At age 93 Alan Davie passed away peacefully on 5 April 2014.
His unique talents bridged art, music poetry and jewellery making (among other gifts); improvisation and intuition always guiding his hand.
He leaves behind a body of work which is exuberant, mystical, engaging, and compelling.
He commanded genuine affection in his friends and associates, and admiration from peers including Pollock, Rothko and Hockney.
One of Scotland’s greatest artists, Davie’s work and life merit the phrase ‘vibrant and dynamic’ overworked as that phrase may be. For decades he veritably defied the ageing process by creating images filled with joy, magic and passion.
He lived to see Tate Britain announce a show of its own collection of Davie paintings, plus items, especially jewellery, lent by the artist. This will run from mid April through September this year. The Gimpel Fils gallery in London proudly showcased his work for an amazing 64 years.
Davie’s interests in fine art and musical improvisation informed his artworks, created with the enthusiasm of a colour-loving child and a daring genius. He was an early abstract expressionist, and his work has inspired many artists since.
While many around him shied away from colour, Davie was synonymous with what was bright, beautiful, bold and powerful.
He was born in 1920 in Grangemouth; he studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art for two years, and later taught at London’s Central School of Arts and Crafts. He found artistic inspiration from the artwork of many cultures around the world; symbolism, intuition and improvisation mixed with his unrestrained love of colour and paint to create unforgettable work.
Gimpel Fils Gallery will have a show of his work at the end of this month. Aberdeen Voice spoke with Rene Gimpel, the great-grandson of the founder, Ernest Gimpel.
Ernest Gimpel opened his first gallery in Paris in 1883.
The gallery there ran until 1940 and after the war, reopened in 1946 in London.
Six years ago they-established a branch of the gallery in Paris.
Rene Gimpel had this to say of his friend Alan Davie:-
“Reflecting on his death made me realise I knew him when I was a child when my parents were working with him; I knew him longer than I knew some of my family members. With Peter Gimpel’s (Rene Gimpel’s uncle) death, Alan became in a sense the leading figure for us. We would visit him in his beautiful studio and home in Hertfordshire; he was the silent leader for us – not that he was aware of the position. We were guided by when his next show was, his next project, next interview; and we assisted. There will be a real void.
“He talked about Bach which he played every day. Piano, clarinet, cello – there were always lots of instruments lying around and lots of scores. It was different getting way from the city and one’s desk and getting out there. The highlight was the visits to the studio. Works on paper would be on the floor as well as the wall and decades’ thick oil paint covered the walls and easel. Until recently he painted every day because that’s what he did.
“If you have a vocation you go on doing it. He would wait for our comments; he could work on 15 paintings at any one time, and he worked quickly, but at a certain stage the painting would stop. Often a work would be put away for a while and then taken out, sometimes years later, to be worked on further, or it could be completed in a few days.
“He painted layer upon layer; he just painted on top of works – there will be masterpieces found by restorers and researchers underneath his paintings in the future. The thing about Alan when his wife Billie was alive, he would keep good records of his work; he would sometimes just hand work over to people, and he donated work to benefit auctions.”
Davie was no stranger to Aberdeen; he visited Peacock Visual Art and made a print with them.
Mark Hudson was the last interviewer to speak to Davie; he wrote:-
“His exuberant improvisatory canvases had a ruthlessness, as he painted out passages of paint other artists would have killed to have created, in pursuit of a visceral anti-perfection, a sense of mystery and ritual that made the efforts of his British peers look positively effete in comparison.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/10706381/The-artist-that-time-forgot.html
Hudson’s piece was called ‘The Artist that Time Forgot’. As is so often the case with the genuine genius who is ahead of their time, it is after they pass (and time passes) that their greatness becomes more fully appreciated. Davie’s work may not have received the acclaim it deeply deserved throughout much of his life, but there is no doubt that he and his work will be cherished by those who love art, now and far into the future.
We’ve lost someone very special in Alan Davie; but we still have his epic works and the example he set.
Samples of Alan Davie’s paintings such as Birth of Venus can be found on these links:
With thanks to Stuart Donaldson, Constituency Officer to Christian Allard MSP.
In a recent debate on Child Poverty in Scottish Parliament, North East MSP Christian Allard slammed Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories for voting at Westminster to cap welfare but refusing to put a cap on Trident.
“Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories voted to put a cap on welfare but all are unwilling to cap spending on Trident.
