Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Musician on BBC Scotland’s Hogmanay snub
Hogmanay
TV favourite Phil Cunningham has revealed how he was dumped after bringing in the New Year on BBC Scotland for 30 years.
The trad musician has been a stalwart on the annual show alongside Aly Bain for three decades but the pair were not invited to join this year’s revamped New Year’s Eve show.
At least, Phil says, the broadcaster tried to soften the blow.
“We got a call to say that if we were offered a gig we should take it,” said Phil.
“I have no idea what the plan is, but it’s time for change in the BBC’s eyes and I’ll be interested to see what they do with it.
“I was also the show’s music director from 1991 until a couple of years ago, and a lot of heart and soul went into it – not just from me but the entire team.
“It does feel a shame not to be a part of it any more but there are other things to do. I just need to find out what they are.
“I’m a little disappointed, but change is inevitable. There is a younger and younger production staff coming through the BBC and a lot of them, I guess, won’t have even experienced a traditional Hogmanay.”
Phil said he was given no indication that change was on the cards, but his communication with the production team had been diminishing in recent years after he ceased being the programme’s musical director.
He said he will be interested to see the reaction from the public to the changes, which also includes Jackie Bird stepping down from presenting the show after 20 years.
“Aly and I have known for a long time there was going to come a point when we would leave it or be told we weren’t doing it any more so, while it didn’t come as much of a surprise, I’m still very saddened by it because I gave a lot of my years loyally to that programme.
“I worked very hard with the team to make it something people wanted to watch and wanted to be part of. We started to get really good guests, like Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, David Essex and Midge Ure, whereas in the early days you got whoever was left or
whoever was willing to come out of the house on Hogmanay.”
Phil, who is about to tour with his annual Christmas Songbook collective alongside folk favourites like Eddi Reader and Karen Matheson, admits he isn’t sure yet what he’ll do on Hogmanay, but he hopes we haven’t seen the last of him on our screens at New Year.
“Aly and I have been laughing and saying, ‘well, what does one do on Hogmanay?’. We’ve never been anywhere else.
“Since 1976, I’ve been on some sort of Hogmanay show or another, whether it be STV, Channel 4, radio or BBC. This would have been my and Aly’s 30th year on the BBC.
“I haven’t decided yet what I’ll do instead. I was offered a gig in India in the last week of December and I thought that might be nice, because I’ve never been.
“But I could also go to bed and watch the Hogmanay show while peeping out from under the blankets!
“I hope to be back on screen again at Hogmanay because I do love it very much, but we’ll just wait and see what happens.
“I’ll be interested to see the direction the show goes in and I wish everyone very well in their endeavours.”
After doing the Hogmanay show for 30 years, we got a call to say that if we were offered any other bookings this year...we should accept them – musician Phil Cunningham