Steven came 10,000 miles for a home town gig

STEVEN MONTGOMERY left Scotland in 1988 after struggling to find a permanent teaching job.

The former Stewarton High School pupil moved to Liverpool and then Kuwait for work.

It was there he met his wife, Anna, and they relocated to her home city of Melbourne a couple of years later, where they had two daughters.

Steven has always been a massive fan of ska music and long dreamed of being in a band – he plays trumpet and guitar – but never had the confidence to play in front of an audience.

But he decided to go for it when one of his colleagues, Mick Weir, who had been in bands for years, told Steven it was about time they formed a group.

They played gigs in the local area, which gave him the taste of being in a band, and when the family moved to the Middle East for a couple of years he continued to play in groups there.

When they returned to Melbourne in 2002, Steven formed a band called The Ska Vendors.

But it was the following year, when a group of musicians from various bands came together to do a one-off tribute gig as the Melbourne Ska Orchestra, that Steven’s musical dreams became a reality.

After playing annual shows over the next few years, the band landed a big gig at the Byron Bay Bluesfest, which in turn led to a record deal with ABC Records.

They’ve since gone on to play in Chile, America, Canada and Europe.

But that all paled in comparison to the band being booked at the Edinburgh Fringe this year.

Steven, now 49 and still teaching, was delighted to play six gigs in the capital last week, but he knew he couldn’t come home without playing a gig in Ayrshire.

So he organised a gig at the Bellfield Tavern in Kilmarnock on Thursday night.

It took a mad dash from their gig in Edinburgh to make it to the pub on time, but an emotional Steven says it was well worth it.

They played to a packed crowd including family and old school friends.

He’ll be back in the classroom in Melbourne next week, but he’s already looking to next year’s Fringe for another triumphant homecoming.