“Only a vote for independence will ensure that we are no longer in the disgraceful situation where weapons of mass destruction are valued over the wellbeing of our children.”
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Orange Party win Oldmachar election. With thanks to Braden Davy.
Orange Party celebrate their moment of triumph with a ‘selfie’.
On Friday 28th March, Oldmachar Academy voted for the Orange Party to decide where £1,000 of Aberdeen City Youth Council’s Budget is spent on the school.
Three parties campaigned in the election, the Orange Party – campaigning for lockers and better school food, the blue party for a fun day and balgownie, and the red party for a ‘Selfie treasurehunt’ and a Teacher-Student competition day.
Each party gave a speech to S1 – S3 before those year groups went to vote.
The Orange Party received 257 votes, the blue party 126 and red party 7. Turnout was over 98%.
The Orange Party celebrated by taking a ‘Winning Team Selfie’
Braden Davy, Mock Ballot coordinator said:
“This was a fantastic day and young people really got involved. Everyone was debating and discussing who they would vote for and got an understanding as to how democracy works”
The Orange Team will be presented with a £1,000 cheque at the Town House.
In 2011, Jonathan Russell wrote three articles on the Libyan conflict in Aberdeen Voice, in part because of the lack of public outcry. Here he presents the last part of his four article series.
Libya is an artificial state like much of the Middle East and Africa, carved out in the colonial era of early 20th century by Italy. After independence in 1951 Libya was ruled by a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under King Idris, Libya’s only monarch, who presided over an essentially tribal society.
On 1 September 1969, a small group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officer Muammar Qaddafi staged a coup d’état against King Idris, launching the Libyan Revolution.
Following the murder of Qaddafi in October 2011 and the collapse of his allies, the National Transitional Council (NTC) were recognised by the NATO powers at the same time however countries like Cuba and Venezuela who had offered to broker negotiations left their embassy’s in Libya.
The NTC from its outset was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood who are now, of course, out of favour with their erstwhile NATO backers.
In August 2012 a new Assembly was elected dominated again by the Brotherhood as in Morsi’s Egypt or Tunisia. The Muslim Brotherhoods ally Nuri Abu Sahmain is President of Libya. Mohammed Magarie replaced Mostafa Abdeljali in August last year as Head of State and Ali Zeidin replaced Abdurrahim al-Keib as Prime Minister in November last year following internal and external difficulties.
The latest news on March 12th throws Libya into even greater turmoil. Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeiden was deposed on March 12th and fled to Malta, the Maltese government confirmed, on a stopover toward a reported destination of Germany.
Zeidan fled his country immediately following a vote of no confidence which ended his roughly one-and-a-half-year term as prime minister of the North African country. The hasty departure of the ex-diplomat rendered moot any attempts to arrest him.
Zeidan, who during his term as prime minister was once kidnapped and held for hours by armed militants, failed in recent days to stop rebels in the country’s east from controlling the sale of crude oil there. In spite of armed forces loyal to the government ensuring that a tanker called “Morning Glory” remained in harbor in Al-Sidra – the city has been held for months it left port and escaped flying a North Korean flag.
Back in Tripoli the blunder turned the mood in the provisional parliament against Zeidan. The subsequent no confidence vote was later criticized by Libyan media as a “trick” on the former prime minister.
Rebel leader Ibrahim Jathran now appears to be the winner in the war of nerves over the strategically vital oil harbors. Until July 2013 he was commander of the unit sent to protect the oil installations, explains Libya expert Amanda Kadlec of the Chatham House think tank in London.
“This gave him ease of access to all the port facilities throughout Libya”
His supporters have occupied three terminals, she says, and he has called for a separate government for a portion of eastern Libya. It remains unclear how many fighters Jathran commands, but according to Kadlec, reports range anywhere from 800 to 20,000.
Numerous accounts confirm the reality that lawless bands, armed by NATO during the war with modern weapons and which include foreign and local Al-Qaeda and other jihadists, are carrying out daily bombings across the country in the struggle for local control. Tripoli itself has numerous armed militias controlling various sections of the capital.
The general picture in Libya is that of developing armed struggle between local tribal militias and the Brotherhood that controls the central government with leaders in the provinces of Cyrenaica and Fezzan seeking to break away from Tripoli.
Congress has summoned militias allied to the Brotherhood to the capital to try to prevent a coup. As a result, the main opposition party, the centre-right National Forces Alliance, has deserted Congress together with several smaller ethnic parties, leaving the Brotherhood’s Justice and Construction party heading a government with crumbling authority.
