Who would have thought a town in West Sussex would be such a hotbed of enthusiasm for that most Celtic of Celtic Rock bands, Skerryvore? But Horsham showed its true colours with a near sell-out crowd packing The Capitol for the band’s third appearance at Horsham’s Arts Centre, an impressive combination of modern, plate glass-fronted foyer and the art deco splendour of a theatre converted from a 1930’s cinema.
There was a buzz around the theatre well before the house lights dimmed and with the band’s appearance on stage, the buzz turned into a roar. Skerryvore have never been slow to engage with their audience, so feeding off a reaction such as this should ensure we’re in for a cracking night. Sure enough, as they opened with Put Your Hands Up there was really no need for the usual “Hands in the air” shout from the stage. I was already looking at the band over a sea of waving arms. Thank goodness for raked seating. Second up, Happy to be Home, provided the spark to get everyone joining in choruses and, when that was followed by the lively tunes of The Ginger Grouse Set, all available dancing space was occupied, right through until the end of the gig. Once ignited, the singing refused to be extinguished, particularly during At the End of the Line, a couple of songs later. Having been told by vocalist Alec Dalglish to keep repeating the closing refrain, he was taken at his word. The band finished, the audience didn’t and eight musicians stood on stage with bemused expressions, until the singers decided they’d sung enough. It was turning into a truly memorable evening for both audience and band. I’d been musing that it was a little unusual for an 8-piece band to only have one singer, but maybe I’d just had the answer, when needed, they can call on a few hundred voices.
The last line up change for Skerryvore, over two years ago now, was to add the whistles and highland pipes of Scott Wood, alongside existing piper, Martin Gillespie. Martin had been diagnosed with the neurological condition, focal dystonia, causing involuntary muscle movements in his hands. With Scott on board, Martin was able to step back and, over the last two years, I’ve become used to seeing him on stage just for brief periods, his entrances always greeted with a huge cheer. Not so in Horsham, he had to make do with only the initial cheer as he was on stage almost throughout, playing both pipes and whistles alongside Scott. Their combination playing has undoubtedly raised the bar (as well as the volume) for the band’s instrumental sets. Take the lengthy battle between two sets of pipes and Alec’s telecaster that leads into Alec’s song, Hold On, or Martin’s lyrical whistle and accordion piece, Soraidh Slán segueing into his stirring, pipe driven, The Rise, they both show the Martin/Scott combination has added a powerful and growing force to Skerryvore’s armoury. Among the many delights of this gig, seeing Martin playing such a full part was one of the best.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Skerryvore in a theatre setting, festival fields and church halls have been more common, and the difference is dramatic. Literally so, as having the freedom to move around a large stage and with the theatre’s full lighting rig and fog machines at their disposal, they are able to add a strong visual element to the show. Afterwards, accordionist Daniel Gillespie tells me, whilst not all venues on the current UK tour are able to offer these facilities, there are enough to have warranted bringing their lighting engineer along on tour. The result will be different each night, he tweaks the routine to fit whatever lights the venue can supply… a talented man. Daniel makes it clear they’re quite content to continue playing the smaller venues. These have been their lifeblood for years and he happily tells me of one of their recent gigs where they struggled to have all eight of them fit onto the stage at the same time.
Next year will mark Skerryvore’s fifteen-year anniversary and they intend to celebrate in style. They’ve already announced a special concert on June 6, somewhere in Scotland, but they’re not releasing further details yet. And what about other plans, Daniel? Well, as for the past few years, 2020 will be dominated by a hectic touring schedule, four North American visits are already in the calendar. That certainly won’t leave time to record another studio album, but a live album is a possibility. Perhaps one that tells something of the Skerryvore story, music they’ve made over the years, with recordings from venues that have been important to their development. But for the remainder of this year, once the UK tour finishes, they have dates in Germany, Denmark and Netherlands, then it’s back for Christmas and New Year dates around Scotland.
The age spread of the Horsham audience skewed towards the older end of the range for sure, but plenty of youngsters to give a balance was heartening to see.
Skerryvore have always been the band to get the feet tapping faster, the heart pumping harder and the smiles ever broader and their steady stream of gigs continues to bring that reputation to an ever wider audience. Their roots will always be firmly planted in Scottish soil but they seem more determined than ever to spread their life-enriching music to the rest of the world.