Latest news with #Gaughan
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Dick Gaughan deserves every moment of his newly restored reputation
'I'd heard of people doing that before,' Barbara said on Anna Massie's BBC Radio Scotland programme, Travelling Folk, 'but I couldn't believe my eyes.' The man who was so intent on watching Gaughan's renowned guitar technique, was, she added, 'a real geek, obviously a Dick Gaughan fanboy'. And whoever he was, he was far from being the last person to be bewitched by Gaughan's outstanding work on the acoustic guitar. Dick, now 77, is one of Scotland's most renowned musicians. The power of his live performances has long been recognised. As the Glasgow Herald remarked, back in 1989: 'It is impossible to listen to Dick Gaughan and remain unaffected by his work; he is a performer of such unremitting force, such devastating persuasiveness, and an orator of considerable weight … In everything he says, in every song he sings, Gaughan preaches humanitarianism.' Read more: A few years later, a Guardian review noted that Gaughan took no prisoners: 'his songs of the dispossessed were delivered with the electrifying passion of a zealot, cutting through any Aran-sweatered Celtic twilight mist like a Stanley knife at a rave … Those who welcomed a return to social realism in pop with Bruce Springsteen's depressive The Ghost of Tom Joad, should seek out Gaughan's blast-furnace performances to hear how music from the gut really sounds.' When he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame Gaughan was described as Scotland's 'most passionate troubadour, a singer and guitarist whose performances both burn with a fierce conviction and smoulder with equally heartfelt compassion and invigorate audiences across the world with eloquently expressed conviction'. He has inspired such people as Kate Rusby, Karine Polwart and Billy Bragg. To Kathryn Tickell, the feted exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, he is one of the absolute greats of the folk music world. Dick suffered a stroke in 2016. Today, he is legally blind, and can no longer play guitar. His name and his work, however, are being widely championed. A sum of £92,000, raised by a Kickstarter campaign, led to a substantial amount being given to him to pay for his living costs. The balance is being used to finance R/evolution: 1969-83, a comprehensive seven-CD, one-DVD boxset of his recorded work, which will likely be released in November or early December, distributed by Last Night from Glasgow. At the same time, a GoFundMe appeal launched at Dick's behest has so far raised most than £32,000 to raise legal fees 'to test the claims by an entity called Celtic Music to the rights to a tranche of [his] recorded works – music recorded between 53 and 30 years ago'. The fund's target is £35,000. The albums in question are No More Forever (Melody Maker's Folk Album of the Year in 1972), Kist O' Gold (1977), Songs of Ewan MacColl (1978, with Tony Capstick and Dave Burland), Live in Edinburgh (1985), and Call It Freedom (1988). Also covered are one album he made with Boys of the Lough in 1973, and one he made in the mid-nineties with another group, Clan Alba. Dick fervently hopes that his legal process will be a bridgehead for other artists of his generation, or their heirs, whose 1970s recordings are effectively 'locked up' by the same entity. Dick Gaughan was born in Glasgow in May 1948, the eldest of three children to Dick and Frances Gaughan, from Leith. His family were all musicians; his grandfather played the fiddle and his father played the fiddle and guitar, and his mother was a Gaelic singer. Dick picked up his first guitar at the age of seven and at length began to develop his own style of singing and playing. He was in his late teens when in 1966 he landed his first paid gig, in a folk club in Bathgate's Rendezvous Roadhouse. For his pains he received £2. 'In those days it was all word of mouth and very informal and anarchic, and clubs were generally run by dedicated and pretty fanatical amateurs', he told JP Bean, author of an oral history of British folk clubs, more than a decade ago. 'As I got more work, I just kind of drifted into earning my living exclusively from playing, finally giving up other jobs in January 1970.' He released his first solo album, No More Forever, the following year. In June 1972 he joined Boys of the Lough for eight months, after which he returned to solo work, before, in June 1975, joining the electric folk band Five Hand Reel, with whom he made three albums. Handful of Earth, released in 1981, came to be regarded as classic solo Gaughan, its potent blend of traditional and contemporary folk songs underpinned by his intricate guitar work. It was his considered reaction to the 'extreme right-wing government' that had come to power under Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Its power quite undimmed by the passing of the years, Handful of Earth was voted Album of the Decade in Folk Roots magazine's poll in 1989. Alighting upon that opportunity to reassess the record, Mark Cooper, writing in Q magazine, observed: 'Despite the sense of outrage that lurks behind most of the material on Handful Of Earth, the overall mood is of a kind of gruff sorrow. Perhaps Gaughan still saw himself more as a reporter than a revolutionary and certainly the two ballads at the album's heart, 'The Snows They Melt The Soonest' and 'Lough Erne', are mournful, measured laments whose power is all the greater for their restraint. 