| Biography | Dundee born fiddler, bandleader and composer. He took up playing aged 5 without firmal tuition although his father was a fiddler. He played for silent films before leading a five piece restaurant orchestra in Largs and recorded with Great Scott Records in the 1930s and for Beltona in 1934 and again in the early fifties. He played in Winifred Bird Mathew Band in Dundee, appeared with accordionist Will Starr, joined the band of Jimmy Shand in the late 1940s and toured as a solo fiddler on the Scottish variety theatre circuit. He broadcast before and after the WW2, with his own band and also as a soloist. In the 1970s he joined the band of Jimmy Blue and performed with entertainer Andy Stewart. He suffered from deafness and arthritis but continued to play the accordion and fiddle club circuit with Bobby Crowe and his band. He composed throughout his career and his collected compositions have been published. |