boys choir. In fact, he showed so much promise he was asked to go south to the Mainland to study and train to make singing his career. Ronnie declined the offer, preferring to stay at home in his native islands.
During these early years, Ronnie grew up together with his three sisters Tina, Valerie and Margaret, under the watchful eye of their mother Babsie. Babsie played piano and also turned a tune on the fiddle. Ronnie displayed a keen interest in all things musical and, from the outset, spent a lot of time listening to 78s and the music programmes on the radio. He started to play the piano around the age of 13. He later moved on to the accordion and, with his pal Lenny Lyall, who also played accordion, regularly visited Islesburgh House playing music and listening to 78s, in particular the music of Jimmy Shand, and Ronnie’s hero Bobby MacLeod.
In 1950 Ronnie joined the RAF and went to serve in England undertaking an apprenticeship to become a joiner. Whilst in the RAF he continued his musical pursuits and the development of his skills on accordion and piano. He commenced his National Service in 1952 and it was during this time he started to have problems with his eyesight, eventually having to leave the RAF in 1955 at the end of his apprenticeship.
Ronnie returned to Shetland and around this time he first met Frank Jamieson, fiddle player and composer. Ronnie and Frankie regularly played music together, eventually forming The Sapphires Dance Band. So began a lifetime of music and camaraderie.
Ronnie married his wife Iris in 1959 and they went on to have three of a family, Kenneth, Susan and Hazel. Shortly after this time Ronnie’s eyesight started to deteriorate further. There was no cure for this and eventually it left him virtually blind. His hearing, however, was particularly acute and when he met people in the street, although he couldn’t see them when they greeted him, he quickly identified who they were by their tone of voice. Ronnie’s release from this handicap was his music. With local groups The Hillbillies, The Merry Dancers and The Sapphires, Ronnie dedicated all this spare time to his music.
In 1960, Shetland had its first Hamefarin when all ex-pats and Islanders got together to celebrate their homecoming. In addition to joining The Shetland Fiddlers Society for a 5 year stint as the group’s piano accompanist, Ronnie became lead accordionist with The Hamefarers Dance Band especially formed for the celebrations. For Ronnie this was the start of many appearances with Shetland’s top musicians and with Jim Halcrow on second accordion, Willie Hunter on fiddle, ‘Peerie’ Willie Johnston on bass, Drew Robertson on drums and Eric Cooper on piano. The Hamefarers Band was to earn a worldwide reputation over the next two decades. Following the early recordings, Ronnie moved to playing piano with the band. His compositions and arrangements were their foundation stone and coupled with his sympathetic, accompaniment provided a perfect platform for the band’s unique sound. Frank and Lilian Chadwick acquired The Hayfield Hotel in 1957. Ronnie was a regular visitor and, during the early sixties, the Hayfield sitting room played host to many musical evenings. With the loss of the Queens Hotel as a place ‘for a tune’, Stanley Swanson of The Lounge provided a piano and a meeting place for musicians and followers alike. Ronnie was asked to become resident musician and encourage the musical sessions, this he was delighted to do for what was a developing musical scene. Also around this time the Cooper family gained a new next door neighbour who was none other than fiddler Willie hunter and family who had returned to Shetland following several years in London.
Shortly after The Hamefarin, local businessman Bobby Bayes set up a company to record The Hamefarers’ first EP under Thule Records. Ronnie revelled in this and with Bobby’s record company in full swing, he was also to record EPs ‘Reflections from Shetland’ with a young Alistair (Aly) Bain and ‘Shetland and the Fiddle’ with Willie Hunter. These recordings proved highly popular and more followed for Ronnie. Concerts and performances were undertaken by The Shetland Fiddlers Society with Ronnie’s adept piano accompaniment to the fore. Looking back, the Hamefarin was a milestone and a kick-start in the development of Shetland music with some outstanding players coming to prominence.
1965 was an important year for The Hayfield Hotel, playing host to none other than The Ian Powrie Dance Band and concert party. Several successful sell-out concerts were held and the ‘apres concert’ parties went on well into the small hours. All musicians tried to get as much listening as possible to what was Scotland’s top Scottish Dance Band at the time. A few were privileged to be invited to Hayfield to participate in the music sessions. Ian Powrie took a particular interest in Ronnie’s compositions and also those of Frank Jamieson, sos much so that on their next two LPs in the following years, the band recorded several of Ronnie’s and Frankie’s tunes.