The July 2013 coup in Egypt against Morsi has further weakened the government which had intended to support Morsi with finance from oil revenues.
Libyans are increasingly at the mercy of militias who act outside the law, demand bribes for services and help perpetrate rampant corruption. Popular protests against militiamen have been met with gunfire; 31 demonstrators were shot dead and many others wounded as they protested outside the barracks of “the Libyan Shield Brigade” in the eastern capital Benghazi in June last year and a further 44 were killed in Tripoli on 8th September.
The unreported Libyan diaspora
Prior to the 2011 “revolution” Libya had a population of 5,613,380 of whom roughly 2 million are now either internally displaced in camps or outside of the country. Official statistics suggest that 1.2million are now living in Tunisia, 400,000 in Egypt and 30,000 in Chad with others scattered around the world. We hear virtually nothing in our media about this and very little about the deteriorating situation inside Libya.
Libya exports terrorism
According to the New York Times, 13th June 2013, some of the more militant Islamic factions are now fighting in Syria and arms for the Islamic groups are coming from Libya.
However, Qaddafi’s assertion in 2011 that the rebels included Al-Qaeda groups was dismissed by the Western media. Prior to the conflict Al-Qaeda sympathisers had trained in Afghanistan then, on their return to Libya, started a bombing campaign. This led to arrests and imprisonments but ACCOR they were let out on amnesty largely according to the Amnesty 2010 report on Libya due to the influence of Qaddafi’s son Salif.
Though the NATO intervention against Qaddafi was justified as a humanitarian response to the threat that Qaddafi’s tanks and planes would slaughter dissidents in Benghazi, the international community has chosen to ignore the continuing and escalating violence. The foreign media, which once filled the hotels of Benghazi and Tripoli, have likewise paid little attention to the near collapse of the central government.
The strikers in the eastern region Cyrenaica, which contains most of Libya’s oil, are part of a broader movement seeking more autonomy and blaming the government for spending oil revenues in the west of the country. Foreigners have mostly fled Benghazi since the American ambassador, Chris Stevens, was murdered in the US consulate by jihadi militiamen in September 2012.
Violence has worsened since then with Libya’s military prosecutor Colonel Yussef Ali al-Asseifar, in charge of investigating assassinations of politicians, soldiers and journalists, himself assassinated by a bomb in his car on 29 August last year.
Rule by local militias is also spreading anarchy around the capital. Ethnic Berbers, whose militia led the assault on Tripoli in 2011, temporarily took over the parliament building in Tripoli. The government called on the Supreme Security Committee, made up of former anti-Qaddafi militiamen nominally under the control of the interior ministry, to restore order.
At least 19 prisoners received gunshot shrapnel wounds, with one inmate saying “they were shooting directly at us through the metal bars”. There have been several mass prison escapes this year in Libya including 1,200 escaping from a prison after a riot in Benghazi in July.
The Interior Minister, Mohammed al-Sheikh, resigned last year in frustration at being unable to do his job, saying in a memo sent to Mr Zeidan that he blamed him for failing to build up the army and the police. He accused the government, which is largely dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, of being weak and dependent on tribal support.
Other critics point out that a war between two Libyan tribes, the Zawiya and the Wirrshifana, is going on just 15 miles from the Prime Minister’s office.
the terror network only retreats to remote areas, regroups and eventually bounces back
The surrounding area both Sudan and Mali and of course Syria have been greatly affected by Qaddafi’s fall. There has been civil wars in Mali and conflict in the Sudan. Al Qaeda has used Libya as a training ground for sending combatants into Syria.
In the rocky mountains and uncovered wastes of south-western Libya, al-Qaeda’s North African branch has established a haven after French and West African forces drove them out of their fledgling Islamic state in northern Mali a year ago.
Now, according to interviews with local soldiers, residents, officials and Western diplomats, it is restocking weapons and mining disaffected minorities for new recruits as it prepares to re-launch attacks.
It is an al-Qaeda pattern seen around the world, in hot spots such as Yemen, Somalia, and Afghanistan and increasingly in North Africa: seemingly defeated, the terror network only retreats to remote areas, regroups and eventually bounces back – pointing to the extreme difficulties involved in countering their growth and influence.
