Box and Fiddle
Year 14 No 01
September 1990
Price 50p
12 pages
8 month subscription £5.00
Editor – Tom Clark, 55 Sutherland Crescent, Dundee, DD2 2HP
B&F Treasurer – Mrs Margaret Smith, Smeaton Farm Cottage, Dalkeith, Midlothian.
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Here we go again. Now that the long, hot summer seems to have cooled a bit, we are all preparing for another season of Accordion and fiddle music and the ‘B&F’ enters its 14th Year.
The Gathering
The Annual Gathering of the Association in the Station Hotel was once more an outstanding success. The A.G.M. was probably one of the best meetings yet, and I was particularly delighted with the discussion on the ‘B&F’ and the general support shown by the delegates for the proposals out to the meeting.
Price Increase
The meeting voted in favour of a price increase of the paper to 50p at Club level. It is hoped that the circulation levels will be at least maintained and perhaps increased. The additional £150 or so income each month should help to square the books in the new season. Unfortunately however, the deficit for 89/90 will not be recovered.
The New Logo
You will have noticed the new logo at the top of the front page. During last season, the logo had been dicscuused at one or two meetings of the Executive Committee. It was felt that perhaps a change was needed. Then out of the blue, I received a helping hand from Joe Gordon. Joe had been reading the paper and had felt that the logo wasn’t quite what it should be. So he got to work and his effort is there for all to see. My sincere thanks to Joe. Any comments?
Tom Clark
1990 Weekend Gathering
“Like Flea Fishin’ wi’ Baith Feet in one Welly”
by Norrie Williams
The 3-row British Chromatic accordion has limitations – or so they say. Well, you could have fooled me and likewise at least 180 other folk in the ballroom of the Perth Station Hotel on Sunday afternoon, the 24th June. For around 6 p.m. om that date, Willie McGuire of Dysart, hitched to his ‘Paolo Soprani’ button key and backed by the Jim Johnstone Band played an absolute stormer, a real show stopper, finishing up with that classic ‘Under the Double Eagle’.
Willie, the 1987 Perth Champion and twice winner of the Musselburgh Button Key class, is an incredible player, carrying forward the Will Starr magic embellished and developed in his own particular style.
‘Under the Double Eagle’ incidentally, was an encore requested by N.A.A.F.C. Chairman Jimmy Blue, whose special day it was. He was deservedly being honoured for his dedication and unstinting hard work as Chairman of the National Association over the past fifteen years, and not all of them a ‘bed of roses’.
However, Jimmy is noted for his tenacity and determination and by building on the experience gained during the bumpier passages, he has grown greatly in stature in the lead chair, fulfils his duties most effectively, and commands considerable respect.
But to switch back to Saturday mid-day, and weel kent faces from all parts were congregating in the hotel foyer, full of anticipation at the prospect of another great weekend of companionship, and I quote you-know-who – ‘our kind of music’. Even Jim Johnstone himself, who had just completed a hectic on tour band show with Rudy Meeks – the final performance being in Northumberland on the previous evening – said that despite the arduous schedule and obvious fatigue, he and the band felt really quite buoyed up and excited at the prospect of the Association Weekend.
Come 1 o’clock and with acquaintances new and renewed, it was down to the serious business of attending to the ‘inner man’, in other words, the customary first class lunch accompanied by the first class service which is the hallmark of this particular establishment.
Lunch over, and 40 or 50 satisfied enthusiasts made for the Methven Suite where ‘Fiddle and Accordion Workshops’ were to be held under the tutorage of Messrs. Ian Powrie and Ivor Britton respectively.
Ian was first on, his easy, natural style liberally laced with couthie sayings being as always an immediate hit with the audience. One typical example when referring to a member of the fiddle group, ‘The Cameron Men’, was the descriptive gem….”he had hands like tink’s feet!”. He touched briefly on his own formative years “on the rocky road to being a fiddle player”, numbering among his teachers, Adam Rennie of Coupar Angus, James Ogilvie of Blairgowrie and his son Harry C. Ogilvie, one time member of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom Orchestra and erstwhile bandleader in the Perth Salutation Hotel.
Ian’s introduction to the instrument however, was at the age of 2 or 3, thanks to an old cattleman by the name of Jim Watson, best known for his compositions such as ‘The Links of Love’ and ‘The Sidlaw Hills’. Jim and Ian’s dad (‘The Angus Ploughman’) used to duet on fiddle and melodeon respectively, while wee Ian sat on the rug and scraped away with a ‘bow’ on a stick and sugar-twine contraption supplied by Jim. From those humble beginnings our man reached graduate standard under James Ogilvie’s guidance.
On the mechanics of fiddle playing, Ian stressed the importance of holding the instrument properly and of a good stance. With regard to the former, Ian and the aforementioned Harry C. Ogilvie differed somewhat in that Ian felt it ….”was easier pouin neeps than playing without moving your airms a la H.C.O.!” and on the matter of stance, the feet should be apart because …”playing with the legs together is like flea fishin’ wi’ baith feet in one welly”.
Space precludes a run-down on all the points raised but the importance of being able to collaborate with other players was highlighted, and illustrated with some excellent unrehearsed empathetic playing from Ian and Maureen Rutherford on piano
Then, as a fitting conclusion to his presentation, Ian invited a member of the audience, none other than Florence Burns herself – well known as both a solo player and as a fiddler with the Alastair Hunter Band – to come up and try out some brand new instruments made by one Duncan MacDonald, a native of Eigg, now a resident of Tullibardine, near Auchterarder. More of this in a moment.
Playing the slow air ‘Coilsfield House’ and with Ian supplying the harmony line on his ‘Matthew Hardie’, Florence put up a great performance on no less than 5 completely strange fiddles with evocative names such as ‘Strathardle’, ‘Strathtummel’, ‘Catrina’ and so on. The audience were invited to ‘judge’ the instrument, the measure of agreement being quite surprising, with two in particular standing out – no names, no pack drill.
And so ended a most enjoyable first half with Ian handing over to Duncan MacDonald to answer any questions on fiddle making or choosing a fiddle.
Duncan’s hobby of fiddle making started 17 years ago, his total to date being 50 with number 51 already on the stocks. The greatest number produced in any one year was 4.
For the Saturday afternoon workshop he had laid out a most intriguing display showing the various stages of fiddle construction from the rough blocks to the finished article. This layout evoked great interest and the audience fairly milled around, bombarding Duncan with a fair barrage of questions. It was fascinating to learn of the number of different woods which can be used, the basic three being maple,pine and ebony, with beech, cherry and yew as alternatives for certain components – comparatively small blocks of the various timbers being anything but cheap.
Following the shaping of the various parts – which is done almost entirely by hand – and the assembly, comes the treatment of the body etc. A ‘labour of love’ if ever there was one. After a sealing coat of linseed oil and then a base oil coat with colouring, no less than 12 to 18 coats of Italian oil varnish have to be applied, each coat taking 7-10 days to dry under good conditions and up to 14 in indifferent weather. I asked Duncan about mass produced fiddles such as those manufactured in China and Japan. Apparently, one can be lucky and get a reasonable one, but many have to be drastically doctored before they are any use.
This wee informal exhibition of the fiddle makers’ art was a real eye opener and left on quite staggered at the patience and craftsmanship required, but my goodness, by the tone of some of Duncan’s fiddles, he certainly has both these attributes in full measure.
Now, how do you follow a double act of the Powrie/MacDonald calibre? Difficult, maybe but it was successfully achieved on that Saturday afternoon after a short break for leg stretching and perusal of the ‘Rogue’s Gallery’ of Scottish Dance Bands past and present.
The answer was another double act, this time 5 row button key player Ivor Britton and his accomplice, a 3-row man, none other than Dr Sandy Tulloch of Dundee. Ivor’s theme was ‘Pipe music on the accordion’, arguably the closest approach one can have to heaven while still on this planet. Add to this the fact that the G#s on his box were in mint condition (because they had seldom, if ever, been used!) and one has the recipe for bliss, perfect bliss.
A native of Inveraray, now resident in Giffnock and lead accordion in the Bobby Harvey Band for the last 30 years, Ivor started at the age of five with a set of imitation toy bagpipes made out of bamboo sticks and a stuffed bag – an uncanny parallel to Ian’s humble beginnings.
