Moray band Sold on Soul will celebrate three decades of fundraising gigs with a shindig in Elgin.
The band, headed by well-known Rothes musician Colin Henderson, has raised more than £200,000 for the charity Unicef over the past 30 years, treating people to great music and a fun night out in the process.
Funds raised by the Elgin celebration will be shared between Elgin Town Hall and Unicef.
It’s a while since the band has been able to play, partly due to the pandemic.
Gigs for a band the size of Sold on Soul are difficult to organise, plus there’s been a long-term decline in local live music since the advent of disco in the 70s.
Playing and giving back
But as long as people still enjoy their music, Colin says the 13-piece veteran band will keep on playing and giving back.
Their annual gig in Elgin for Unicef is a highlight in the Moray calendar, and tickets have been going fast.
Sold on Soul has its origins back in the 1960s when Colin put together a pop group known as The Rising Sun —yes, inspired by The Animals’ classic House of the Rising Sun.
He had trained in classical clarinet with Kim Murray of Elgin, and made a natural progression to the saxophone, like his dad Bill.
By the age of 14, still at school in Elgin Academy, Colin was out gigging with his dad’s Billy Henderson Band.
During the Sixties, Colin’s Rising Sun joined the buzzing live music scene and played dances every week across the region.
Legendary Elgin promoter Albert Bonici took the group under his wing with gigs at his Two Red Shoes ballroom.
Colin is full of praise and affection for Albert Bonici.
“He got Rising Sun a lot of work as a function band, including the Navy camps gigs at Lossiemouth,” he said.
In the 1970s Colin took his family to South Africa and Zimbabwe for a couple of years, playing three-month contracts at clubs.
They returned to Rothes, where Colin continued to gig with lots of different bands, and also tutored music at Gordonstoun’s Aberlour House.
Multi-million business
Meanwhile, he started an animal health business which blossomed and became a multi-million pound concern.
He sold it 19 years ago, but while the stress of business might have been over, Colin’s love of music certainly wasn’t.
These days he plays jazz regularly with the Moray Jazz Club at Elgin FC social club.
His son Craig and daughter Nikki have inherited Colin’s talent for music.
Nikki sings with Sold on Soul, and Craig, who plays alto sax in some of London’s top hotels, will be coming to Elgin for the upcoming celebratory gig.
Old favourites
Sold on Soul’s set list continues to evolve, but there are many old favourites from the glory days, such as Signed, Sealed, Delivered; Knock On Wood, Gimme Some Lovin’, Proud Mary, and Lean On Me.
While audiences seem content to listen at first, by tune number three the dance floor is heaving, Colin says.
“Seeing people enjoy and get a buzz out of music of that era is what it’s all about.
“More and more young people seem to be enjoying it too and we hope to see them back in Elgin Town Hall.
“We’ll only stop doing gigs when people stop coming.”
Colin looks back at the 60s and early 70s with nostalgia.
“We were lucky in our age, there were so many gigs.
“Every village hall had a dance, so you were playing every weekend.
“Now the breeding ground for young musicians is limited.
“We definitely saw the best of it.”
Bill Hope has been chairman of the Elgin branch of Unicef since 1980, being made an MBE for his service in 2018.
He quickly spotted the potential of Sold on Soul and has been promoting the band for the past three decades.
He said: “Their gigs are the highlight of the year, and they’ve entertained at least 20,000 revellers over the years.
“They bring so much pleasure to others, while raising funds for Unicef and helping make things better for people.
“After the terrible 2004 tsunami, the band raised £12,000 for the cause.
“After 25 years they had raised £200,000 for Unicef.
“This year, donations will go to Ukraine and we will have the hall decked in Ukraine colours.”
If you miss Sold on Soul’s Elgin gig on on Saturday February 18, you can catch them on March 25 in Forres Town Hall raising funds for Forres Mechanics FC.
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