On Saturday January 18th 2014, a group of heavily armed fighters stormed an air force base outside the city of Sabha in southern Libya, expelling forces loyal to the “government” of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, and occupying the base. This report has been confirmed by the Saudi Gazette in an article dated 22nd January:
“The Tamenhint air base 30 km northeast of Sebha is reported to be back in pro-Qaddafi hands after Tebu forces from Murzuk who were guarding it withdrew. They unilaterally pulled out Monday evening [Jan. 20] claiming that the government was deliberately exploiting clashes in Sebha between Tebus and Awlad Sulaiman in order to divert attention from moves to replace it with a new administration.”
At the same time, reports from inside the country began to trickle in that the green flag of the Jamahiriya was flying over a number of cities throughout the country. Despite the dearth of verifiable information – the government in Tripoli has provided only vague details and corroboration – one thing is certain: the war for Libya continues.
Since mid-January forces that remain allied with the former Jamahiriya political and economic system set up by Qaddafi have taken control of several cities and towns in the south. Clashes have also been reported around the capital of Tripoli, where nationalist forces have fought pitched battles with militias and military forces backed by the GNC regime. (Libya Herald, 20th Jan)
These developments have prompted French Admiral Edouard Gillard in the Washington post to appeal for a fresh NATO intervention.
Dissatisfaction is growing among the Libyan population. Once the most prosperous nation in Africa, with a standard of living that exceeded several European countries, the conditions inside the country have drastically deteriorated since 2011. The decline in living standards, the failure of the regime to rein in the militias that terrorize the population, the collapse of the oil industry and widespread corruption have drawn broad criticism, even among the favoured elites.
Another decree issued in January prohibits scholarship students and public employees from speaking out against the conditions prevailing in Libya. According to AllAfrica.com:
“It calls on Libyan embassies abroad and others to draw up lists of names and refer them to the Prosecutor General for prosecution.”
What is certain is that unrest will continue for some considerable time and the civilians who NATO and the UN Security Council resolution 1973 was meant to protect will be those that suffer the most and it is almost certain that the world will continue to turn a blind eye.
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With thanks to Stuart Donaldson, Constituency Officer to Christian Allard MSP.
North East MSP, Christian Allard has welcomed the decision by French company Atos to end its contract with the UK government early.
The company assesses people for benefits on behalf of the UK government and carries out tests to see if they are ‘fit to work’.
Commenting the French-born MSP said:
“It is telling that Atos are no longer willing to carry out these assessments on behalf of the Westminster government.
“The assessments, part of the welfare cuts agenda, are designed to harass and intimidate vulnerable people.
“This agenda is driving families further into poverty and emptying the shelves of local foodbanks in the North East.
“I would encourage those who feel strongly about these unfair tests to direct their anger at those responsible for implementing them, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition at Westminster.
“There is an opportunity to do so this weekend with the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference taking place at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.”
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Deborah Bonham’s new album Spirit is out, she and the band have taken to the road to promote it in the UK and Europe. Suzanne Kelly and Julie Thompson saw the show at the Green Hotel in Kinross. Photos by Julie Thompson.
There are reasons to see your favourite performers live.
For one thing you quickly separate the studio-invented acts that can’t perform live rather quickly from the dedicated artists who are musicians first. Of these, there are a small number of people who transcend their recorded music and come alive onstage.
Their lives shows are always refreshing and unique; they make every show feel new and every audience feel special. This is true of Deborah Bonham and the musicians in her band.
When I learned Deborah Bonham would be playing Kinross, I knew I had to be there. This was to be the third time I’d see her and the band. The first time I saw her was in Chichester, doing an intimate charity night for Willows and a local dogs’ charity. She shared the bill with Willows’ patron and Bad Company/Free/The Firm legend, Paul Rodgers.
Rodgers, his wife Cynthia, Deborah Bonham and her extended family, are ardent animal lovers, and the combined efforts of the performers and their families created an electric atmosphere. Paul Rodgers was brilliant, but I’d not expected the emotional rollercoaster ride Bonham gave us.
Even those who were familiar with her material, such as Lorraine Robertson and her husband from Aberdeenshire – were still struck by the emotional outpourings of Bonham’s performance. Her personal triumphs and trials inform her writing and vocals. When Bonham sang of lost loves and lost relatives, there might have been a few dry eyes in the house – but not many. The band was playing music in an industrial shed that deserved to be heard in the Albert Hall.
For my part I only had my meagre camera phone, which was not up to the task of capturing any of the performances that night; I knew I had to get Julie to photograph these people.
