Iain Sutherland
Musician whose band supplied Rod Stewart with one of his biggest hits, ‘Sailing’
IAIN Sutherland, who has died aged 71, was a musician who, with his younger brother Gavin, formed the band Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, and provided Rod Stewart with one of his biggest hits, Sailing.
The brothers’ own version of the song, released in 1972, failed to break into the Top 50; but Stewart was a fan and worked with them on several songs for his Atlantic Crossing album. Only Sailing made the cut, however, and even then Stewart argued forcefully against it being the lead single.
He was proved wildly wrong when the song sailed up the UK charts, hitting the top in September 1975 and staying there for a month. It was also No 1 in several European countries, and had a new lease of life the following year when it was used as the theme song to the BBC documentary series HMS Ark Royal, and again in 1987 when it was re-released as a charity single following the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise at Zeebrugge.
The song had nothing to do with the sea, however. Gavin Sutherland, who wrote it, said: “The song’s got nothing to do with romance or ships; it’s an account of mankind’s spiritual odyssey through life on his way to freedom and fulfilment with the Supreme Being.”
Iain Sutherland was born on November 17, 1948, at Peterhead in Aberdeenshire; Gavin followed in October 1951. It was a musical family: their civil servant father, George, was also leader of a local dance band. In the mid1950s the family moved to Stoke-on-Trent, which proved initially tough for the boys: “My mother sent us to school in kilts the first day so you end up wrestling with everybody in the playground just to prove your manhood,” Iain recalled.
The brothers’ first musical incarnation was as A New Generation in 1968; they had a minor hit with Smokey Blues Away, which drew on a melody in Dvorak’s New World symphony. They morphed into the Sutherland Brothers Band, signing to Island and releasing Sailing, the stand-out track on the Lifeboat album.
In 1973 they joined forces with Quiver, who featured Bruce Thomas, future bassist with Elvis Costello. Sutherland Brothers and Quiver had their biggest hit in 1973 with (I Don’t Want to Love You But) You Got me Anyway, which penetrated the Top 30 in the
US and Canada. In 1976, their single Arms of Mary reached No 5 in the UK and topped the charts in several European countries. The brothers went back to being a duo in 1979 and had one more hit single, Easy Come Easy Go. Iain then largely gave up performing to concentrate on writing; his songs were recorded by, among others, Joan Baez, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young and the Shadows.
Iain Sutherland, who died on November 25, 2019, married Pat in 1976; she survives him with their daughter and son.