If you were around Inverurie in the ’70s, the chances are you’ll remember rock band Jolson gigging in the local pubs.
It may seem like only yesterday, but it’s been 50 years since the band began filling venues from Perth to Thurso.
And now the young-at-heart members of Jolson are back on stage to mark their 50th anniversary in style.
Off the back of a sell-out charity gig in their native Inverurie, the band is hoping to get back on the road, playing the north-east venues of their youth.
But the celebration is bittersweet, following the death of founding member Jim Walker from cancer in 2000.
Jolson were part of thriving music scene
Cast your minds back to 1973. It was the year Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon, David Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust and Slade’s iconic festive favourite Merry Xmas Everybody was released.
There was also a thriving music scene across Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland.
You just needed to glance down the classified and entertainment pages in the EE and P&J at the time to see columns bursting with adverts for gigs.
It was at the start of 1973 that Alan Robertson (vocals/keyboard), Johnny Smith (bass guitar), Jim Walker (lead guitar) and Brian Hosie (drums) founded Jolson.
By day, they were a mechanic, art teacher, electrician and quantity surveyor, but evenings and weekends were spent gigging and rehearsing.
The musicians had previously been part of the Billy Steele Combo, but formed new group Jolson when two members left.
Soon Jolson were being booked at venues not just in Aberdeenshire, but in Inverness, Perth City Hall, the Aviemore Centre – and everywhere in between.
Brush with fame on television
The group garnered a loyal following and regularly played to sell-out audiences, which singer and keyboard player Alan believes was down to their rockier sound.
While many local bands played pop covers, Jolson were influenced by Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Status Quo.
Jolson went from strength to strength, and in August 1973 enjoyed a star turn on the silver screen with an appearance on Grampian TV’s “Sounds ’73”.
The format of Sounds ’73, filmed at Grampian TV’s Queen’s Road studio, was to feature an up-and-coming band alongside a well-known artist.
Jolson were the rising stars, and the established band was none other than Marsha Hunt’s 22.
Marsha had shot to fame in the lead role in the controversial West End musical Hair and for being Mick Jagger’s one-time girlfriend.
Rocking out in Rothienorman
One of the band’s regular and most popular haunts was the village Rothienorman, near Inverurie.
Unlike most Saturday night dances in the Garioch it didn’t start until 10pm and continued until 1.30am.
In a 1975 Evening Express interview, bass guitarist Johnny said the crowd didn’t want chart covers, he explained: “The important thing is to play music people will want to dance to.”
Such was Rothie’s reputation in the ’70s, it attracted an audience, not just from neighbouring towns and villages, but also from Banff and Macduff.
But rival factions from the north-east gathering at one venue – with added booze – did often lead to dancefloor scuffles.
Then-assistant roadie Steve Ross described one Brechin gig as “murder” because people were “scrapping all over the place”.
Jolson: 50 years on
After enjoying success across Scotland, Jolson disbanded in 1978.
However, the band reunited in the 1990s and raised more than £70,000 for charities through special gigs.
A particularly poignant couple of gigs were two sell-out charity nights at Inverurie Town Hall in 1997.
The band were raising funds for the Stephen Welsh Appeal in memory of the teenage Inverurie meningitis victim.
These days, Alan is still on keys and vocals, performing alongside Johnny and Brian, but is now joined by Nev Gall on lead guitar.
While Nev’s 16-year-old son Andrew has also joined the band as a guitarist.
Alan says he “brings a new freshness to the band” and joked “as well as substantially reducing our age”.
Alan added: “We’re doing one or two gigs which we’re calling ‘Jolson: 50 years on’ – we did the first one in the Hopeville Social Club in Inverurie and it sold out in a matter of days.
“We raised £2400 for Cancer Research – Jolson’s original guitarist, Jim Walker, died of cancer in 2000, as did his successor Brian Boddie in 2017.”
Good music for a good cause
Alan said seeing the audience enjoying the gig – where they shared the bill with Inverurie country band Teresa and Distilled Water – made Jolson realise there’s still an appetite for their music.
Alan said: “We’re acutely aware we can’t just keep playing in Inverurie, and we thought this might spark interest in other communities we used to play like Ellon, Turriff, Peterhead and Banff.
“Without boasting, we used to pack out places regularly.
“From here all up the east and north coast to Inverness, occasionally Strathpeffer and Thurso, and down as far as Tayside and St Andrews.
“We were lucky, we had a good band, and we were slightly more niche than most bands that were playing the charts.
“We were trying to play more rocky stuff, it gave us an edge.”
Alan said people feel nostalgic about the band and the 1970s, and Jolson hope to raise even more money for good causes in their anniversary year.
He added: “We just want to alert people who were around at the time that we’re up for doing a few of these gigs over the coming months.”
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