It would be one thing being on your best performance to impress Paul Rodgers when in a hall filled with music business professionals and your families; would she and the band be consistently on form elsewhere? Material such as ‘No Angel’ requires the strength of a Janis Joplin (Bonham evoked Joplin in the best possible way – I think she’s somehow she must be related to Plant and Joplin); how consistently well performed would or could it be?
Her ode to her family members who have passed on, The Old Hyde’ (about John Bonham’s beloved farm) got many audience members (including me) emotional that first night and at a later show in London even when I knew what was coming; how would this song translate to a fairly lengthy spell on the road? Exhausting to perform, emotionally draining and usually performed towards the end of a demanding set, this work sets a very high beam.
When I saw Lorraine at the Green Hotel, she explained that she goes to see Deborah perform as often as she can, and that the power and intensity are always there.
She clearly can’t get enough, and indeed even after seeing Bonham for many years now (first at a country fair on the same bill as Robert Plant); tonight’s show still got Lorraine choked up.
A black and white photograph of John Bonham at his kit with a triumphant arm stretched overhead looked out on the stage in the venue that night; when it was time for Deborah to do ‘The Old Hyde’ – it was almost too much for her (and the audience) to look at them side by side. Keeping it fresh? It was as if she’d never done the song live before in terms of emotional content.
The touring band are Bonham on vocals and acoustic guitar occasionally; her partner Peter Bullick on guitars and mandolin (his fills and solos are accomplished but fresh, and I particularly like his slide guitar); keyboard player (and long-lost friend of mine) Gerard Louis; on bass Ian Rowley and percussionist Rich Newman. Newman particularly came to the fore when called upon to repeat John Bonham’s percussion in ‘Rock and Roll’ – if anyone has the right to cover this track, then it’s this band.
After the emotional (if not spiritual) ups and downs of the two sets, it was a superb, energizing way to end. And so it was that everyone had more drinks in the comfortable Backstage Bar, and those who stayed at the hotel enjoyed a happy session which lasted a wee few hours.
What a great venue for music. (All sorts of offers appeared when I booked – discount champagne; discount beauty treatments; late checkout. They must have seen me coming).
As to the Green Hotel’s Backstage bar – well. It’s a paradise of memorabilia from every guitar-based act you can think of, and plenty you can’t.
There may be a spare inch of wall space not covered by guitars, posters or mouth-watering autographed memorabilia of some sort, but I didn’t’ find it.
Backstage is David Mundell’s labour of love, and the bill of artists who come here to play intimate shows is impressive, and growing more so by the day.
It’s a must see stop on any pilgrimage for lovers of guitar; an old Gibson of Jimmy Page’s peers out at you from behind the bar as you order your jack and coke. It’s a rock haven created by a devotee. http://www.mundellmusic.com/gigs_green_hotel.php
The new album Spirit is here. My favourite tracks so far are the title track, ‘Take Me Down’ with its country music romantic flavour and ‘Fly’ which is nothing short of empowering for us women of a certain age; it speaks of freedom and escape. Whether the songs are going in a blues (No Angel), rock, or country-esque direction (Take Me Down), the sound of Bonham and the band is unique and memorable.
I’ll definitely be seeing more of Lorraine Robertson, because like her, I’ll want to see more of this band. Soon. www.deborahbonham.com
*STOP PRESS* Deborah Bonham donated ten signed copies of her new album to Willows Animal Sanctuary, which is having its first open day on Friday 5 April. More info here http://www.willowsanimals.com/
Aberdeen and its hinterland in the 19th century, from the research published in Fishermen, Randies and Fraudsters,had its fair share of criminals hell-bent on pursuing their career of choice no matter the misery or inconvenience caused and generally undeterred by the sanctions likely to be applied if caught. Review by David Innes
Burglars, pickpockets, drunkards, whores and murderers all feature as Archibald paints a picture of urban and rural lawlessness and the increasingly difficult task faced by the authorities in attempting to keep some sort of order with so few resources and tight budgets, 200 years before central police forces, remote control rooms and controversy over corroboration.
These were the days before highly-organised law enforcement, sophisticated communication technology, forensics and general respect for those attempting to keep order, yet some of the crime solutions Archibald features show ingenuity, bravery and doggedness.
There are also examples of enforcement officers’ stupidity and occasional willingness to partake of petty crime themselves.
Nothing changes, it seems.