'Yet this collection is full of songs which trace the diaspora of the Irish and the Scots as poverty drove their poor towards America. Landlords, bailiffs and beagles pursue the emigre of 'Craigie Hill' just as the hunters pursue the birds in 'Now Westlin Winds'. 'Despite the straightforward power of Leon Rosselson's 'World Turned Upside Down' (since popularised by Billy Bragg) and Ed Pickford's 'Worker's Song', it is the juxtaposition of these contemporary songs with the haunting traditional material which makes this both a poetical and a polemical collection with the poetical holding the balance.' In the mid-eighties in Belfast, a city where Gaughan often played, his music was discovered by a university student by the name of Colin Harper. Today, Colin is, amongst other things, a music writer and curator, author of an excellent biography of Dick's fellow Scot, Bert Jansch - and creator of the very Kickstarter campaign that has marked such a resurgence of interest in Gaughan. Read more On the Record: 'Handful of Earth is a masterpiece,' he said earlier this week. 'As a young listener …I was drawn in by the power and charisma of his stage performances, and the magic guitar playing on things like 'Erin-Go-Bragh' and 'The Snows'. But the deeper magic reveals itself in the more subdued songs, especially 'Craigie Hill' and 'Both Sides the Tweed'. 'Compiling a box-set of live and BBC material as we speak, I know now the other songs in his repertoire in 1980/81 that he might have recorded for Handful of Earth but I can see why he didn't - the mood of it would have changed. 'He got the contents of it exactly right. It's frustrating that much of Dick's 1972-88 commercially recorded work is currently inaccessible. Handful of Earth is the only album from that period that's been physically available ever since. But by happy chance, it's the best of them all!' Handful of Earth would later be described by Billy Bragg as one of his all-time favourite albums. 'World Turned Upside Down', he said, saw Gaughan grabbing the song "by the scruff of the neck and [chucking] it into the twentieth century where it lands at my feet and I think 'f———' hell, that is an incredible song. 'Both Sides Of The Tweed',' he added, 'is probably the best song you could ever imagine about English and Scottish thoughts of independence'. The comedian Stewart Lee accorded Handful of Earth a similar accolade, taking the view that it was 'a great album of Scottish nationalist songs and really old Highland ballads, with this fantastic intricate guitar playing'. It is all happening for Dick Gaughan now: the forthcoming boxset (there will be roughly 500 copies on sale to the general public), plus limited-edition releases of Live at the BBC (on vinyl), a CD, Live in Belfast 1979-82, and a twin CD collection, Live in the 70s. More is on the way. 'Next year', adds Colin, 'we hope to release an expanded True And Bold: Songs of the Scottish Miners [originally out in 1986, long out of print], a 2-CD Andy Kershaw Sessions Plus: 1984-2005 - Dick's six Andy Kershaw Radio 1 sessions plus the best of his other BBC recordings from the 'second phase' of his career - and Collaborations, an exciting album of the best of his studio recordings gifted to themed albums/tribute albums and vocal guest performances with other artists, all from 2000-2015. And from Topic, a new vinyl remaster is in the works.' Dick Gaughan deserves every last moment of his newly restored reputation, having paid his dues in more ways than one. Criss-crossing the country, driving long distances at uncongenial hours and playing in venues that frequently erred on the wrong side of glamorous, was not for everyone. But he persisted, because he was a musician, and because he was very good at it. 'By the time I knock off all the costs of doing my job,' he reflected to JP Bean for his book, Singing from the Floor: A History of British Folk Clubs, 'I probably end up keeping about 15 per cent of what I earn and my taxable income over a year is roughly what I'd earn stacking shelves in Tesco. 'Being on the road isn't a career - it's a way of life. Anyone who gets that the wrong way round isn't going to hack it for long. After a decade they're going to be completely burned out and bitterly disappointed unless they get lucky and hit commercial success outside the folk world … It's just the way of life I chose and it's the price you pay if you decide to do something outside the accepted mainstream.' * The GoFundMe page can be found at Dick Gaughan Live at the BBC 1972-79 (vinyl) is available for pre-ordering from Last Night From Glasgow: ; details of the forthcoming R/evolution boxset can be found at