From this time through to the late seventies, The Hayfield Hotel guest book reads like a ‘Who’s Who?’ of Scottish music, with visits from many top Scottish musicians. Ronnie’s compositions were to the fore, his music becoming essential material for all players of traditional Scottish music. The Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Club was established in 1978 and the local music scene grew from strength to strength. Visiting guest artistes thoroughly enjoyed the Shetland music scene, many long lasting friendships were created and Ronnie revelled in the opportunity to play with Scotland’s finest.
The Hamefarers recorded the LP, ‘A Breath of Shetland’. The subsequent trip to Mull to visit the home of Bobby MacLeod was the pinnacle of Ronnie’s musical aspirations and to be able to meet and play with his lifetime hero was paramount. Thus this musical experience together with the regular visits home and musical exchanges with the now world renowned Aly Bain, meant his music ambition was largely achieved. The Lounge was now run by Jemima and Hughie Robertson, Ronnie continued to play with many visiting and local musicians, encouraging and supporting young up-and-coming Shetland players such as Ronnie Jamieson, Davy Tulloch and latterly The Hom Bru Band.
In the late seventies Ronnie’s health started to deteriorate and in 1982 he passed away, just four months after the passing of his good friend and fellow musician Frank Jamieson. Bobby MacLeod donated the Ronald Cooper Memorial Trophy, which is played for competitively at the Perth Accordion and Fiddle Festival to this day.
This year’s Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival saw the release of a new book of composition by the late Ronnie Cooper. Some of us still have the 5 original books of Ronnie’s music published by the Shetland Times in the early 1970s, in various states of repair, but those books have become somewhat of a collector item. Such is the quality of Ronnie’s compositions that they are played universally on the scene, from the drive of the reels to the serenity of the waltzes. The new collection contains all 46 of Ronnie’s compositions, including 4 tunes printed by the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Club following his passing in 1982. The music transcription has followed the original publications with chord symbols showing the chords that Ronnie used. The original publication contained some errors, which have now been corrected. Tune descriptions are added, together with some photographs to help illustrate the music titles to the reader.
During these early years, Ronnie grew up together with his three sisters Tina, Valerie and Margaret, under the watchful eye of their mother Babsie. Babsie played piano and also turned a tune on the fiddle. Ronnie displayed a keen interest in all things musical and, from the outset, spent a lot of time listening to 78s and the music programmes on the radio. He started to play the piano around the age of 13. He later moved on to the accordion and, with his pal Lenny Lyall, who also played accordion, regularly visited Islesburgh House playing music and listening to 78s, in particular the music of Jimmy Shand, and Ronnie’s hero Bobby MacLeod.
In 1950 Ronnie joined the RAF and went to serve in England undertaking an apprenticeship to become a joiner. Whilst in the RAF he continued his musical pursuits and the development of his skills on accordion and piano. He commenced his National Service in 1952 and it was during this time he started to have problems with his eyesight, eventually having to leave the RAF in 1955 at the end of his apprenticeship.
Ronnie returned to Shetland and around this time he first met Frank Jamieson, fiddle player and composer. Ronnie and Frankie regularly played music together, eventually forming The Sapphires Dance Band. So began a lifetime of music and camaraderie.
Ronnie married his wife Iris in 1959 and they went on to have three of a family, Kenneth, Susan and Hazel. Shortly after this time Ronnie’s eyesight started to deteriorate further. There was no cure for this and eventually it left him virtually blind. His hearing, however, was particularly acute and when he met people in the street, although he couldn’t see them when they greeted him, he quickly identified who they were by their tone of voice. Ronnie’s release from this handicap was his music. With local groups The Hillbillies, The Merry Dancers and The Sapphires, Ronnie dedicated all this spare time to his music.
