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Scotland's Traditional Music looks
pretty healthy these days - if not in the folk club sector, then
certainly in the number of sessions around, in so many people performing
and recording, in the abundance of outrageously talented youngsters.
Maybe singing is having a harder time of it, as Kevin Mitchell has
said, and perhaps things are also becoming more commercialised:
"A bit too much", is Cathal McConnell's view, "it's taking away
from the music, I'd say". One way or another, though, the scene
is a long way from the beginnings of the folk revival, from the
innocence and enthusiasm existing then but also from the often awful
instruments of those times, from the rather basic tune arrangements,
from the bizarre 'ethnic' accents affected by some singers. Things
have been lost, in short, but things have been gained as well.
Some groups and individuals from that era are still working, as
good as or better than ever, like The Battlefield Band. Most performers
of yesteryear have left the fray: some burned brightly, going out
in a blaze of glory, others, well, they just went out……. Many are
remembered with enormous affection and respect, for their contribution
and for the pleasure they gave. Few of them now would probably want
to be called 'greats'. Yet 'greats' they were, and will always be
known as such.
One trio that comes into the category of reluctant heroes is The
Gaugers. For over thirty years they championed the music of North
East Scotland. They even invented a new way of promoting it, and
Scottish traditional music more generally, with their 'themed presentations'.
Following the death of founder member Peter Hall, however, they
disbanded. Tom Spiers and Arthur Watson, the surviving members of
The Gaugers, still sing together, in a trio with Pete Shepheard,
and in Flash Company, an 'informal conjunction' with the female
a cappella group Palaver.
"My family, particularly on my mothers side, were all good singers."
Tom recalls. "Their repertoire consisted mainly of 'popular' Scottish
songs, but a few, I realised later, were traditional. My Father,
who came from Ayrshire, also enjoyed singing but preferred playing
his moothy, which we hid every year approaching Hogmanay. Unfortunately,
he usually found it. My interest in folk music started in 1962,
when a workmate who knew I played fiddle, invited me along to Aberdeen
Folksong Club. I was hooked immediately."
Arthur is also from Aberdeen. "My family were quite musical. I had
two uncles, with one song apiece. One sang Let The Sun Shine Bright
On Charlie Chaplin, and the other sang Nickie Tams and played the
moothy. My father had a friend who owned a guitar, an incredible
thing for that time, and he sometimes played it at the house. He
led a moothy band too. They were very popular in the 60s, and he
let me try the bass moothy; fortunately, it never took to me. We
had a Folk Club at school, and it was there that I first experienced
a duffel-coated beatnik called Peter Hall. He did an entire repertoire
of unintelligible Geordie songs, which left his young audience stunned
and nearly killed the club in its infancy. His style was a little
extreme in those days."
The Aberdeen Folk Club of their youth was a wild and woolly place,
it seems. All kinds of music could be heard there, a wondrous mix
of Spirituals, Blues and English traditional, alongside powerful
renditions from the likes of Jeannie Robertson, Davie Stewart, Norman
Kennedy, Maggie McPhee and Jimmy McBeath. "We didn't give it much
thought at the time", says Tom, "but the clubs founder, Arthur Argo,
assisted by enthusiasts like Peter Hall, cleverly integrated these
source singers with big crowd pullers like Archie Fisher, Ewan McColl,
and Tom Paxton, ensuring we were 'exposed' to the real thing. It
was a great training ground for anyone interested in traditional
Scottish song."
The first grouping of The Gaugers, in 1965/6, consisted of Peter
Hall (concertina), Tom Spiers (fiddle), John Cormack (guitar), Charlie
Crockett (moothies) and Sandy Cheyne (banjo). "The original line
up was great fun", explains Tom, "but we fairly soon realised the
instruments were swamping the songs and we knew there had to be
a change of direction. There was an amicable discussion, and Charlie
and Sandy, who were more interested in the instrumentals, went their
own way, leaving Peter, John and I to concentrate on the songs.
After a few enjoyable years, John left the group and moved away
from Aberdeen. Ian Hamilton replaced him, but this combination was
short lived, due to differences in musical styles and tastes."
The final, and some would say, definitive line-up, came together
on New Year's Day 1974, after a very enjoyable Hogmanay session
- Arthur Watson joined the group. They virtually abandoned rhythm
instruments like guitars, which they felt forced an unwanted structure
on the songs, and settled for the fiddle, concertina and whistle
combination, which made their sound so distinctive. "These instruments
don't impose a rhythm" said Arthur. "This change of focus gave control
back to the singer, allowing the song, not the accompaniment, to
take precedence."