John MacDonald, the Duke of Atholl’s personal piper was the young lad’s idol, he followed him closely like a shadow as he marched up and down, so close in fact that on one occasion when he and the piper did not ‘about-turn’ together the ensuing heap took some sorting out. It would have been interesting to hear the variation on the theme as the pipes descended to ground level.
The next step was a 10 key melodeon bough by Grandad and as there were no local music teachers it was a case of being self taught with a wee bit of polishing up by Tony Verrichia when Ivor moved into the Glasgow area. Then playing a 3-row Shand Morino he won Perth in 1961 and a few years later switched to 5-row, his current model being a ‘Bugari’.
During his opening remarks, Ivor donned his accordion and demonstrated the correct hold and positioning of the instrument stressing the importance of shoulder strap adjustment and use of a backstrap “as in golf, accordion and player should be as one”.
He then went on to the subject of tackling a new tune. First one learns the piece using eyes (or ears), the brain and the fingers and then one learns to play it using the brain, bellows and fingers, the bellows giving the expression and light and shade, which answers in part the question “Why play pipe music on the accordion, why not just use the pipes?” Well, in the case of the pipes, air is supplied at constant pressure from the bag which in turn gives constant volume from chanter and drones, so to get expression the piper has only one option open viz. to point the tunes, i.e. to play some notes as if double dotted and others shorter than written. On the other hand the accordion player can express not only the pointing, but by varying the volume using bellows control.
In addition to pointing pipers embellish their music with myriads of grace notes, the two hands on the chanter giving them the edge here as an accordionist can only imitate these clusters of notes. At this point, Ivor broke new ground as far as yours truly and the majority of those present were concerned, with an excellent visual presentation on cards of a number of pipe music delicacies such as ‘Doubling’, ‘Birl’, ‘Taorluath’, ‘Grip’ and so on and how these can be adapted for accordion. Each was, of course, demonstrated on the box.
Incidentally, it had originally been intended to publish Ivor’s ingenious illustrations in the ‘B&F’ but I understand that there is every possibility of these appearing in a forthcoming University of Stirling publication, the co-authors to be Ivor himself, and P/M John MacKenzie, the retiring Piping Instructor at the Queen Victoria School, Dunblane. This should be worth waiting for and we will keep you informed of future developments.
Again space precludes further enlargement on the content of this most interesting talk, but amongst other things the correct interpretation of 2/4’s and 6/8 marches was covered and by special request Ivor finished up playing a competition 2/4 at the same time demonstrating the piper’s ‘delve’. Another fascinating session giving much food for thought.
And then it was a free-for-all to view the hardware, some to Duncan’s layout and some to Sandy Tulloch’s stall where an ancient ‘low expression’ – to quote the good doctor – Scandinavian 5-row ‘Hagstrom’ accordion had been disemboweled to show the action, reed blocks, pallets etc.
Although not into accordion repairing, Sandy is very good with his hands, has an enquiring mind and is very knowledgeable indeed on every facet of accordion construction and operation. This encyclopedic knowledge was clearly demonstrated in a most interesting 4 page hand-out on the Shand Morino which he had produced for the occasion.
A truly worthwhile and informative afternoon. Congratulations to all concerned.
Next on the agenda was dinner (sounds so posh) and a first class one at that, followed by the ‘jiggin’, until 1 a.m. on Sunday, to the Jim Johnstone Band. At the risk of being a complete bore, I repeat once again that this group may have its peers but none better. The choice of tunes is excellent, the standard of playing is of the highest order and has remained consistently so over the years.
Each year the programme is becoming progressively more varied, thanks to the current upsurge in popularity of the old-tyme dances, but whatever the dance, this band has the tempo just right. It played a 5-piece on this occasion, no second accordion, and with Bobby Brown back on piano – a pleasure to have him with us – and everyone I spoke to voted it one of the best dances we have had – the floor was jumping throughout.
The half time relief band, led by Kevin Clark of Dundee (Craigowl Band) had Dad (Tom Clark) on second accordion, Ian Powrie on fiddle, Owen Fielding from Glasgow on piano and Jack Cooper on drums. As would be expected from this line-up we got another competent performance, a very fitting stand-in for the main band.
At the end of the dance and with strong resolve we headed for a bit of ‘shut-eye’ so as to be up betimes, fresh for the A.G.M. But the strong resolve weakened when we heard the strains of a fiddle/accordion combination emanating from a side room. It sounded good and on investigation found Ian Powrie, Tom Clark and Sandy Tulloch on piano and button key respectively, David Shand on drums and a fair handful of listeners.So, we squatted on the floor to enjoy 5 minutes or so. An unoccupied Shand Morino sat on the table and by the harness it was likely to be that of the senior man himself. This proved to be the case, because we were just leaving and the wee group was playing ‘The Dundee City Police Pipe Band’ when in walked the composer, Jimmy Shand Snr. He was persuaded to don his instrument, the remnants of our strong resolve shot out the window and we settled down in sheer contentment to enjoy a good half to three quarters of an hour, right off the top.
The lead had changed from time to time, yes, but the unmistakable legendary ‘dunt’ was there for all to hear, with the result that the room filled up rapidly requiring more and more chairs to be brought in. what a glorious way to round off the evening.
11 a.m. on the Sunday and the A.G.M. kicked off with the Methven Room as full as I’ve seen it, a most gratifying turnout with a row of Peebles representatives in the front row resplendent in their new Club ties, and their normal clothes as well of course! It really is great to see this demonstration of pride in one’s own Club as well as supporting the Association. The meeting turned out to be one of the most enjoyable for some time with good constructive discussion and proposals.
Because the Sunday afternoon programme this year included a presentation and the attendant speechifying, the start of the lunch was advanced by one hour to 1 o’clock. After a 10 or 15 minute nail-biting search for the guest of honour and his wife, who had been patiently waiting to be called – the Jim Johnstone Band eventually launched into the Jimmy Blue composition ‘The Balintore Fisherman’ the assembly of close on 200 stood, and the principal guests filed in, Mr and Mrs Bobby Crowe, Mr and Mrs Angus Fitchet, Mr and Mrs Ian Powrie and Mr and Mrs Jimmy Shand Snr. A nifty change into two flats for ‘The Laird of Forgandenny’ (composed by Bobby Crowe in 1988) and enter the guests of honour, the ‘Laird’ himself and his wife, alias Jimmy and Joan Blue. At least, that had been the intention but they startled everyone by arriving at their places about 32 bars early – but it all adds to the fun! A welcome from the M.C., the Selkirk Grace and battle commenced.
When all the appetizing nosh had been safely tucked away it was down to the main business of the gathering, which was to pay tribute to our chairman for all his graft on our behalf over the past 15 years. Bobby MacLeod and Andy Stewart had both sent messages of congratulations and apologies for being unable to attend for health reasons and two congratulatory letters were read out, the first in copperplate handwriting from 87 year old, 3-row player, Hamish McLaren of Auchterarder, one of Jimmy Blue’s earliest bandleaders and the second from well-known composer, piper and fiddle player, Iain Peterson. Then a very humorous poem from Jean Callan of Chapelton, near Strathaven, in Lanarkshire, recalling the occasion when Jimmy and his band turned up there to play for a dance and the piano was garbage. Jimmy’s remarks were not quoted in the spiel but they must have been persuasive because a substitute instrument was quickly procured and from that moment on, an electric piano became part of the standard kit.
Finally, best wishes and a fine bouquet of flowers from Bill and Ena Wilkie were presented – the couple had just left that very day for a holiday in France.
Now a few brief words of personal appreciation from the M.C. and it was time for the first ‘turn’ of the afternoon, and what a ‘turn’, a golfing friend of our Jimmy, the one and only Ronnie Dale. I had seen this man in action on one or two previous occasions and knew how good he was but he excelled himself on this occasion and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house – with laughing. Almost every syllable he uttered was funny. He touched on his friendship with Jimmy and how on one occasion on a certain golf course, our Chairman had got bunkered and after many attempts to extract himself, a bystander who had been watching his efforts assumed that he worked there!
