The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Who was he?
Michael Marra (1952-2012) is widely recognised as one of Scotland’s most innovative and original songwriters.
The range of his work is extraordinary, from the miraculously redemptive (Frida Kahlo’s Visit to the Taybridge Bar) through the angrily political (I am Shirley McKie) to the heartbreakingly poignant (Happed in Mist), warmly celebratory (Niel Gow’s Apprentice) and hilariously funny (Baps and Paste).
He wrote hundreds of songs and many are now regarded as classics which will outlast the products of passing trends and fashions.
Dundee was in his bones and much of his output reflects the dry wit and subversive viewpoint of the city he once described as “a rich, dark, healthy place for art and artists and a beautifully lit vantage point from which to look at the world”.
Having dipped his toe in London’s music industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he realised he preferred to have complete control of his own time and his own work, and came home. Subsequently, he asserted his unique take on life, articulated through his instantly recognisable voice – “gravel stirred in melted chocolate”, as one description has it.
Michael also had a career in theatre, creating words and music for countless shows, acting and directing, and writing his own plays and an operetta. He produced other musicians’ records, worked in television and film, was an accomplished visual artist, wrote short fiction and collaborated with many different performers over the years. He was a great football enthusiast, too, and many of his songs have football themes.
His songs have been covered by many distinguished artists and his contribution to the culture of his home city and of Scotland was acknowledged by honorary doctorates from Dundee and Glasgow Caledonian universities, as well as by other awards both in his lifetime and posthumously.
Five years after his death, he is still much missed and much loved. Michael Marra: Arrest This Moment is the first full-length biography of a man who continues to exert a strong presence across Scottish culture.