Archibald even includes an interesting civil case concerning the whaling industry and ownership of a whale wounded by one ship but finally pursued to the kill by another, a tale that exposes the hardship and brutality of this profession as well as the colossal rewards at stake.
Fishermen, Randies and Fraudsters gives a well-researched overview of those far-off times, the individuals concerned and the increasingly-difficult job of detection of miscreants which led, almost inevitably, to the establishment of modern, organised police forces. Whilst it is informative and insightful, the narrative might have been presented in a more lively way, but that is a minor criticism of a worthy addition to NE history.
Since August 2013, the local music scene has been enhanced as regular country gigs have been offered to city and NE music fans, David Innes reports. This is down to the energy and efforts of Martin Raitt and his Almost Blue Promotions.
Martin explains: “In May last year I attended a My Darling Clementine gig in Alford and after the show singer Michael Weston King and I got talking. When I asked why touring country and Americana bands rarely seem to come to Aberdeen, he offered to play here if we could set up a gig for them.
“So after looking around for venues and quickly learning the rudiments of how to promote a show, we promoted our first gig in August 2013.
“Michael was as good as his word and it was a proud moment when My Darling Clementine played at Drummonds. The show went well even if the crowd was small, so I decided there and then to carry on and try to promote more shows.
“Since then we have had a further six gigs with more booked for the rest of 2014.
“I’d regularly travel to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth to see shows, I felt frustrated that the artists I wanted to see rarely came to Aberdeen, so I started Almost Blue Promotions to try to change that and make Aberdeen a regular stopping point for touring artists. The city has a vibrant live music scene. There are regular jazz and blues nights, Rock bands are everywhere, and folk music is very well catered for, but I didn’t see enough country or Americana bands playing.
“Glasgow has its regular country music club and several festivals; Perth has its annual Southern Fried Festival of Americana and Inverness and the Highlands have regular acts playing.
“Defining country music to people who don’t listen to it, is difficult. People tend to think of cowboy hats and line dancing, and there are country music clubs who cater for that sort of music, but Americana, or alt.country is probably best defined as rock music which leans heavily on country for influences, but includes significant and strong elements of bluegrass, roots, folk, R&B, blues and soul.
“It’s a very wide genre, covering so many different styles, and it always seems to be pushing the boundaries, bringing new influences into recordings and live shows. As far as Almost Blue is concerned, we’ve promoted traditional country with My Darling Clementine, Drew Landry’s acoustics southern blues, The New Madrids’ delicious country rock and soul and The Coal Porters’ Bluegrass.”
So where has this love of country come from in a man who must have been growing up during Britpop’s heyday?
“I was brought up listening to the country music records my dad was always playing. One of the most memorable is Elvis Costello’s Almost Blue, still one of my favourites. It’s a collection of cover versions of country songs that Elvis and the Attractions recorded with Billy Sherrill in 1981. It inevitably led me to listen to Gram Parsons, Merle Haggard and George Jones, and it’s also where I took the agency’s name from. The album was showcased at the city’s country and western club in the Hotel Metro prior to release and the reissued CDs feature live tracks from that show.
“Around the same time Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, Lyle Lovett and others were coming to the fore with their brand of singer-songwriter and rock influenced New Country, so it was then OK for me to admit that I liked country music!
“I’d love Almost Blue Promotions to host regular shows featuring high quality Americana acts in Aberdeen and for artists to look at Aberdeen as a place they want to play in the same way they currently regard Glasgow. I really believe that there is an audience in Aberdeen for this and that people will show up to listen once word spreads about gigs and they can have confidence that the artists will be of the best quality.
“In the past few months I’ve built up a database of contacts. This includes the biggest and best UK agencies dealing with Americana, and we’re looking forward to bringing some really great acts to Aberdeen. It’s not just about American artists, there are some terrific Scottish and UK Americana acts that I am looking to bring here too. My Darling Clementine from England, The Dave Latto Band (Fife) and Perth’s New Madrids have already played terrific shows in Aberdeen.”
And what are Almost Blue’s plans and ambitions?
“Our current goal is to offer at least one show per month but it would be great to organise an Aberdeen Americana Music Festival in the future. If I could choose any artist to play at the festival, I’d have to include Steve Earle, John Prine, Emmylou Harris and Dwight Yoakam. If I could bring back Townes Van Zandt, George Jones, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Waylon Jennings…there are so many it’s impossible to choose.”