To finish off his spot and backed by the Jim Johnstone Band, Ron gave a brilliant rendition of the ‘Duke of Perth’ …’Jimmy taught me this tune’….on his diminutive concertina which won him a deafening response from the audience. As an encore a sing-along selection. Absolutely great stuff, a one-off professional.
At this point the first of the three speakers who were to pay their individual tributes took the floor. For the second time in 24 hours, Ian Powrie’s inimitable off-the-cuff couthy delivery and humour fairly took the trick. His wee anecdotes always have a delightful agricultural bias and he recounted how, with a full time job on the farm and a demanding dance band schedule, often many miles from home, it wasn’t unusual for Jimmy Blue to be chopping ‘neeps’ at 7 a.m. dressed in a dinner suit and bow tie!
Jim Johnstone, who had played 2nd accordion with the Jimmy Blue Band for some time followed Ian. Jim, of course, also has a very relaxed manner and ready wit and was warm in his praise of the ‘Laird’ – he had really enjoyed his time with the band.
The principal speaker was Bobby Crowe, a great friend of Jimmy and Joan. Bobby had done his homework and had a prepared speech which traced J.B.’s musical background and his progress up the musical ladder in considerable detail (hence the written notes). There is no need to expound that career here, as it will be covered in the next issue.
Bobby wound up with personal reflections on the man himself and it was significant that all three speakers highlighted Jimmy’s determination and single-mindedness, the trait which has, of course, enabled him to ride the storms while in the hot-seat’.
A toast to Jimmy and Joan proposed by the principal speaker brought us to the highlight of the weekend viz. the presentation of the portrait, which was carried out unto the manner born by the gentleman best qualified to perform this duty, the senior statesman of the accordion, Jimmy Shand. Best qualified, because not only had he been the early influence which had turned our guest of honour to the button key instrument but also the ‘Jimmy Shand Shield’ at Perth was won for the first time ever in 1950 and subsequently in 1952 by our Chairman.
Jimmy Shand had originally opted not to speak but when the moment arrived he paid his own tribute. The portrait itself, unveiled by Mr Willie Wilson, Chairman of the Beith Club, really is a topper and shows Jimmy with ‘Guerrini’ 3-row standing beside his wife Joan, who is seated at the piano. It is so very appropriate that they should both feature in the picture, as they have given one another mutual backing and support for so many years, in both the dance music and Club scenes. ‘Behind every successful man, etc, etc’. Certainly, this portrait is a momento of which the couple can be justifiably proud and which will recall so many happy times spent together in the music scene.
I confess to having been slightly anxious on Jimmy’s behalf when it came to the turn to reply because he had confided that he was a bit nervous and understandably so, but when he rose to speak, no-one would have guessed. He was in complete command, fluent and outwardly, at any rate, completely relaxed. He spoke well, without any notes or prompting and with characteristic humour expressing his gratitude not only to the speakers but to all present for coming along and making it a real occasion, and also his obvious genuine delight at the portrait. He reminisced briefly on some of his band experiences, quoting once again some couthy Powrie snippets, for example, returning from a band function in the Inverness area, in the early hours of a very frosty morning, they passed a ploughman away up to ‘sort his horse’ with a flagon under his oxter, hands in his pockets and his cap pulled down over his ears. Quoth Ian “There’s a lad weel up intae his bunnet!” Sheer magic. I can’t remember the context but another one that struck me was – “You can aye tell a fairm loon, but you canna tell him much!” These saying and humour with a rural or agricultural slant are so very right in the context of our music, make us feel comfortable and right at home, naturally I suppose, as the bulk of it would often stem from that type of environment.
As has already been mentioned, Andy Stewart was unable to be present, but he had penned a poem for the occasion, straight from the heart, a very moving composition. Robbie Shepherd, who with his wife, Esma, had just flown up from London where he had been compering a Scottish Fiddle Orchestra Concert, read the poem to the company with a depth of expression and feeling which made these very minutes very poignant indeed for all present.
The most appropriate way to follow these more serious moments was with music, so as time was marching on it was straight into the customary ceilidh or ‘Celebrity Box and Fiddle Club’ as it has come to be known.
The opening spot was taken by the guest of honour himself, teaming up with Angus Fitchet on fiddle and on second accordion, making a very welcome first appearance at the A.G.M. Weekend, Davie Stewart of Kirriemuir, an ex-member of the Jimmy Blue Band. What is the secret of this eternal youth? Like Jim Johnstone, Davie has Cliff Richard left standing at the post. However, jealousy will get me nowhere.
The line-up of the six piece was completed by Joan on the piano, Jack Cooper on drums and Billy Craib on double bass. Hearing Angus’ characteristic sound coming through loud and clear, one would never have guessed that arthritis in his hands had severely curtailed his playing of late. But the chance of a tune seems to be real therapy and the fingers work away great style.
The first offering was a set of jigs followed by Archibald MacNeill’s pipe waltz ‘Gareloch’ an attractive tune which I believe Jimmy recorded many years ago. He has always had a good ‘nose’ for tunes and was first to feature several which caught on, the above for one, ‘Willie Tait’, ‘The Ladies from Hell’, O’Kane’s March’ and so on.
The six piece band had a nice sound and finished up with a Blue set for ‘Maxwell’s Rant’. They all made it look so easy. With the spot over Jimmy could now completely relax for the rest of the afternoon. As befitted this very special occasion, other members of the family were out in force. Joan’s sister, Margaret, also an ex-member of the Bill Wilkie Orchestra, and Jimmy and Joan’s two daughters, Virginia and Sandra, with their husbands and families.
Virginia’s husband is Dougie Gollan and they have a girl and a boy, Katy amd Murray, and Sandra has two girls, Rhoda and Polly, her man being Ronnie Simpson. The four grandchildren were impeccably behaved throughout the proceedings, a credit to their parents.
The musical talent of Granny and Grandad, in this case, more specifically Granny, has been handed down in that Virginia and Sandra are both good singers as are their husbands and halfway through the ceilidh they joined forced to form a quartet and treated us to a couple of very tuneful folk songs, tastefully executed. This is the type of music in which they specialise albeit as two independent duos.
Because of the time factor, groups were the order of the day. Leading respective bands on piano accordion were Simon Howie and Ian McCallum and on 3-row button key, Fred Bremner from Caithness and Robert Clelland from the same airt on second accordion – it was very good to meet up with them for the first time. At least two of these bands had Ian Powrie on fiddle and Anne and Maureen Rutherford on piano.
‘Solo’ turns backed by the Jim Johnstone Band (which was augmented with Hamish Smith on 2nd box) were the already mentioned Willie McGuire and Ivor Britton on 5-row who practiced what he preached playing laid-back pipe stuff pointed to perfection. I’m sure the players concerned won’t mind me saying it, but with the J.J. band behind them, they had never sounded better.
Incidentally, one of Ivor’s latest ploys is recording selections for ‘dressage’ horses, but in so doing our human failings have come to light. Where we think in terms of 8 and 16 bars and so on, horses know that a realistic sequence is 17 or 25 bars! How stupid can we be.
And would you believe that Willie McGuire could be too shy to play something in public? Well’ he was on that Sunday. He had composed a strathspey for the occasion ‘Billy McGuire’s Compliments to Jimmy and Joan Blue’ and a good, traditional one it is, but he was too bashful to air it.
Many other notable players were present but declined to play through nerves, no instrument, or whatever reason, Florence Burns, Ian Holmes, Ian Thomson, Neil Copland and others. Addie Harper from Wick and his wife, Isobel, were going to join the two Caithness accordionists for a tune but unfortunately had to head off north before their turn came around – sincere apologies to them and hopefully some of the above-mentioned can be persuaded to oblige on a future occasion.
Regretfully, another great weekend had to be wound up at around 6.30 p.m. with Jim Johnstone and his Band leading the company in the customary Harry Lauder sing-along and just before ‘Auld Lang Syne’ votes of thanks were proposed to the performers who had entertained us and to the staff of the Station Hotel who, as always, had served us so well throughout and who have become more like friends as the years have passed.
Finally, and most importantly to that self-effacing soul who takes the entire organisation and I mean entire on his own shoulders and works like a beaver for many, many months before the event, and throughout the whole weekend to ensure that all of us can have an absolutely first class and care-free couple of days. His organizational skills have no equal. When the weekend is over he is completely drained but he still has all the loose ends to tie up. Jack Cooper, we salute you!