Glasgow Times
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Musicians back Scottish folk legend's new bid to own his life's work
Dick Gaughan, born in Glasgow and raised in Leith, has been hailed as one of Scotland's leading folk singer-songwriters with a career that spanned more than four decades. Gaughan received a Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards ceremony in 2010 and was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame a year prior, before a stroke forced him into retirement in 2016. READ MORE: Council respond to concerns over missing alpacas at Glasgow Children's Farm READ MORE: This is the plan for this iconic Glasgow city centre building Despite this long-standing success, Gaughan's music is largely unavailable for purchase or streaming as the rights are currently held by an entity called Celtic Music. As a result, a number of acclaimed Scottish folk musicians have backed a crowdfunding campaign to help the singer-songwriter with legal fees as he attempts to win back the rights to his music. A GoFundMe was set up last week by Colin Harper, a music historian and record label consultant on archive releases and box sets, and has already secured more than £22,000 in donations at the time of writing. In a video discussing the campaign, Harper said: 'This is a crowdfunding appeal to raise legal fees to test Celtic Music's claims to the rights of seven Dick Gaughan albums, solo and collaborative, spanning 1972 to 1995. 'It's not a witch-hunt of personalities living or dead. It's simply a matter of applying the law and, we hope, bringing the music back home to the man who made it and then sharing it far and wide.' Earlier this year, Harper ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to create an eight-disk box set of a "lost" era of Gaughan's music, which is set to be released next January. The cover of the forthcoming box set, R/evolution (Image: Dave Peabody)Gaughan, who is now legally blind, collaborated with Harper on the project. Speaking to the Scotsman, Harper said: 'I found myself thinking about this late last year. "It felt alarming – upsetting, in fact – that such an incredible artist who had seemed to be a powerful, righteous, invincible performer when I saw him at concerts in the '80s and '90s had faded almost completely from view. I had to do something about it.' Celtic Music, which does not exist on Companies House, was founded by Dave Bulmer and his brother-in-law, Nick Sharpley, and operated as a record label from 1972. Its last release was in 2007. Bulmer passed away in 2013, with Sharpley left in charge of Celtic Music and its related companies. Several Scottish folk musicians have backed the initiative, including Kathryn Tickell, Patsy Seddon of super-group Clan Alba and renowned fiddler Aly Bain. Speaking to The National, Bain – who has been friends with and worked alongside Gaughan since the early seventies – explained why he has backed the campaign. 'It's not even about my friendship with Dick – it's just wrong what has been done with these recordings', he said. 'These recordings should never be kept away. They should be out there, and Dick should be able to sell them. 'I just think it's one of these legal things that we have to get sorted out, because it's just not right that all these songs of his are just kept in mothballs. Nobody can hear them. 'If anything, Dick has become even more appreciated in his old age, so it's important that he's able to produce these things and put them on the market again because they're great songs.' Gaughan hopes the campaign will help other artists of his generation, who have "felt their own legacies to have been affected by a record label's claimed ownership of their works". Tickell told The National: 'Dick Gaughan is one of the absolute greats of the folk music world. I grew up listening to his music and it's impossible to overstate just how influential and inspirational he is. 'This crowdfunder is for legal fees to enable him to fight to retrieve several iconic recordings. 'We hope that the end result will bring some much-needed income, since Dick is no longer able to perform due to disability, as well as making these recordings more accessible for people to enjoy.' Organisers say any extra funds left over from the campaign will be donated to charity Help Musicians, which aims to help artists at all levels during "times of crisis, but also at times of opportunity". The GoFundMe for Gaughan's legal fees is still active and those wishing to do so can donate here. Neil Sharpley was approached for comment.
