Moothie maestros set feet tapping

Harmonica pals capture hearts of the community with driveway concerts

Two veteran Perthshire musicians have captured the hearts of their community with weekly lockdown harmonica concerts held from a town driveway.

Bill Fyfe and Bill Ligertwood of Pitlochry have been honouring the work of the NHS on the frontline of the battle against Covid-19 by playing their moothies from Balnadrum Terrace every Thursday evening.

For five weeks now the pair have delighted their neighbours with a 10-minute harmonica concert during the country-wide Clap for Carers salute.

The shows have proven so popular that most of the street turns up to socially-distance support the duo.

Both Bills were members of the Moulin Moothies group – formerly known as the Happy Harmonicans.

The popular mouth organ band performed hundreds of free gigs across Perthshire and wider Tayside until 2018.

However the Bills, who live several doors down from each other in Pitlochry, decided to take a trip down memory lane in tribute to the country’s health and care workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Ligertwood, 91, said: “It just started with the clap-along and we thought, ‘well we’ll give them a tune’.

“I’ve kept playing and I’ve played with Eddie Rose at some of the concerts in Moulin for the hall.

“The crowd clap along or sing along if they know them. Whole families come out and clap along.

“They are really good, the folks up here.”

The former postal worker said the weekly tribute to the NHS is particularly important to him, having recently completely lost his sight.

He added: “The nurses deserve it, believe me. They deserve any praise they get and help because they are really firstclass.

“I have been in Dundee at Ninewells and in Perth and both places I cannot fault them – just couldn’t fault them at all.

“I’ve just got to do it (play) by touch. It was a good job I had it (the harmonica). I tell you it stopped me from going overboard.

“I have been blowing the moothie ever since. That is what keeps the mind going.”

Mr Fyfe, 85, said: “They are all quite happy with us. We must be all right.

“Nearly every house is out, and there’s families too in some of the houses, so I would say that nearly the whole lot are out supporting the NHS which is quite good.”

Mr Fyfe said the pair meet up for a rehearsal prior to the Thursday night sessions.

The former clerk of works added: “Every week we usually have something different. We have groups of tunes, hundreds of tunes.

“We always have a wee practice so I know what Bill is playing.

“It is usually Scottish tunes we have. We don’t do any modern stuff by the way.

“I’ve been playing my whole life really but not so much until I came back to Pitlchory in about 1982 and we formed the Happy Harmonicans then.”