Record Review
by Norrie Williams
Tartan Tonic – Altitude – Ayrespin AYRC128
Capital Reels – The Auld Reekie SDB – Lismor LICS5190
Bon Accord – Danielle Pauly & Neil Sinclair NBCS1014
Magic Fingers – Deirdre Adamson – DACS9006
The Palomino Waltz – Phil Cunningham – GLCD1102
Tony Reid and the Original Glendaruel SDB
Tribute – Jim Johnstone SDB – CTP039
A Scottish Fancy – Jimmy Shand and his Band – GRCD37
Letters to the Editor
Sir – Joan and I would like to thank the N.A.A.F.C., and all its members, for the memorable day which they gave us on Sunday, 24th June.
It will be a long time before we forget the warmth of those present, and the happy atmosphere. We are indeed very proud of the portrait which hangs on the wall over the piano, and I must confess we get a lot of pleasure out of gazing at it! (Hope it doesn’t do a Dorian Gray on us!)
There are so many people to thank, but I would especially mention Willie and Elma Wilson who were so helpful in arranging for the photographic session away back last November, and for other kindnesses too numerous to mention ; Ian Powrie, Jim Johnstone and Bobby Crowe for their heart-warming and humorous speeches ; Norrie Williams who made such a wonderful job of linking the speeches – his sincerity shone through ; Robbie Shepherd for reading so movingly the beautiful poem which Andy Stewart wrote ; Jimmy Shand for presenting the portrait in his own couthy way ; Jack Cooper – no-one could guess at how much work he does in preparation for the weekend, which, every year, seems to get better and better ; and Andrew Nairn, and other members of my Committee, who are such a support at the A.G.M. and such great company during the rest of the weekend. I am a very fortunate man to have so many ‘guid freen’s’.
My family, and Joan and I want to thank one and all very sincerely for this marvelous gift.
Jimmy Blue
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Dee Motel) –
Alnwick (Golden Fleece) – members only
Arbroath ( ) -
Armadale (Masonic Arms Hotel) – 6th Sept 90 Fraser McGlynn Trio
Ayr (Gartferry Hotel) –
Balloch (St Kessog’s Hall) –
Banchory (Burnett Arms Hotel) –
Banff & District (Royal Oak Hotel) –
Beith & District (Hotel de Croft, Dalry) –
Belford (Community Club) –
Biggar (Municipal Hall) – 9th Sept 90 Simon Howie SDB
Blairgowrie (Moorfield Hotel) - 11th Sept 90 Jim Johnstone SDB
Bridge of Allan (Walmer Hotel) -
Buchan (Buchaness Hotel) –
Button Key (Windygates Institute) –
Callander (Glengarry Hotel) –
Campbeltown (Royal Hotel) –
Castle Douglas (Ernespie Hotel) –
Coalburn (Miners Welfare) -
Crieff & District (Drummond Arms Hotel)
Dalriada (Royal Hotel, Lochgilphead) –
Derwentside (Working Men’s Club, Consett) –
Dingwall (National Hotel) –
Dunblane (Westlands Hotel) – 18th Sept 90 Jennifer Forrest SDB
Dundee (The Marquee) –
Dunfermline (Northern Roadhouse) –
Dunoon & Cowal (McColl’s Hotel)
East Kilbride (King’s Park Hotel, Rutherglen) – 27th Sept 90 Lothian SDB
Ellon (Ladbroke Hotel) –
Etterick & Yarrow (Gordon Arms) -
Fintry (Fintry Sports Centre) –
Forfar (Plough Inn) -
Forres (Brig Motel) – 12th Sept 90 Fraser McGlynn Trio
Fort William (Alexandra Hotel) –
Galashiels (Maxwell Hotel) –
Galston (Theo’s Restaurant, Galston) –
Glendale (Black Bull Hotel – Wooler) –
Highland (Drumossie Hotel) –
Isle of Skye -
Islesteps (Driveway Inn) –
Kelso (Ednam House Hotel) –
Kinlochshiel (Tingle Creek Hotel) -
Kintore (Crown Hotel) – 5th Sept 90 Alistair Hunter Trio
Langholm (Crown Hotel) –
Lesmahagow (Masonic Hall) – 13th Sept 90 Roger Dobson SDB
Livingston (Golden Circle Hotel, Bathgate)
Lockerbie (Bluebell Hotel) -
Mauchline (The Jean Armour Restaurant) 18th Sept 90 Ballochmyle Ceilidh Band
M.A.F.I.A. (Masonic Hall, Milngavie) –
Montrose (Park Hotel) –
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) –
North Cumbria (Golden Fleece, Ruleholme) (prev called Gretna Club) –
North East (Seafield Hotel, Keith) –
Oban (Highlander Restaurant) –
Orkney ( venue?) –
Ormiston (Miners’ Welfare Social Club) – 20th Sept 90 Simon Howie SDB
Peebles (Greentree Hotel) –
Perth (Station Hotel) – 18th Sept 90 Bill Black SDB
Premier NI (Camlin function Rooms) -
Renfrew (Masonic Hall, Broadloom) –
Rothbury (Jubilee Hall) -
Shetland (venue?) -
Thornhill (?)
Thurso (McKay’s Hotel) –
Turriff (Royal Oak Hotel) –
Tynedale (Hexham Ex Service Club) –
Wick (McKay’s Hotel) –
Wooler ( ) -
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Alnwick
2. Banff
3. Beith
4. Belford
5. Biggar
6. Blairgowrie
7. Castle Douglas
8. Dunblane
9. Dunoon & Cowal
10. East Kilbride
11. Etterick & Yarrow
12. Forres
13. Highland
14. Kelso
15. Kintore
16. Lesmahagow
17. Montrose
18. Newtongrange
19. Peebles
20. Renfrew
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT SEPT 1989 (Clubs didn’t necessarily notify the Assoc when they closed so the following may not be entirely correct. Only the clubs submitting the reports above were definitely open.)
1. Aberdeen A&F Club (1975)
2. Acharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
3. Alnwick A&F Club (Sept 1976)
4. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months)
5. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue)
6. Banchory A&F Club (1978)
7. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973)
8. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition)
9. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
10. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974)
11. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
12. Button Key A&F Club (
13. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980)
14. Coalburn A&F Club
15. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
16. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981)
17. Derwentside A&F Club
18. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
19. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971)
20. Dundee & District A&F Club
21. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
22. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
23. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980)
24. Ellon A&F Club (
25. Etterick & Yarrow (Jan 1989 -
26. Fintry A&F Club
27. Forfar A&F Club
28. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
29. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F)
30. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
31. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
32. Glendale Accordion Club (Jan 1973)
33. Highland A&F Club (Inverness)
34. Islesteps A&F Club (Jan 1981)
35. Isle of Skye A&F Club (
36. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976)
37. Kintore A&F Club
38. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967)
39. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
40. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – per first edition)
41. Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973)
42. M.A.F.I.A. (early)
43. Mauchline A&F Club (first mention 1986?)
44. Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
45. Mull A&F Club
46. Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1979)
47. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
48. North Cumbria A&F Club (originally Gretna started June 1966 – had to move to a venue in the North of England and changed name – eventually changed back when they returned to the Halcrow Stadium. No breaks in the continuity of the Club)
49. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971)
50. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975)
51. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978)
52. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club
53. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981)
54. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970)
55. Premier A&F Club NI (cNov 1980)
56. Rothbury Accordion Club (1987??)
57. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978)
58. Sutherland A&F Club (
59. Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition)
60. Thurso A&F Club (cSept 1981)
61. Turriff A&F Club (March 1982)
62. Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980)
63. Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership or omitted in error?)
64. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition)
65. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
66. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
67. Buchan A&F Club
68. Callander A&F Club (
69. Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980)
70. Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
71. Club Accord
72. Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2?)
73. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
74. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
75. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
76. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
77. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughtons) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
78. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
79. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
80. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
81. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
82. Gretna A&F Club (June 1966)
83. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
84. Kinlochsheil A&F Club (
85. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
86. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
87. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
88. Newcastleton Accordion Club
89. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
90. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984)
91. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
92. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
93. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
94. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
95. Wellbank A&F Club
Advertising rates
Full Page - £92
Half Page - £46
Quarter Page - £23
B&F Treasurer – Mrs Margaret Smith, Smeaton Farm Cottage, Dalkeith, Midlothian.
