Ross Wilson (aka Blue Rose Code) has announced a follow-up to last August’s hugely successful Blue Rose Code Presents ‘This Is Caledonian Soul’.
At The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, Ross took to the stage with a 14-piece band and some very special guests, to revisit some iconic Scots song.
In an interview with Folk Radio, Ross has announced that This Is Caledonian Soul will return to The Queen’s Hall on August 19th 2019. Not only that, but he’ll also bring the show to his London audience, and the sublime surroundings of The Union Chapel, on 30th September.
Ross has just returned from Prince Edward Island, Canada, where he joined FARA as part of the Showcase Scotland Expo at the East Coast Music Association conference & awards. Despite the unexpected effects of jet-lag, and the journeying musician’s nightmare of luggage going missing, when we discussed the new show he was decidedly upbeat about his trip to Novia Scotia.
“It’s only about 4 hours difference from where we are, so I don’t know how jet lag impacted on me so heavily – feeling good now, though. Had a very successful time in Canada, very happy with how it’s gone”
Ross seemed settled and content. Fatherhood clearly agrees with him and, although living in the moment, there’s an air of someone whose focus is also very much on the future. As far as the near future is concerned, he was keen to share the news about This Is Caledonian Soul. He started by explaining how much he’s looking forward to bringing the show back to the Edinburgh audience and taking it to London for the first time.
“I’m excited about these shows. It’s great to be doing the gig at The Queen’s Hall again, but I’m really excited about Union chapel too. Last year there was a lot of social media clamour to bring the show south”. And the venue for that southern premiere has personal significance. “One of my first big shows in London was performing at Union Chapel, opening for Drever, McCusker and Woomble. It was my first taste of playing a big show and I’d always ear-marked that as a place that I wanted to do a headline show”.
That was ten years ago when Ho-Hum records released Blue Rose Code’s first single, Love / Whitechapel, and four years before North Ten, the debut album that started to attract nation-wide attention, launching Ross’ music career in earnest. Since then his growing audience has enjoyed a further four spellbinding studio albums, and the music of Blue Rose Code has evolved into an all-embracing eclecticism that progressed from cathartic acknowledgement of the ghosts of his past to a re-discovered love of his Scottish origins.
Last year, This Is Caledonian Soul seemed the perfect mix of Ross’ myriad influences, the musicians he regularly works and collaborates with, and fellow performers who embrace the same, eclectic approach to music. “I’ve been a bit of a ‘musician magpie’ for years now, just collecting good musicians; and to see them all come together and be a foundation for these great singers, and these great songs, is a pleasure.
“We performed This Is Caledonian Soul at The Queen’s Hall, then reprised it at City Halls in Glasgow, for Celtic Connections. What I love about it most is that it’s a great occasion for an artist, a singer, to be able to express themselves. The singers are able to re-visit some of their own music, re-worked for the setting. Eddi (Reader) did a bangin’ soul version of Perfect. We also get to choose some songs that we love by other people”.
Any fan of Blue Rose Code could probably predict the set would include songs by Van Morrison and John Martyn, but that list of much-loved songs also included the music of Annie Lennox, The Blue Nile and The Waterboys – to name just a few. This is far more, though, than Ross Wilson and friends indulging in a nostalgic sing-along.
“It’s important to remember that it’s not Karaoke. The artists are able to curate the evening and perform re-worked versions of our own favourite songs along the Celtic theme, but with a soul band. It’s going to be an exciting thing to do. We have Eddi Reader and John Douglas from Trashcan Sinatras. We have Hamish Stewart from Average White Band. We have an eight-piece soul band and a string quartet too. It’s going to be a big show”.
Also confirmed for the Queen’s Hall show are two very special guests. Capercaillie vocalist Karen Matheson will join Ross on stage, as will Liverpool’s award-winning country/soul phenomenon, Robert Vincent.
Ross’ fondness for the likes of John Martyn, Nick Drake and many others is well documented. I wanted to ask him, though, about earlier musical influences; about the music he played while he was growing up in Edinburgh, and before his creative awakening in East London.
“I grew up listening to a lot of soul music, especially Motown, and what I love most about it, apart from the singing itself, is the quality of the musicianship. I really love Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell duets, and Stevie Wonder, of course.
“Stevie Wonder’s albums are just extraordinary. Of course, he’s a singer and a tremendous musician, but I think of Stevie Wonder as one of the great singer/ songwriters. Albums like Innervisions, Songs in the Key of Life, Talking Book – all amazing concept albums”.
There were plenty of surprises in last year’s playlist – Graham Lyle’s My Father’s Son, for instance. So what constitutes a classic Scottish song? As far as Ross is concerned, a song is what you make it.
“I don’t think there’s a uniform pattern, but you know it when you hear it. It lives with you, it lives in you. The first album I bought was Wet Wet Wet’s Popped in Souled Out. I was obsessed with it – Marti Pellow is a wonderful singer and, although I never knew it at the time, listening back to the album you can hear some John Martyn inflections in Marti’s voice, you can hear that he loved John Martyn”. There’s certainly no shortage of fine song, and Ross has confirmed that This Is Caledonian Soul 2019 will have a completely new set list.
“I don’t want to give too much away, but Graham Lyle’s a good example. He wrote Tina Turner’s hit What’s Love Got To Do With It? That’s a song we’re looking forward to getting stuck into for the next set. I still have a lot to chat about with our MD, Angus Lyon, over the next couple of weeks and get it nailed down. And we’re still hearing suggestions from the singers that have confirmed for the show”. Angus Lyon produced the last two Blue Rose Code albums, and has been an important element in helping Ross re-embrace his Celtic roots.
“Angus is a really talented guy. He and I bring different things to the table. He’s one of these guys I’m very lucky to know. We can chat in short-hand and he just knows exactly what I want. We work well together and I think that’s been proved”. And does that relationship with Angus carry on to the next album? “Absolutely. We’re not far from going into the studio to work on the next album”.
With a string of live appearances between now and August (some with Eddi Reader – https://bluerosecode.com/live), and work due to begin on a new album, I thought Ross had enough to keep him busy, but there was one final piece of news to share.
“Our plan now is to do Caledonian Soul at least once a year, for the Edinburgh Fringe. Hopefully, we can reprise it for other events and take the show on tour. We’re in the process of agreeing a deal to take the show international”.
So – more travel, probably more jet-lag, and even the risk of further baggage misadventures. While we were chatting, though, as if to re-affirm the pervading harmony, Ross’ stray luggage from his trip to Canada was returned. It looks very much as if everything is in place for another year of exceptional music, from Blue Rode Code.
Listen to Blue Rose Code performing ‘The Downtown Lights’ (The Blue Nile Cover) LIVE at This Is Caledonian Soul!
TICKETS for THIS IS CALEDONIAN SOUL
Mon 19 August – Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh – TICKETS
Mon 30 September – Union Chapel, London – TICKETS
For Blue Rose Code live dates visit: https://bluerosecode.com/live