Rockstar turned politician Zooming in to help

A rockstar turned politician will offer a blast from the past when he gives a keyboard lesson to fans next month as part of a talent showcase.

Pete Wishart, who represents Perth and North Perthshire at Westminster, played keyboards for Scottish band Runrig during a 15year stint in the music industry.

He will be teaching the introduction to the group’s classic version of Loch Lomond in a Zoom tutorial on October 3 as part of the Fun Palaces programme.

The scheme, due over the weekend of October 3 and 4, is a nationwide event for groups and individuals to showcase their talents.

Perth Theatre is taking the lead in inviting Perth and Kinross residents to share their skills.

Mr Wishart said: “I think this is fantastic and I’m really looking forward to it, even though I will have to brush up on my keyboard skills. I know how challenging it has been for the arts industry right across the UK.”

Participants can choose to share talents in any form, including areas such as music, art, gardening, photography, cooking and sport.

The free event is open to people of all ages. Lu Kemp, the artistic director at Perth Theatre, said creativity and culture had flourished in spite of the pandemic.

She said: “We had originally planned to open the doors of Perth Theatre to the community to stage Fun Palaces as part of our 120th anniversary celebrations.

“Although the theatre is closed due to Covid-19, creativity and culture haven’t stopped, and, in fact, in some ways they’ve flourished in the community.

“Lots of us have taken up new skills in small ways during this period and this is an opportunity for everyone to share these skills.

“We’re excited to see what people have been getting up to.”

Runrig at the Royal Albert Hall, with Pete Wishart third from the left.