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Here we go again. Now that the long, hot summer seems to have cooled a bit, we are all preparing for another season of Accordion and fiddle music and the ‘B&F’ enters its 14th Year.
The Gathering
The Annual Gathering of the Association in the Station Hotel was once more an outstanding success. The A.G.M. was probably one of the best meetings yet, and I was particularly delighted with the discussion on the ‘B&F’ and the general support shown by the delegates for the proposals out to the meeting.
Price Increase
The meeting voted in favour of a price increase of the paper to 50p at Club level. It is hoped that the circulation levels will be at least maintained and perhaps increased. The additional £150 or so income each month should help to square the books in the new season. Unfortunately however, the deficit for 89/90 will not be recovered.
The New Logo
You will have noticed the new logo at the top of the front page. During last season, the logo had been dicscuused at one or two meetings of the Executive Committee. It was felt that perhaps a change was needed. Then out of the blue, I received a helping hand from Joe Gordon. Joe had been reading the paper and had felt that the logo wasn’t quite what it should be. So he got to work and his effort is there for all to see. My sincere thanks to Joe. Any comments?
Tom Clark
1990 Weekend Gathering
“Like Flea Fishin’ wi’ Baith Feet in one Welly”
by Norrie Williams
The 3-row British Chromatic accordion has limitations – or so they say. Well, you could have fooled me and likewise at least 180 other folk in the ballroom of the Perth Station Hotel on Sunday afternoon, the 24th June. For around 6 p.m. om that date, Willie McGuire of Dysart, hitched to his ‘Paolo Soprani’ button key and backed by the Jim Johnstone Band played an absolute stormer, a real show stopper, finishing up with that classic ‘Under the Double Eagle’.
Willie, the 1987 Perth Champion and twice winner of the Musselburgh Button Key class, is an incredible player, carrying forward the Will Starr magic embellished and developed in his own particular style.
‘Under the Double Eagle’ incidentally, was an encore requested by N.A.A.F.C. Chairman Jimmy Blue, whose special day it was. He was deservedly being honoured for his dedication and unstinting hard work as Chairman of the National Association over the past fifteen years, and not all of them a ‘bed of roses’.
However, Jimmy is noted for his tenacity and determination and by building on the experience gained during the bumpier passages, he has grown greatly in stature in the lead chair, fulfils his duties most effectively, and commands considerable respect.
But to switch back to Saturday mid-day, and weel kent faces from all parts were congregating in the hotel foyer, full of anticipation at the prospect of another great weekend of companionship, and I quote you-know-who – ‘our kind of music’. Even Jim Johnstone himself, who had just completed a hectic on tour band show with Rudy Meeks – the final performance being in Northumberland on the previous evening – said that despite the arduous schedule and obvious fatigue, he and the band felt really quite buoyed up and excited at the prospect of the Association Weekend.
Come 1 o’clock and with acquaintances new and renewed, it was down to the serious business of attending to the ‘inner man’, in other words, the customary first class lunch accompanied by the first class service which is the hallmark of this particular establishment.
Lunch over, and 40 or 50 satisfied enthusiasts made for the Methven Suite where ‘Fiddle and Accordion Workshops’ were to be held under the tutorage of Messrs. Ian Powrie and Ivor Britton respectively.
Ian was first on, his easy, natural style liberally laced with couthie sayings being as always an immediate hit with the audience. One typical example when referring to a member of the fiddle group, ‘The Cameron Men’, was the descriptive gem….”he had hands like tink’s feet!”. He touched briefly on his own formative years “on the rocky road to being a fiddle player”, numbering among his teachers, Adam Rennie of Coupar Angus, James Ogilvie of Blairgowrie and his son Harry C. Ogilvie, one time member of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom Orchestra and erstwhile bandleader in the Perth Salutation Hotel.
Ian’s introduction to the instrument however, was at the age of 2 or 3, thanks to an old cattleman by the name of Jim Watson, best known for his compositions such as ‘The Links of Love’ and ‘The Sidlaw Hills’. Jim and Ian’s dad (‘The Angus Ploughman’) used to duet on fiddle and melodeon respectively, while wee Ian sat on the rug and scraped away with a ‘bow’ on a stick and sugar-twine contraption supplied by Jim. From those humble beginnings our man reached graduate standard under James Ogilvie’s guidance.
On the mechanics of fiddle playing, Ian stressed the importance of holding the instrument properly and of a good stance. With regard to the former, Ian and the aforementioned Harry C. Ogilvie differed somewhat in that Ian felt it ….”was easier pouin neeps than playing without moving your airms a la H.C.O.!” and on the matter of stance, the feet should be apart because …”playing with the legs together is like flea fishin’ wi’ baith feet in one welly”.
Space precludes a run-down on all the points raised but the importance of being able to collaborate with other players was highlighted, and illustrated with some excellent unrehearsed empathetic playing from Ian and Maureen Rutherford on piano
Then, as a fitting conclusion to his presentation, Ian invited a member of the audience, none other than Florence Burns herself – well known as both a solo player and as a fiddler with the Alastair Hunter Band – to come up and try out some brand new instruments made by one Duncan MacDonald, a native of Eigg, now a resident of Tullibardine, near Auchterarder. More of this in a moment.
Playing the slow air ‘Coilsfield House’ and with Ian supplying the harmony line on his ‘Matthew Hardie’, Florence put up a great performance on no less than 5 completely strange fiddles with evocative names such as ‘Strathardle’, ‘Strathtummel’, ‘Catrina’ and so on. The audience were invited to ‘judge’ the instrument, the measure of agreement being quite surprising, with two in particular standing out – no names, no pack drill.
And so ended a most enjoyable first half with Ian handing over to Duncan MacDonald to answer any questions on fiddle making or choosing a fiddle.
Duncan’s hobby of fiddle making started 17 years ago, his total to date being 50 with number 51 already on the stocks. The greatest number produced in any one year was 4.
For the Saturday afternoon workshop he had laid out a most intriguing display showing the various stages of fiddle construction from the rough blocks to the finished article. This layout evoked great interest and the audience fairly milled around, bombarding Duncan with a fair barrage of questions. It was fascinating to learn of the number of different woods which can be used, the basic three being maple,pine and ebony, with beech, cherry and yew as alternatives for certain components – comparatively small blocks of the various timbers being anything but cheap.
Following the shaping of the various parts – which is done almost entirely by hand – and the assembly, comes the treatment of the body etc. A ‘labour of love’ if ever there was one. After a sealing coat of linseed oil and then a base oil coat with colouring, no less than 12 to 18 coats of Italian oil varnish have to be applied, each coat taking 7-10 days to dry under good conditions and up to 14 in indifferent weather. I asked Duncan about mass produced fiddles such as those manufactured in China and Japan. Apparently, one can be lucky and get a reasonable one, but many have to be drastically doctored before they are any use.
This wee informal exhibition of the fiddle makers’ art was a real eye opener and left on quite staggered at the patience and craftsmanship required, but my goodness, by the tone of some of Duncan’s fiddles, he certainly has both these attributes in full measure.
Now, how do you follow a double act of the Powrie/MacDonald calibre? Difficult, maybe but it was successfully achieved on that Saturday afternoon after a short break for leg stretching and perusal of the ‘Rogue’s Gallery’ of Scottish Dance Bands past and present.
The answer was another double act, this time 5 row button key player Ivor Britton and his accomplice, a 3-row man, none other than Dr Sandy Tulloch of Dundee. Ivor’s theme was ‘Pipe music on the accordion’, arguably the closest approach one can have to heaven while still on this planet. Add to this the fact that the G#s on his box were in mint condition (because they had seldom, if ever, been used!) and one has the recipe for bliss, perfect bliss.
A native of Inveraray, now resident in Giffnock and lead accordion in the Bobby Harvey Band for the last 30 years, Ivor started at the age of five with a set of imitation toy bagpipes made out of bamboo sticks and a stuffed bag – an uncanny parallel to Ian’s humble beginnings.