In 1960, Shetland had its first Hamefarin when all ex-pats and Islanders got together to celebrate their homecoming. In addition to joining The Shetland Fiddlers Society for a 5 year stint as the group’s piano accompanist, Ronnie became lead accordionist with The Hamefarers Dance Band especially formed for the celebrations. For Ronnie this was the start of many appearances with Shetland’s top musicians and with Jim Halcrow on second accordion, Willie Hunter on fiddle, ‘Peerie’ Willie Johnston on bass, Drew Robertson on drums and Eric Cooper on piano. The Hamefarers Band was to earn a worldwide reputation over the next two decades. Following the early recordings, Ronnie moved to playing piano with the band. His compositions and arrangements were their foundation stone and coupled with his sympathetic, accompaniment provided a perfect platform for the band’s unique sound. Frank and Lilian Chadwick acquired The Hayfield Hotel in 1957. Ronnie was a regular visitor and, during the early sixties, the Hayfield sitting room played host to many musical evenings. With the loss of the Queens Hotel as a place ‘for a tune’, Stanley Swanson of The Lounge provided a piano and a meeting place for musicians and followers alike. Ronnie was asked to become resident musician and encourage the musical sessions, this he was delighted to do for what was a developing musical scene. Also around this time the Cooper family gained a new next door neighbour who was none other than fiddler Willie hunter and family who had returned to Shetland following several years in London.
Shortly after The Hamefarin, local businessman Bobby Bayes set up a company to record The Hamefarers’ first EP under Thule Records. Ronnie revelled in this and with Bobby’s record company in full swing, he was also to record EPs ‘Reflections from Shetland’ with a young Alistair (Aly) Bain and ‘Shetland and the Fiddle’ with Willie Hunter. These recordings proved highly popular and more followed for Ronnie. Concerts and performances were undertaken by The Shetland Fiddlers Society with Ronnie’s adept piano accompaniment to the fore. Looking back, the Hamefarin was a milestone and a kick-start in the development of Shetland music with some outstanding players coming to prominence.
1965 was an important year for The Hayfield Hotel, playing host to none other than The Ian Powrie Dance Band and concert party. Several successful sell-out concerts were held and the ‘apres concert’ parties went on well into the small hours. All musicians tried to get as much listening as possible to what was Scotland’s top Scottish Dance Band at the time. A few were privileged to be invited to Hayfield to participate in the music sessions. Ian Powrie took a particular interest in Ronnie’s compositions and also those of Frank Jamieson, sos much so that on their next two LPs in the following years, the band recorded several of Ronnie’s and Frankie’s tunes.
From this time through to the late seventies, The Hayfield Hotel guest book reads like a ‘Who’s Who?’ of Scottish music, with visits from many top Scottish musicians. Ronnie’s compositions were to the fore, his music becoming essential material for all players of traditional Scottish music. The Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Club was established in 1978 and the local music scene grew from strength to strength. Visiting guest artistes thoroughly enjoyed the Shetland music scene, many long lasting friendships were created and Ronnie revelled in the opportunity to play with Scotland’s finest.
The Hamefarers recorded the LP, ‘A Breath of Shetland’. The subsequent trip to Mull to visit the home of Bobby MacLeod was the pinnacle of Ronnie’s musical aspirations and to be able to meet and play with his lifetime hero was paramount. Thus this musical experience together with the regular visits home and musical exchanges with the now world renowned Aly Bain, meant his music ambition was largely achieved. The Lounge was now run by Jemima and Hughie Robertson, Ronnie continued to play with many visiting and local musicians, encouraging and supporting young up-and-coming Shetland players such as Ronnie Jamieson, Davy Tulloch and latterly The Hom Bru Band.
In the late seventies Ronnie’s health started to deteriorate and in 1982 he passed away, just four months after the passing of his good friend and fellow musician Frank Jamieson. Bobby MacLeod donated the Ronald Cooper Memorial Trophy, which is played for competitively at the Perth Accordion and Fiddle Festival to this day.
This year’s Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival saw the release of a new book of composition by the late Ronnie Cooper. Some of us still have the 5 original books of Ronnie’s music published by the Shetland Times in the early 1970s, in various states of repair, but those books have become somewhat of a collector item. Such is the quality of Ronnie’s compositions that they are played universally on the scene, from the drive of the reels to the serenity of the waltzes. The new collection contains all 46 of Ronnie’s compositions, including 4 tunes printed by the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Club following his passing in 1982. The music transcription has followed the original publications with chord symbols showing the chords that Ronnie used. The original publication contained some errors, which have now been corrected. Tune descriptions are added, together with some photographs to help illustrate the music titles to the reader.