The National
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Musicians back folk legend's new bid to own his life's work
Dick Gaughan, born in Glasgow and raised in Leith, has been hailed as one of Scotland's leading folk singer-songwriters with a career that spanned more than four decades. Gaughan received a Lifetime Achievement Award from BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards ceremony in 2010 and was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame a year prior, before a stroke forced him into retirement in 2016. READ MORE: Canadian duo to bring twist on trad music to Speyfest Despite this long-standing success, Gaughan's music is largely unavailable for purchase or streaming as the rights are currently held by an entity called Celtic Music. As a result, a number of acclaimed Scottish folk musicians have backed a crowdfunding campaign to help the singer-songwriter with legal fees as he attempts to win back the rights to his music. A GoFundMe was set up last week by Colin Harper, a music historian and record label consultant on archive releases and box sets, and has already acquired more than £22,000 in donations at the time of writing. In a video discussing the campaign, Harper said: 'This is a crowdfunding appeal to raise legal fees to test Celtic Music's claims to the rights of seven Dick Gaughan albums, solo and collaborative, spanning 1972 to 1995. 'It's not a witch-hunt of personalities living or dead. It's simply a matter of applying the law and, we hope, bringing the music back home to the man who made it and then sharing it far and wide.' Earlier this year, Harper ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to create an eight-disk box set of a "lost" era of Gaughan's music, which is set to be released next January. The cover of the forthcoming box set, R/evolution (Image: Dave Peabody)Gaughan, who is now legally blind, collaborated with Harper on the project. Speaking to the Scotsman, Harper said: 'I found myself thinking about this late last year. "It felt alarming – upsetting, in fact – that such an incredible artist who had seemed to be a powerful, righteous, invincible performer when I saw him at concerts in the '80s and '90s had faded almost completely from view. I had to do something about it.' READ MORE: Fund set up in honour of young Scottish DJ reaches £15k in just two months Celtic Music, which does not exist on Companies House, was founded by Dave Bulmer and his brother-in-law, Nick Sharpley, and operated as a record label from 1972. Its last release was in 2007. Bulmer passed away in 2013, with Sharpley left in charge of Celtic Music and its related companies. Several Scottish folk musicians have backed the initiative, including Kathryn Tickell, Patsy Seddon of super-group Clan Alba and renowned fiddler Aly Bain. Speaking to The National, Bain – who has been friends with and worked alongside Gaughan since the early seventies – explained why he has backed the campaign. 'It's not even about my friendship with Dick – it's just wrong what has been done with these recordings', he said. 'These recordings should never be kept away. They should be out there, and Dick should be able to sell them. 'I just think it's one of these legal things that we have to get sorted out, because it's just not right that all these songs of his are just kept in mothballs. Nobody can hear them. 'If anything, Dick has become even more appreciated in his old age, so it's important that he's able to produce these things and put them on the market again because they're great songs.' Gaughan hopes the campaign will help other artists of his generation, who have "felt their own legacies to have been affected by a record label's claimed ownership of their works". READ MORE: 'I'll be busy washing my hair', Stephen Flynn said of upcoming Trump visit Tickell told The National: 'Dick Gaughan is one of the absolute greats of the folk music world. I grew up listening to his music and it's impossible to overstate just how influential and inspirational he is. 'This crowdfunder is for legal fees to enable him to fight to retrieve several iconic recordings. 'We hope that the end result will bring some much-needed income, since Dick is no longer able to perform due to disability, as well as making these recordings more accessible for people to enjoy.' Organisers say any extra funds left over from the campaign will be donated to charity Help Musicians, which aims to help artists at all levels during "times of crisis, but also at times of opportunity". The GoFundMe for Gaughan's legal fees is still active and those wishing to do so can donate here. Neil Sharpley was approached for comment.
