COMMUNITY Colin Campbell toured with his own
dance band from 1967 - 1971. t34colin1no
T
HE GIGS may be less frequent and there will
be more nights at home in Oban but at 78 years of age, Colin Campbell, one of the town’s most famous accordionists is still going strong. Gone are the days of three concerts in one night and per- formances to a national televi- sion audience, although ded- icated fans of the west coast wizard of the box can still catch the odd performance in the town’s hotels.
But even the most avid fol- lower will have been surprised by Colin’s most recent public outing, when he came out in support of retaining the old Rockfield primary school by composing The Rockfield Polka.
The tune was designed to create awareness of the build- ing’s plight, said Colin, whose father was once janitor at the school.
But what is surprising about a musician of 68 years compos- ing a song on a subject he is passionate about? Well, Col- in, for all his fame in the 1960s and ‘70s heyday of Scottish dance band music had only ever written four tunes before. ‘It is very rare that a tune worth writing comes to you,’ said Colin, who is a self taught player. ‘You can’t just write a tune, it has to come to you. ‘When I heard talk of Rock- field’s demolition I thought that was just wrong and un- necessary. That was when the tune came to me.
‘I hope other musicians will play the tune and get peo- ple talking about it and the school.’ The retired joiner hoped to encourage
support for the
retention of the building by releasing the tune, a ‘catchy, simple tune’, according to its composer, who became a household name in the late
1960s with his dance band. The band, which also includ- ed Billy Ford on drums, Tom- my MaTague on double bass, Calum Macphail on fiddle and Neil Sinclair on second accordion and piano, toured the country for four years be- tween 1967 - 1971.
During that time they per- formed on the STV pro- gramme Alasdair Sings, alongside Alasdair Gillies, and played in the Royal Albert Hall. At its height in popularity, the programme’s viewing figure was on par with Coronation Street, Dr Finlay’s Casebook and Z-Cars. Buoyed by the creation of his latest tune, Colin is in danger of becoming a campaigning composer. He joked: ‘I saw another story in The Oban Times that asked for the opinions of tourists and I’ve already got the title of my next tune: The town with no toilets.’
9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40