Julie Thompson continues her series on photographing bands in Aberdeen taking in The Beards/Massive Horse, The Answer/Estrella and Federation of the Disco Pimp/Kagoule/Marionettes at The Lemon Tree, The 1975/The NBHD/Wolf Alice at The Music Hall, and chats to local music photographer Dod Morrison.
The Beards – Credit: Julie Thompson
It seems somehow appropriate to be interviewing Dod Morrison, given that we both recently paid a visit to The Lemon Tree to photograph The Beards.
Dod sports a fairly substantial beard himself, although arguably not as luxurious as those attached to the band.
The Beards, a novelty band over from Australia were here to entertain us, along with their support – Massive Horse. Massive Horse are a couple of rappers, who use a projection screen to show videos, filmed to go with their songs.
These sorts of thing can be useful props when photographing bands – although getting the right moment for the image you’re after can sometimes require patience and a lot of luck.
Beard stroking commenced when The Beards came on. They stroked their own, they stroked each other’s. They even stroked the beards of members of the crowd.
The Beards base their act around the fact that all of their songs are about beards, but that aside, they are actually pretty good. Mostly rock but with some slower numbers, they entertain between songs with banter and some set pieces such as the band taking a break – the singer & lead guitarist had a chat over a beer while the bassist read a book about beards – leaving the audience to carry the chorus.
The bearded (and often Mohicaned) Dod Morrison has been shooting gigs for some years – about half of them with professional gear – since getting the bug when he first took photographs of Hayseed Dixie on his wee camera back in 2004.
His biggest frustration is a fairly typical one, as I have found from reading other music photographer interviews:
‘PR companies messing ya about or be replying or forgetting to add you to list and the restrictions you get put on you when everyone in the crowd has a camera anyway.’
It does seem that people spend more time watching gigs live through a phone than actually looking at the band these days. It can be a problem for us when we are limited to shooting from the sound desk up at the back – all you can see is a sea of arms and hands with phones in them.
So, what bands has Dod found the most fun or exciting to photograph?
Dod (bottom right) at The Temperance Movement – Credit: Julie Thompson
‘The Adicts are the most exciting, along with Cock Sparrer and Rancid.’
He singles out the Adicts because he went on a 21 cities tour of America with them from coast to coast (New York to LA and back) including the House of Blues in Los Angeles. This was the furthest, to date, that he has travelled to shoot gigs.
The most famous names under his belt include U2, Iron Maiden, and Katy Perry and on that note we’ll stop for a while. The second half of this interview will continue next time
I’ve been busy photographing other gigs between my last Musings and this, but I never got chance to write them up before a chest infection, exacerbated by some smoke machines at The Music Hall, knocked me out of commission for a couple of weeks. I’ll quickly mention some of them and there are photos linked below for anyone interested.
In late January, Federation of The Disco Pimp arrived at The Lemon Tree, along with Kagoule and supported by local band Marionettes.
We arrived at The Lemon Tree to find the usual photographers pit missing – a new one to me at this venue. It did mean, after some discussion with security, that we had a bit of a free rein on shooting, as long as we didn’t get in the way or annoy anyone.
The local band, Marionettes, kicked off the evening. The band consists of 5 mostly local lads (some hail from Glasgow) and were actually good fun, sparring with the crowd and producing some nice bouncy music.
Next up were Kagoule, who are a very young (17 years of age) three piece grunge/post punk band – 2 lads on drums & guitar/vocals and a lass on bass and are already proving to be an exciting new addition to the music scene. In a departure from my normal gig routine, another photographer and I had a short back stage shoot with the band.
FOTDP are a seven-piece funk band – 2 saxophones, a trumpet, keyboards, 2 guitars and drums make up this ensemble. No vocals as such so finding the focal point for shooting was tricky. However, concentrating on the instrument lead at the time seemed the way forward. They were a pretty good band – if you like to strut your funky stuff, try and catch them if they come again.
When I arrived, there were young folk queuing into Golden Square, and some of those at the head of the queue were wrapped in blankets after being waiting for some time.
First up was Wolf Alice, which is a four-piece alternative rock band with a female lead. The lights were really down low for this band, giving me a challenge.
The NBHD (also known as The Neighbourhood) are an alternative rock band from California, formed in 2011. The crowd at the Music Hall seemed pretty familiar with this second support act. For this band and the next, there were strobes and smoke machines – not my favourite combination.
Headlining the young trio of acts, The 1975 hail from Manchester and are an up and coming alternative/indie foursome whose debut album hit number 1 in the UK Album charts back in September last year.
