The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Sir Jimmy’s accordion is back in the spotlight
music: Acclaimed player to tour with master’s restored instrument
He has been hailed as the new Sir Jimmy Shand. Now, Scotland’s best accordion player in generations has bought the legendary box player’s instrument and will be using it to bring the old master’s sound alive again in a major UK tour.
After painstaking detective work, Brandon McPhee from Castletown in Caithness tracked down Shand’s famous “Hohner Morino” in Belfast.
Shand had four of the instrument built around 1949 and Brandon managed to trace the very first – “number one”.
He paid around £5,000 for the accordion which he then lovingly restored so that it could be played again in public for the first time in decades.
Its sweet sound will now ring out again to audiences for The Jimmy Shand Story, which begins its tour at Belfast’s Grand Opera House in March. The tour includes two dates at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow in June.
Brandon will play toe-tapping renditions of Shand signature tunes such as The Bluebell Polka and Whistling Rufus.
Incredibly, Shand’s worldwide album sales at one time even outsold Elvis Presley and the Beatles combined.
However, the master’s old accordion had been kept in the world’s largest collection of the instrument near Belfast for many years.
“It really has such a sweet tone – and to be playing my hero’s accordion, touching the same keys as he did, is just an incredible feeling,” said Brandon.
“The fact it was number one of the four he had made for him makes it extra special. It was the first Shand Morino ever and the first three row accordion to have as many buttons and basses – as well as the first one in that colour.
“At some stage Jimmy sold it to a friend and eventually it ended up with a collector in Ireland. I got to hear about it and had to have it.
“It needed a lot done to it to get it back into working order, but it just sounds great now and it really does bring Jimmy’s unique sound back to life. I am really thrilled to be going on tour with it and helping tell Jimmy’s story.
“The show will have never-seenbefore photographs, memorabilia and much more. We all know the famous tunes, but do we remember the man who did so much for our musical heritage? This a chance to bring Jimmy alive to a whole new generation.
“The show will be narrated live by the acclaimed film and TV actor Dave Anderson – so it will be really special.”
Glasgow-based Anderson is known for the part of Gregory’s father in Gregory’s Girl and as the bank manager in the BBC Scotland sitcom City Lights. Other appearances include roles in several early Doctor Who serials, Taggart and Still Game.
The Jimmy Shand Story is being billed as “combining the music of the old master with brilliance of the young maestro”.
Shand sold millions of records in a 70-year career, playing Carnegie Hall in New York and making the UK Top 20 with The Bluebell Polka in 1955.
He died in 2000, aged 92. A statue in his honour stands in his hometown of Auchtermuchty in Fife.
In recent years, Shand also became a rave sensation in Europe after one of his classic tunes topped the dance charts in Germany. The Linton Ploughman, based on The Muckin’ O’ Geordie’s Byre, was turned into a dance track by Bellshill DJ Stevie Lennon.
Brandon has played for Royalty and celebrities and is regarded as the best box player since Shand.
The 20-year-old was last year snapped-up by top entertainments management company Chimes International, which has managed or represented music legends Don Williams, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Chuck Berry, Engelbert Humperdink and Dionne Warwick.
He is believed to be the first accordion player to sign a major management deal.