John MacDonald, the Duke of Atholl’s personal piper was the young lad’s idol, he followed him closely like a shadow as he marched up and down, so close in fact that on one occasion when he and the piper did not ‘about-turn’ together the ensuing heap took some sorting out. It would have been interesting to hear the variation on the theme as the pipes descended to ground level.
The next step was a 10 key melodeon bough by Grandad and as there were no local music teachers it was a case of being self taught with a wee bit of polishing up by Tony Verrichia when Ivor moved into the Glasgow area. Then playing a 3-row Shand Morino he won Perth in 1961 and a few years later switched to 5-row, his current model being a ‘Bugari’.
During his opening remarks, Ivor donned his accordion and demonstrated the correct hold and positioning of the instrument stressing the importance of shoulder strap adjustment and use of a backstrap “as in golf, accordion and player should be as one”.
He then went on to the subject of tackling a new tune. First one learns the piece using eyes (or ears), the brain and the fingers and then one learns to play it using the brain, bellows and fingers, the bellows giving the expression and light and shade, which answers in part the question “Why play pipe music on the accordion, why not just use the pipes?” Well, in the case of the pipes, air is supplied at constant pressure from the bag which in turn gives constant volume from chanter and drones, so to get expression the piper has only one option open viz. to point the tunes, i.e. to play some notes as if double dotted and others shorter than written. On the other hand the accordion player can express not only the pointing, but by varying the volume using bellows control.
In addition to pointing pipers embellish their music with myriads of grace notes, the two hands on the chanter giving them the edge here as an accordionist can only imitate these clusters of notes. At this point, Ivor broke new ground as far as yours truly and the majority of those present were concerned, with an excellent visual presentation on cards of a number of pipe music delicacies such as ‘Doubling’, ‘Birl’, ‘Taorluath’, ‘Grip’ and so on and how these can be adapted for accordion. Each was, of course, demonstrated on the box.
Incidentally, it had originally been intended to publish Ivor’s ingenious illustrations in the ‘B&F’ but I understand that there is every possibility of these appearing in a forthcoming University of Stirling publication, the co-authors to be Ivor himself, and P/M John MacKenzie, the retiring Piping Instructor at the Queen Victoria School, Dunblane. This should be worth waiting for and we will keep you informed of future developments.
Again space precludes further enlargement on the content of this most interesting talk, but amongst other things the correct interpretation of 2/4’s and 6/8 marches was covered and by special request Ivor finished up playing a competition 2/4 at the same time demonstrating the piper’s ‘delve’. Another fascinating session giving much food for thought.
And then it was a free-for-all to view the hardware, some to Duncan’s layout and some to Sandy Tulloch’s stall where an ancient ‘low expression’ – to quote the good doctor – Scandinavian 5-row ‘Hagstrom’ accordion had been disemboweled to show the action, reed blocks, pallets etc.
Although not into accordion repairing, Sandy is very good with his hands, has an enquiring mind and is very knowledgeable indeed on every facet of accordion construction and operation. This encyclopedic knowledge was clearly demonstrated in a most interesting 4 page hand-out on the Shand Morino which he had produced for the occasion.
A truly worthwhile and informative afternoon. Congratulations to all concerned.
Next on the agenda was dinner (sounds so posh) and a first class one at that, followed by the ‘jiggin’, until 1 a.m. on Sunday, to the Jim Johnstone Band. At the risk of being a complete bore, I repeat once again that this group may have its peers but none better. The choice of tunes is excellent, the standard of playing is of the highest order and has remained consistently so over the years.
Each year the programme is becoming progressively more varied, thanks to the current upsurge in popularity of the old-tyme dances, but whatever the dance, this band has the tempo just right. It played a 5-piece on this occasion, no second accordion, and with Bobby Brown back on piano – a pleasure to have him with us – and everyone I spoke to voted it one of the best dances we have had – the floor was jumping throughout.
The half time relief band, led by Kevin Clark of Dundee (Craigowl Band) had Dad (Tom Clark) on second accordion, Ian Powrie on fiddle, Owen Fielding from Glasgow on piano and Jack Cooper on drums. As would be expected from this line-up we got another competent performance, a very fitting stand-in for the main band.
At the end of the dance and with strong resolve we headed for a bit of ‘shut-eye’ so as to be up betimes, fresh for the A.G.M. But the strong resolve weakened when we heard the strains of a fiddle/accordion combination emanating from a side room. It sounded good and on investigation found Ian Powrie, Tom Clark and Sandy Tulloch on piano and button key respectively, David Shand on drums and a fair handful of listeners.So, we squatted on the floor to enjoy 5 minutes or so. An unoccupied Shand Morino sat on the table and by the harness it was likely to be that of the senior man himself. This proved to be the case, because we were just leaving and the wee group was playing ‘The Dundee City Police Pipe Band’ when in walked the composer, Jimmy Shand Snr. He was persuaded to don his instrument, the remnants of our strong resolve shot out the window and we settled down in sheer contentment to enjoy a good half to three quarters of an hour, right off the top.
The lead had changed from time to time, yes, but the unmistakable legendary ‘dunt’ was there for all to hear, with the result that the room filled up rapidly requiring more and more chairs to be brought in. what a glorious way to round off the evening.
11 a.m. on the Sunday and the A.G.M. kicked off with the Methven Room as full as I’ve seen it, a most gratifying turnout with a row of Peebles representatives in the front row resplendent in their new Club ties, and their normal clothes as well of course! It really is great to see this demonstration of pride in one’s own Club as well as supporting the Association. The meeting turned out to be one of the most enjoyable for some time with good constructive discussion and proposals.
Because the Sunday afternoon programme this year included a presentation and the attendant speechifying, the start of the lunch was advanced by one hour to 1 o’clock. After a 10 or 15 minute nail-biting search for the guest of honour and his wife, who had been patiently waiting to be called – the Jim Johnstone Band eventually launched into the Jimmy Blue composition ‘The Balintore Fisherman’ the assembly of close on 200 stood, and the principal guests filed in, Mr and Mrs Bobby Crowe, Mr and Mrs Angus Fitchet, Mr and Mrs Ian Powrie and Mr and Mrs Jimmy Shand Snr. A nifty change into two flats for ‘The Laird of Forgandenny’ (composed by Bobby Crowe in 1988) and enter the guests of honour, the ‘Laird’ himself and his wife, alias Jimmy and Joan Blue. At least, that had been the intention but they startled everyone by arriving at their places about 32 bars early – but it all adds to the fun! A welcome from the M.C., the Selkirk Grace and battle commenced.
When all the appetizing nosh had been safely tucked away it was down to the main business of the gathering, which was to pay tribute to our chairman for all his graft on our behalf over the past 15 years. Bobby MacLeod and Andy Stewart had both sent messages of congratulations and apologies for being unable to attend for health reasons and two congratulatory letters were read out, the first in copperplate handwriting from 87 year old, 3-row player, Hamish McLaren of Auchterarder, one of Jimmy Blue’s earliest bandleaders and the second from well-known composer, piper and fiddle player, Iain Peterson. Then a very humorous poem from Jean Callan of Chapelton, near Strathaven, in Lanarkshire, recalling the occasion when Jimmy and his band turned up there to play for a dance and the piano was garbage. Jimmy’s remarks were not quoted in the spiel but they must have been persuasive because a substitute instrument was quickly procured and from that moment on, an electric piano became part of the standard kit.
Finally, best wishes and a fine bouquet of flowers from Bill and Ena Wilkie were presented – the couple had just left that very day for a holiday in France.
Now a few brief words of personal appreciation from the M.C. and it was time for the first ‘turn’ of the afternoon, and what a ‘turn’, a golfing friend of our Jimmy, the one and only Ronnie Dale. I had seen this man in action on one or two previous occasions and knew how good he was but he excelled himself on this occasion and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house – with laughing. Almost every syllable he uttered was funny. He touched on his friendship with Jimmy and how on one occasion on a certain golf course, our Chairman had got bunkered and after many attempts to extract himself, a bystander who had been watching his efforts assumed that he worked there!
To finish off his spot and backed by the Jim Johnstone Band, Ron gave a brilliant rendition of the ‘Duke of Perth’ …’Jimmy taught me this tune’….on his diminutive concertina which won him a deafening response from the audience. As an encore a sing-along selection. Absolutely great stuff, a one-off professional.