The new group had no leader as such, but Peter's influence was enormous
due to his own work on field recordings and particularly his knowledge
of the Greig / Duncan collection. Tom recalls "he was so well known
at Kings College library in the 60s, that he had permission to take
the original manuscripts home. He carried them in the front basket
of an old delivery bike". "Yes" said Arthur, "he'd frequently turn
up at practices announcing a new song he'd found, which he knew
we'd like. He was generally right, our tastes were very similar."
"We each had songs, or styles we felt
comfortable with," said Tom, "Peter loved doing comedy songs, the
type which need to be performed rather than just sung. I enjoyed
slower, less rhythmical numbers, and Arthur liked to experiment
with different rhythms on Bothy ballads. But one thing was for certain
- all our songs would be from the North East" "That's right" Arthur
interrupted, "anything from south of Stonehaven would be considered
'World Music'. Broadmindedness has always been our enemy".
As a group, commercial gain never much interested them. As Tom put
it, "We sang primarily for our own enjoyment, and the fact that
like-minded enthusiasts appreciated our interpretation of these
great songs, was a bonus." All three Gaugers were committed to careers
outwith folk music.
As well as their normal club and concert performances, they developed
a series of themed presentations. "At festivals in the afternoons",
explains Arthur, "there was often a shortage of things to do. People
were even known to take drink in these circumstances!" Organisers
were looking for something a little different to offer and we came
up with the idea of presentations, in words and music, on a specific
topic. These could be tailored to suit a particular event or to
fill in a one or two hour spot." Peter's gift for researching was
invaluable to these ventures, and over the years, a number of different
presentations evolved, including 'Sea Songs', 'Farming', 'Love &
Courtship', and of course 'The Fighting Scot'. It took a disproportionate
amount of time to research and piece together these presentations
but "it was a great way to force us to learn new material" recalls
Tom.
Tragically, everything came to a shuddering halt with Peter's untimely
death in 1996. "The Gaugers can't exist without Peter" says Tom,
"his distinctive singing style and tasteful use of concertina were
an integral part of the group. Arthur and I will continue to sing
as a duo, and with others, but out of respect to Peter, the name
will never be used again." It's ironic that there's more interest
in The Gaugers music now than when they were performing. Sleepy
Town records re-released 'The Fighting Scot' and 'Awa wi the Rovin
Sailor' last year and are about to release 'Beware of The Aberdonian'
(originally on Topic) and a retrospective CD called 'No More Forever'.
The last is a mixture of live recordings and practice sessions,
with 3 new songs from Tom and Arthur. It is gratifying to see a
new company making such a commitment to The Gaugers as part of a
wider involvement with North East traditional singers: Two exemplary
collections of Bothy Ballads have already been released, and a major
recording project with Jock Duncan is in progress. Ronnie Cairns
of Sleepy Town Records is to be congratulated on a great start and
we look forward with interest to further releases.
Peter's widow, Marion, kindly loaned his field recordings to Tom,
who is currently transferring them from a variety of tape formats
to Mini Disc for easy access. The problem then is what to do with
them? "They are certainly not of commercial interest, but contain
a wealth of source material for enthusiasts", says Tom. Suggestions
would be welcomed. Tom and Arthur disagree slightly on the current
state of Scottish traditional music. "I'm sad about the demise of
so many clubs" says Tom. "It was the club format that shaped us
and gave us a platform for our music". However, Arthur makes the
point that "there seems to be more singers performing unaccompanied
songs at festivals these days, and that's great.
A particular achievement was the staging
of 'Songs from the Greig ~ Duncan Collection'; twenty-one consecutive
performances, each one different, at the Edinburgh International
Festival of 1995. I was initially approached by Brian McMaster,
the director of the festival, and agreed to explore, along with
Peter, the possibility of the festivals first commitment to indigenous
Scottish music. With advice from Hamish Henderson and Emily Lyle,
we devised a series of presentations using a combination of academics,
traditional and revival singers, on all aspects of the collection.
This involved the festival issuing more contracts than for the whole
of the rest of the festival - although not quite the same amount
of funding! The festival has featured series of traditional concerts,
linked thematically, every year since then."
So, what of the future? Well, both still do their full time jobs.
Tom is technical manager of a paper mill and Arthur, head of graduate
studies at the Art College in Dundee. They make music together regularly.
"Peter's passing somehow gave us a renewed impetus to sing more
as individuals, to build repertoires using his collected recordings
and to reinterpret early Gaugers material. There was a feeling of
wanting to carry Peter's championship of the North East song tradition
forward, both individually and as a duo or with other singers",
believes Arthur. "It's exciting, things change, the world moves
on. There's no point in forever harking back. We like what we do
now - yet I have to admit it'll never be quite the same."
No, it won't, indeed: sadly, 'No More, Forever', as the saying goes……
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