Fergus sings the blues ..inspired by landmark
A CRIMINOLOGIST turned singer-songwriter is to host a launch gig following the release of his debut EP, which takes its title from a wellknown spot just outside Barrhead.
Fergus McNeill’s five-track record ‘Johnny Blues Well’ is available now on all major streaming platforms and is already winning fans from as far afield as the USA.
The ultimate theme of the EP is homecoming and local legend suggests the well on Springfield Road was named after a dye worker who stopped there each evening to wash away his stains before heading home.
For 56-year-old Fergus, who grew up in Barrhead, and his childhood friends, the landmark was also a place of transition and escape.
“All these songs are rooted in and inspired by different places I’ve travelled to and from at different stages of life and by my travelling companions, both real and metaphorical,” said Fergus, who is set to play at the Dream Machine, near The Barras, in Glasgow, on Saturday, April 27.
“The EP explores the question of where and with whom we belong, so it feels fitting that it starts with a song that references Japan, which is as far away as I have travelled, but ends with the title track, back where I started in Barrhead.”
Raised in the town in the 1970s and 80s, Fergus went to Barrhead High School and by a “circuitous route” is now a professor of criminology at the University of Glasgow.
In that role, he is well-known globally for his work on rehabilitation and was invited as an expert speaker at the United Nation’s last crime prevention and criminal justice congress in Kyoto in 2021.
Songwriting is a practice he came to late, via his academic work exploring the role of the arts in rehabilitation and reintegration.
The impetus to share his music with a wider audience came when his song ‘Bloodrush’ was chosen from more than 1,300 entries as the winner of a UK songwriting competition.
That success led to a memorable road trip to record the song at Abbey Road Studios before it was released on JAM Records as his debut single in October 2021.
The new EP represents an evolution of the Scottish, contemporary folk-inspired sound Fergus has developed, seasoned by a range of pop, indie, country and blues influences.
For its recording, he was joined by Louis Abbott on percussion, mellotron and additional vocals, Les Back on Dobro steel guitar, Jill O’Sullivan on violin and additional vocals, Graeme Smillie on bass, harmonium, piano and organ and Alison Urie on vocals.
Letting the EP out into the world to do its thing has been a “strange feeling” for Fergus, which he likens to dropping your child off at the school gates for the first time, with very limited control over the next stage of their life.
He is delighted, though, with the reception it has received since its release on March 31 and is now hoping to put together a campervan-enabled acoustic mini-tour of gigs with Alison and Les.
“The songs have been played on BBC Radio Scotland’s Iain Anderson show twice and I was ‘feature artist’ on The Folk Club radio show last week,” said Fergus.
“I also did an interview for Heartland Radio.
“The furthest flung CD order so far is from Texas. The reception for the EP has been very positive.”
To buy a ticket for Saturday’s concert, go online at www.fergusmcneill.com/gigs.