Glasgow Times
26-06-2025
- Glasgow Times
Motorcyclist who left friend in wheelchair for life after crash jailed
Scott Callaghan, 31, propelled pillion passenger Paul Gaughan into the air in Glasgow's Anniesland on August 17, 2023. Callaghan had driven at excessive speed and struck a kerb while he had a small trace of alcohol in his system. Mr Gaughan was hospitalised for six months and was found to be paralysed below the chest. He also suffered further "life changing" injuries which included a number of fractures to his body. Dad-of-three Callaghan pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to causing serious injury to Mr Gaughan by dangerous driving. READ NEXT: Highest civil court issues decision in Tommy Sheridan's case against council READ NEXT: Former Catholic priest admits repeated abuse of boy more than 40 years ago Sheriff John McCormick said: "You were a disqualified driver at the time which is an aggravating factor. "Due to Mr Gaughan's injuries, you are realistic that there is no alternative to a subtantial custodial sentence. "You were 30 at the time and not an immature teenager - you chose to drive in that manner." The sheriff also disqualified Callaghan from driving for a period of eight years. The court earlier heard that Callaghan, of the city's Knightswood, was driving the Yamaha off-road bike to a field at 10.19pm. Prosecutor Victoria Keel said: "He drove at excessive speed and sharply braked and collided with a pavement. "The bike became airborne and it collided into a metal fence which caused Mr Gaughan to be propelled into the air. "He travelled seven metres before he landed on the ground." Both men - who were not wearing protective helmets - were found severely injured at the scene. Mr Gaughan was conscious and breathing but did not react to pain. He was taken to hospital where he was found to have sustained a string of injuries described as "life changing." This included a fracture to his vertebrae, a scalp bone fracture, a nasal bone fracture as well as scarring to his neck. Miss Keel added: "He suffered complete paralysis below his chest which will be life long. "He will be a full-time wheelchair user and will require assistance to his bed, a car and the toilet. "His left hand is weak and will need assistance to carry out daily activities for the rest of his life." The fiscal depute further stated that there is a risk of a spinal cord injury and there was an injury to his blader and bowel. The hearing was told that Callaghan also sustained injuries which included a broken arm and fractured pelvis. An alcohol test on Callaghan showed that he had a minor amount in his system but not enough to take him over the drink drive limit. Calum Weir, defending, told the sentencing: "He knows a catastrophic error of judgement has had a devastating impact on two families."
Daily Record
26-06-2025
- Daily Record
Dad who left pal paralysed in wheelchair for life after horror bike smash jailed
Neither Scott Callaghan or his friend Paul Gaughan were wearing helmets at the time of the crash. A banned driver who left his friend in a wheelchair for life after a horrific motorcycle crash was jailed today for 30 months. Scott Callaghan, 31, propelled pillion passenger Paul Gaughan into the air in Glasgow's Anniesland on August 17, 2023. Callaghan had driven at excessive speed and struck a kerb while he had a small trace of alcohol in his system. Mr Gaughan was hospitalised for six months and was found to be paralysed below the chest. He also suffered further "life changing" injuries which included a number of fractures to his body. Dad-of-three Callaghan pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to causing serious injury to Mr Gaughan by dangerous driving. Sheriff John McCormick said: "You were a disqualified driver at the time which is an aggravating factor. "Due to Mr Gaughan's injuries, you are realistic that there is no alternative to a subtantial custodial sentence. You were 30 at the time and not an immature teenager - you chose to drive in that manner." The sheriff also disqualified Callaghan from driving for a period of eight years. The court earlier heard that Callaghan, of the city's Knightswood, was driving the Yamaha off-road bike to a field at 10.19pm. Prosecutor Victoria Keel said: "He drove at excessive speed and sharply braked and collided with a pavement. "The bike became airborne and it collided into a metal fence which caused Mr Gaughan to be propelled into the air. He travelled seven metres before he landed on the ground." Both men - who were not wearing protective helmets - were found severely injured at the scene. Mr Gaughan was conscious and breathing but did not react to pain. He was taken to hospital where he was found to have sustained a string of injuries described as "life changing." This included a fracture to his vertebrae, a scalp bone fracture, a nasal bone fracture as well as scarring to his neck. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. "He will be a full-time wheelchair user and will require assistance to his bed, a car and the toilet. His left hand is week and will need assistance to carry out daily activities for the rest of his life." The fiscal depute further stated that there is a risk of a spinal cord injury and there was an injury to his bladder and bowel. The hearing was told that Callaghan also sustained injuries which included a broken arm and fractured pelvis. An alcohol test on Callaghan showed that he had a minor amount in his system but not enough to take him over the drink drive limit. Calum Weir, defending, told the sentencing: "He knows a catastrophic error of judgement has had a devastating impact on two families."
