Glasgow Letter
ROBERT ROBERTSON robert.d.robertson@hotmail.co.uk
I would like to begin this week’s column by wishing a slightly belated happy 80th birthday to the one and only Donald Macrae!
Donald, pictured right, is a humble guy but there is no doubt he is a legend of the Gaelic music scene in Glasgow and further afield. Brought up on a croft in Habost, Lewis, Donald moved to Glasgow in 1961 and became absolutely central to the legacy of places such as The Highlanders Institute and The Park Bar.
Perhaps predictably, it was in the Park Bar where I first met and heard him and I am always struck by how strong his voice still is and how similar it sounds to his records recorded all those years ago. His prominence on the special album released in 2017 to celebrate 50 years of music in the Park Bar was entirely justified considering his unquantifiable influence on the place over half a century.
I was pleased to hear he was doing fine over lockdown when he kindly helped me source lyrics for one of his songs I was singing for a Take The Floor broadcast.
If you’re reading this Donald, I look forward to catching up for a dram, and perhaps a song, next time we both happen to be in the Park. Slàinte!
Talking about live singing, what a thrill it was to get out on the road with Tide Lines last week for a tour that has been postponed three times since its original date back in May 2020.
I know what people say about Highland time keeping but an album tour beginning 15 months after the album release has to be a new record!
Our opening gig was in Glasgow, at the famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on St Vincent Street. This was not originally intended as part of the tour (it was a standalone gig for people who had pre-ordered the album), so it is actually our first of two Glasgow gigs in the coming weeks, the second being Kelvingrove Bandstand on October 8.
While an autumn evening in Kelvingrove has the potential to be chilly, King Tuts was quite the opposite. It was one of the hottest days of the year and Covid regulations prohibit an air-conditioner that recycles air around the venue!
Despite the heat, it was a joy to be back and to play on such an iconic stage that has been graced by names such as Coldplay, the Killers, and Radiohead. It was also the venue where Oasis were 'discovered'. These bands obviously all went on to become legendary and, if they all stick in, they might even make it to Donald Macrae’s level one of these days!
What’s on in Glasgow
September 3-5: The Riverside Festival
September 9: Biffy Clyro at Glasgow Green
September 10-12: TRNSMT Festival
September 18: 10 years of Trail West in the Barrowlands
October 7-8: Peat and Diesel in the Barrowlands
October 8: Tide Lines at Kelvingrove Bandstand
October 15: Skipinnish in the Barrowlands