At this point the first of the three speakers who were to pay their individual tributes took the floor. For the second time in 24 hours, Ian Powrie’s inimitable off-the-cuff couthy delivery and humour fairly took the trick. His wee anecdotes always have a delightful agricultural bias and he recounted how, with a full time job on the farm and a demanding dance band schedule, often many miles from home, it wasn’t unusual for Jimmy Blue to be chopping ‘neeps’ at 7 a.m. dressed in a dinner suit and bow tie!
Jim Johnstone, who had played 2nd accordion with the Jimmy Blue Band for some time followed Ian. Jim, of course, also has a very relaxed manner and ready wit and was warm in his praise of the ‘Laird’ – he had really enjoyed his time with the band.
The principal speaker was Bobby Crowe, a great friend of Jimmy and Joan. Bobby had done his homework and had a prepared speech which traced J.B.’s musical background and his progress up the musical ladder in considerable detail (hence the written notes). There is no need to expound that career here, as it will be covered in the next issue.
Bobby wound up with personal reflections on the man himself and it was significant that all three speakers highlighted Jimmy’s determination and single-mindedness, the trait which has, of course, enabled him to ride the storms while in the hot-seat’.
A toast to Jimmy and Joan proposed by the principal speaker brought us to the highlight of the weekend viz. the presentation of the portrait, which was carried out unto the manner born by the gentleman best qualified to perform this duty, the senior statesman of the accordion, Jimmy Shand. Best qualified, because not only had he been the early influence which had turned our guest of honour to the button key instrument but also the ‘Jimmy Shand Shield’ at Perth was won for the first time ever in 1950 and subsequently in 1952 by our Chairman.
Jimmy Shand had originally opted not to speak but when the moment arrived he paid his own tribute. The portrait itself, unveiled by Mr Willie Wilson, Chairman of the Beith Club, really is a topper and shows Jimmy with ‘Guerrini’ 3-row standing beside his wife Joan, who is seated at the piano. It is so very appropriate that they should both feature in the picture, as they have given one another mutual backing and support for so many years, in both the dance music and Club scenes. ‘Behind every successful man, etc, etc’. Certainly, this portrait is a momento of which the couple can be justifiably proud and which will recall so many happy times spent together in the music scene.
I confess to having been slightly anxious on Jimmy’s behalf when it came to the turn to reply because he had confided that he was a bit nervous and understandably so, but when he rose to speak, no-one would have guessed. He was in complete command, fluent and outwardly, at any rate, completely relaxed. He spoke well, without any notes or prompting and with characteristic humour expressing his gratitude not only to the speakers but to all present for coming along and making it a real occasion, and also his obvious genuine delight at the portrait. He reminisced briefly on some of his band experiences, quoting once again some couthy Powrie snippets, for example, returning from a band function in the Inverness area, in the early hours of a very frosty morning, they passed a ploughman away up to ‘sort his horse’ with a flagon under his oxter, hands in his pockets and his cap pulled down over his ears. Quoth Ian “There’s a lad weel up intae his bunnet!” Sheer magic. I can’t remember the context but another one that struck me was – “You can aye tell a fairm loon, but you canna tell him much!” These saying and humour with a rural or agricultural slant are so very right in the context of our music, make us feel comfortable and right at home, naturally I suppose, as the bulk of it would often stem from that type of environment.
As has already been mentioned, Andy Stewart was unable to be present, but he had penned a poem for the occasion, straight from the heart, a very moving composition. Robbie Shepherd, who with his wife, Esma, had just flown up from London where he had been compering a Scottish Fiddle Orchestra Concert, read the poem to the company with a depth of expression and feeling which made these very minutes very poignant indeed for all present.
The most appropriate way to follow these more serious moments was with music, so as time was marching on it was straight into the customary ceilidh or ‘Celebrity Box and Fiddle Club’ as it has come to be known.
The opening spot was taken by the guest of honour himself, teaming up with Angus Fitchet on fiddle and on second accordion, making a very welcome first appearance at the A.G.M. Weekend, Davie Stewart of Kirriemuir, an ex-member of the Jimmy Blue Band. What is the secret of this eternal youth? Like Jim Johnstone, Davie has Cliff Richard left standing at the post. However, jealousy will get me nowhere.
The line-up of the six piece was completed by Joan on the piano, Jack Cooper on drums and Billy Craib on double bass. Hearing Angus’ characteristic sound coming through loud and clear, one would never have guessed that arthritis in his hands had severely curtailed his playing of late. But the chance of a tune seems to be real therapy and the fingers work away great style.
The first offering was a set of jigs followed by Archibald MacNeill’s pipe waltz ‘Gareloch’ an attractive tune which I believe Jimmy recorded many years ago. He has always had a good ‘nose’ for tunes and was first to feature several which caught on, the above for one, ‘Willie Tait’, ‘The Ladies from Hell’, O’Kane’s March’ and so on.
The six piece band had a nice sound and finished up with a Blue set for ‘Maxwell’s Rant’. They all made it look so easy. With the spot over Jimmy could now completely relax for the rest of the afternoon. As befitted this very special occasion, other members of the family were out in force. Joan’s sister, Margaret, also an ex-member of the Bill Wilkie Orchestra, and Jimmy and Joan’s two daughters, Virginia and Sandra, with their husbands and families.
Virginia’s husband is Dougie Gollan and they have a girl and a boy, Katy amd Murray, and Sandra has two girls, Rhoda and Polly, her man being Ronnie Simpson. The four grandchildren were impeccably behaved throughout the proceedings, a credit to their parents.
The musical talent of Granny and Grandad, in this case, more specifically Granny, has been handed down in that Virginia and Sandra are both good singers as are their husbands and halfway through the ceilidh they joined forced to form a quartet and treated us to a couple of very tuneful folk songs, tastefully executed. This is the type of music in which they specialise albeit as two independent duos.
Because of the time factor, groups were the order of the day. Leading respective bands on piano accordion were Simon Howie and Ian McCallum and on 3-row button key, Fred Bremner from Caithness and Robert Clelland from the same airt on second accordion – it was very good to meet up with them for the first time. At least two of these bands had Ian Powrie on fiddle and Anne and Maureen Rutherford on piano.
‘Solo’ turns backed by the Jim Johnstone Band (which was augmented with Hamish Smith on 2nd box) were the already mentioned Willie McGuire and Ivor Britton on 5-row who practiced what he preached playing laid-back pipe stuff pointed to perfection. I’m sure the players concerned won’t mind me saying it, but with the J.J. band behind them, they had never sounded better.
Incidentally, one of Ivor’s latest ploys is recording selections for ‘dressage’ horses, but in so doing our human failings have come to light. Where we think in terms of 8 and 16 bars and so on, horses know that a realistic sequence is 17 or 25 bars! How stupid can we be.
And would you believe that Willie McGuire could be too shy to play something in public? Well’ he was on that Sunday. He had composed a strathspey for the occasion ‘Billy McGuire’s Compliments to Jimmy and Joan Blue’ and a good, traditional one it is, but he was too bashful to air it.
Many other notable players were present but declined to play through nerves, no instrument, or whatever reason, Florence Burns, Ian Holmes, Ian Thomson, Neil Copland and others. Addie Harper from Wick and his wife, Isobel, were going to join the two Caithness accordionists for a tune but unfortunately had to head off north before their turn came around – sincere apologies to them and hopefully some of the above-mentioned can be persuaded to oblige on a future occasion.
Regretfully, another great weekend had to be wound up at around 6.30 p.m. with Jim Johnstone and his Band leading the company in the customary Harry Lauder sing-along and just before ‘Auld Lang Syne’ votes of thanks were proposed to the performers who had entertained us and to the staff of the Station Hotel who, as always, had served us so well throughout and who have become more like friends as the years have passed.
Finally, and most importantly to that self-effacing soul who takes the entire organisation and I mean entire on his own shoulders and works like a beaver for many, many months before the event, and throughout the whole weekend to ensure that all of us can have an absolutely first class and care-free couple of days. His organizational skills have no equal. When the weekend is over he is completely drained but he still has all the loose ends to tie up. Jack Cooper, we salute you!
