A retrospective of the musicians that a Mull producer has influenced played to a packed-out hall at Celtic Connections.
With names such as Mull Historical Society, Roddy Woomble and Karen Matheson taking to the stage in Dryburgh Brewing Company on Saturday, it was an afternoon to thank, and honour, Gordon Maclean.
Maclean was at An Tobar for 25 years, before setting up his own studio on Tobermory’s Main Street earlier this year.
I saw his own band Sienna Moon, almost 30 years ago, in Iona Village Hall and he was as intoxicating then, along with singer Judith Jardine, as he is now.
About a decade ago, I attended a public meeting in Aros Hall in Tobermory when directors of the community-owned venue, at the time, tried to demote Gordon.
It didn’t happen, it was decided that Maclean was the heart of An Tobar.
All will be well
Being in the Drygate was reminiscent of being in a village hall, on Iona, Mull or anywhere there may have been good friends gathered to see their pals perform.
This felt like an intimate gig, a secret concert – and people were thrilled to have been given the nod it was happening.
For almost the entirety of the show on Saturday, Maclean was on the stage playing his double bass as a love letter to his performers.
Anyone who has known him will know he will make it happen. He will work out a way in which he can make your music come alive.
When Gaelic singer Karen Matheson took to the stage, she said: “Feel the love in the room, this is already my favourite concert.”
She continued: “Very few people know this, but when Capercaillie (of which Karen is the lead singer) were formed it was in Tobermory round a table at a Mull Music Festival.
“Gordon has been our friend for a long time.”
Gaelic singer and renowned linguist Alasdair Whyte, from Salen on Mull joined Ms Matheson on stage for an unforgettable performance.
Roddy Woomble, of Idlewild fame, said: “I see a lot of Mull and Iona people here.”
When Celtic Connections organiser Donald Shaw, an accordion player, joined fiddle player Duncan Chisholm on stage, for simply the best-ever playing of Callum’s Road, he paid tribute to his fellow Argyll man.
He said: “I should have booked you in the Concert Hall, sorry to all the people who are standing at the back.
“But of course, in his unassuming way, he would not have let me – because he probably thought we would not have filled it, and we would have.”
Colin MacIntyre, of Mull Historical Society, said he had been a bit lost after success – and it was to Maclean he turned to help him with his album.
He said: “He would come down the stairs with his heavy boots, jumping on every wooden step, and say ‘let’s try this’.
“The only way to describe him is the heart of An Tobar, and An Angel with Sideburns.”
Standing ovation
MacIntyre, also a Muileach, praised Maclean for helping him, and thousands of other artists.
Long-term friend and former poet laureate Liz Lochhead had two of her poems set to music – and there was not a dry eye in the room when she finished.
She spoke, and sang, in the French cafe style – the reception was overwhelming.
Musicians and songwriters Sorren MacLean and Hannah Fisher were part of the big band, along with singer Hannah Rarity, sax player Raymond MacDonald, guitarist Andrew Wasylyk, Hector Shaw and Andy Samson.
Seonaid Aitken sung the final song, Michael Marra’s All Will Be Well, with the next generation of musicians taking to the stage – in the form of Maclean’s two grandchildren.
There was cheering, and a standing ovation.
It was an afternoon that will never be forgotten, not least for the conversations of old friends that took place afterwards.
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