Fronted by Matthew Healy, sporting a floppy Mohican, it was a surprising accomplished performance with Matthew having the stage presence you’d expect from the lead. They are no boy band and they don’t stick to single instruments – swapping between guitar & keyboard, or adding in a sax solo and they seem to enjoy what they do – which shows in their performance.
Their highest charting single, Chocolate, reached 19 in the charts last year. They will be playing at T in the Park along with The Isle of Wight, Reading & Leeds festivals in the summer.
Later in the month was The Answer at The Lemon Tree – signed to the same Agency as The 1975.
The Answer – Credit: Julie Thompson
The Answer is an Irish rock & blues band, formed in 2000 and, as well as supporting the likes of Deep Purple & Whitesnake, they toured with AC/DC in 2008/2009.
Their most recent album, New Horizon, was released last year.
They were supported by Scottish band Estrella, originally from Thurso but relocated to Aberdeen. They play 80’s style rock and have the look to match – entertaining and fun to shoot.
Coming up next – the second part of the Dod Morrison interview, along with Indian Red Lopez at the Peacock Visual Arts Centre, Kid Canaveral at The Tunnels and March of the Mods.
The best of Aberdeenshire’s creative industries will be put on display in a contemporary art, craft and design fair in Westhill. With thanks to Margaretha Simpson.
Artists and designers from Aberdeenshire and across Scotland will be showcasing their top-quality enterprises at the GLASSHOUSE event on March 22 and 23.
People across the north-east are being invited to embark on a creative journey to discover the wide range of top-quality creative products being made in Aberdeenshire and in Scotland.
A greenhouse in the heart of Westhill’s thriving subsea sector is the unconventional backdrop for the GLASSHOUSE event, commissioned by Aberdeenshire Council’s creative placemaking programme Be Part of the Picture, in collaboration with local arts agency SMART Consultants.
The journey begins with the GLASSHOUSE Cultural Tour Buses, travelling to and from the venue from available parking at Westhill town centre and the Subsea 7 east campus. Leave your car and hop on the tour bus where a Creative Conductor will take you on an artistic journey of visual and audio wonders.
The unique GLASSHOUSE event is supporting local arts and creative industries and giving local communities the opportunity to access high-quality artistic work in a way the never have before.
Artists from a number of Aberdeenshire communities are taking part, including: Aboyne, Sandend, Fraserburgh, Kinellar, Tarves, Banchory, Whitehills, Alford, Boddam & Kintore.
The contemporary fair is also celebrating the world-class status of Westhill’s subsea campus as a centre for skill and innovation, fostering links between the local creative and business sectors.
Members of Westhill’s residential and business communities have been involved in a series of creative engagement events in the run up to GLASSHOUSE and have helped produce the designs for the Cultural Tour Buses.
International textile designer Donna Wilson, from Banff, who is creating a new tartan for Aberdeenshire, has also been involved in putting together the creative journey that visitors will experience.
Aberdeenshire Provost Jill Webster said:
“GLASSHOUSE is a really unique way for us to showcase the creative talent of artists and designers in Aberdeenshire and beyond. And what better place than Westhill to help strengthen links between our business and artistic communities, two very important sectors for our local economy.
“GLASSHOUSE is going to be an event like no other and I would encourage everyone to come along and take a look at the huge variety of creative wares and ideas on show.”
Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, which oversees Economic Development, Councillor Peter Argyle, said:
“A greenhouse bustling with artistic and creative energy is going to be an unusual sight in Westhill and one worth seeing. As a focal point for innovation and collaboration, Westhill is an ideal setting for this exciting event.”
“We are delighted to have been commissioned by Aberdeenshire Council to build such a unique event celebrating the creative industries for the region.
“It’s exciting for us to extend our creative energy into Aberdeenshire, enabling us to build and develop a unique event for the wider community, as well as the creative practitioner. It will be interesting to see how the communities engage with the creative journey and how they respond to the unconventional setting of GLASSHOUSE.”
The GLASSHOUSE contemporary art, craft and design fair will run from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 March at Foxlane Garden Centre, Tarland Road, Westhill.
At age 93 Alan Davie passed away peacefully on 5 April 2014.
Gimpel Fils Gallery will have a show of his work at the end of this month. Aberdeen Voice spoke with Rene Gimpel, the great-grandson of the founder, Ernest Gimpel.