Record Review
by Norrie Williams
Tartan Tonic – Altitude – Ayrespin AYRC128
Capital Reels – The Auld Reekie SDB – Lismor LICS5190
Bon Accord – Danielle Pauly & Neil Sinclair NBCS1014
Magic Fingers – Deirdre Adamson – DACS9006
The Palomino Waltz – Phil Cunningham – GLCD1102
Tony Reid and the Original Glendaruel SDB
Tribute – Jim Johnstone SDB – CTP039
A Scottish Fancy – Jimmy Shand and his Band – GRCD37
Letters to the Editor
Sir – Joan and I would like to thank the N.A.A.F.C., and all its members, for the memorable day which they gave us on Sunday, 24th June.
It will be a long time before we forget the warmth of those present, and the happy atmosphere. We are indeed very proud of the portrait which hangs on the wall over the piano, and I must confess we get a lot of pleasure out of gazing at it! (Hope it doesn’t do a Dorian Gray on us!)
There are so many people to thank, but I would especially mention Willie and Elma Wilson who were so helpful in arranging for the photographic session away back last November, and for other kindnesses too numerous to mention ; Ian Powrie, Jim Johnstone and Bobby Crowe for their heart-warming and humorous speeches ; Norrie Williams who made such a wonderful job of linking the speeches – his sincerity shone through ; Robbie Shepherd for reading so movingly the beautiful poem which Andy Stewart wrote ; Jimmy Shand for presenting the portrait in his own couthy way ; Jack Cooper – no-one could guess at how much work he does in preparation for the weekend, which, every year, seems to get better and better ; and Andrew Nairn, and other members of my Committee, who are such a support at the A.G.M. and such great company during the rest of the weekend. I am a very fortunate man to have so many ‘guid freen’s’.
My family, and Joan and I want to thank one and all very sincerely for this marvelous gift.
Jimmy Blue
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Dee Motel) –
Alnwick (Golden Fleece) – members only
Arbroath ( ) -
Armadale (Masonic Arms Hotel) – 6th Sept 90 Fraser McGlynn Trio
Ayr (Gartferry Hotel) –
Balloch (St Kessog’s Hall) –
Banchory (Burnett Arms Hotel) –
Banff & District (Royal Oak Hotel) –
Beith & District (Hotel de Croft, Dalry) –
Belford (Community Club) –
Biggar (Municipal Hall) – 9th Sept 90 Simon Howie SDB
Blairgowrie (Moorfield Hotel) - 11th Sept 90 Jim Johnstone SDB
Bridge of Allan (Walmer Hotel) -
Buchan (Buchaness Hotel) –
Button Key (Windygates Institute) –
Callander (Glengarry Hotel) –
Campbeltown (Royal Hotel) –
Castle Douglas (Ernespie Hotel) –
Coalburn (Miners Welfare) -
Crieff & District (Drummond Arms Hotel)
Dalriada (Royal Hotel, Lochgilphead) –
Derwentside (Working Men’s Club, Consett) –
Dingwall (National Hotel) –
Dunblane (Westlands Hotel) – 18th Sept 90 Jennifer Forrest SDB
Dundee (The Marquee) –
Dunfermline (Northern Roadhouse) –
Dunoon & Cowal (McColl’s Hotel)
East Kilbride (King’s Park Hotel, Rutherglen) – 27th Sept 90 Lothian SDB
Ellon (Ladbroke Hotel) –
Etterick & Yarrow (Gordon Arms) -
Fintry (Fintry Sports Centre) –
Forfar (Plough Inn) -
Forres (Brig Motel) – 12th Sept 90 Fraser McGlynn Trio
Fort William (Alexandra Hotel) –
Galashiels (Maxwell Hotel) –
Galston (Theo’s Restaurant, Galston) –
Glendale (Black Bull Hotel – Wooler) –
Highland (Drumossie Hotel) –
Isle of Skye -
Islesteps (Driveway Inn) –
Kelso (Ednam House Hotel) –
Kinlochshiel (Tingle Creek Hotel) -
Kintore (Crown Hotel) – 5th Sept 90 Alistair Hunter Trio
Langholm (Crown Hotel) –
Lesmahagow (Masonic Hall) – 13th Sept 90 Roger Dobson SDB
Livingston (Golden Circle Hotel, Bathgate)
Lockerbie (Bluebell Hotel) -
Mauchline (The Jean Armour Restaurant) 18th Sept 90 Ballochmyle Ceilidh Band
M.A.F.I.A. (Masonic Hall, Milngavie) –
Montrose (Park Hotel) –
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) –
North Cumbria (Golden Fleece, Ruleholme) (prev called Gretna Club) –
North East (Seafield Hotel, Keith) –
Oban (Highlander Restaurant) –
Orkney ( venue?) –
Ormiston (Miners’ Welfare Social Club) – 20th Sept 90 Simon Howie SDB
Peebles (Greentree Hotel) –
Perth (Station Hotel) – 18th Sept 90 Bill Black SDB
Premier NI (Camlin function Rooms) -
Renfrew (Masonic Hall, Broadloom) –
Rothbury (Jubilee Hall) -
Shetland (venue?) -
Thornhill (?)
Thurso (McKay’s Hotel) –
Turriff (Royal Oak Hotel) –
Tynedale (Hexham Ex Service Club) –
Wick (McKay’s Hotel) –
Wooler ( ) -
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Alnwick
2. Banff
3. Beith
4. Belford
5. Biggar
6. Blairgowrie
7. Castle Douglas
8. Dunblane
9. Dunoon & Cowal
10. East Kilbride
11. Etterick & Yarrow
12. Forres
13. Highland
14. Kelso
15. Kintore
16. Lesmahagow
17. Montrose
18. Newtongrange
19. Peebles
20. Renfrew
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT SEPT 1989 (Clubs didn’t necessarily notify the Assoc when they closed so the following may not be entirely correct. Only the clubs submitting the reports above were definitely open.)
1. Aberdeen A&F Club (1975)
2. Acharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
3. Alnwick A&F Club (Sept 1976)
4. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months)
5. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue)
6. Banchory A&F Club (1978)
7. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973)
8. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition)
9. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
10. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974)
11. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
12. Button Key A&F Club (
13. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980)
14. Coalburn A&F Club
15. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
16. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981)
17. Derwentside A&F Club
18. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
19. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971)
20. Dundee & District A&F Club
21. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
22. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
23. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980)
24. Ellon A&F Club (
25. Etterick & Yarrow (Jan 1989 -
26. Fintry A&F Club
27. Forfar A&F Club
28. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
29. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F)
30. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
31. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
32. Glendale Accordion Club (Jan 1973)
33. Highland A&F Club (Inverness)
34. Islesteps A&F Club (Jan 1981)
35. Isle of Skye A&F Club (
36. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976)
37. Kintore A&F Club
38. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967)
39. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
40. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – per first edition)
41. Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973)
42. M.A.F.I.A. (early)
43. Mauchline A&F Club (first mention 1986?)
44. Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
45. Mull A&F Club
46. Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1979)
47. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
48. North Cumbria A&F Club (originally Gretna started June 1966 – had to move to a venue in the North of England and changed name – eventually changed back when they returned to the Halcrow Stadium. No breaks in the continuity of the Club)
49. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971)
50. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975)
51. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978)
52. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club
53. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981)
54. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970)
55. Premier A&F Club NI (cNov 1980)
56. Rothbury Accordion Club (1987??)
57. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978)
58. Sutherland A&F Club (
59. Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition)
60. Thurso A&F Club (cSept 1981)
61. Turriff A&F Club (March 1982)
62. Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980)
63. Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership or omitted in error?)
64. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition)
65. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
66. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
67. Buchan A&F Club
68. Callander A&F Club (
69. Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980)
70. Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
71. Club Accord
72. Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2?)
73. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
74. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
75. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
76. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
77. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughtons) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
78. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
79. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
80. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
81. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
82. Gretna A&F Club (June 1966)
83. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
84. Kinlochsheil A&F Club (
85. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
86. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
87. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
88. Newcastleton Accordion Club
89. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
90. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984)
91. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
92. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
93. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
94. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
95. Wellbank A&F Club
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