Back in late 1969 a troupe of singers from the Fife Folksong Scene gathered themselves together for a trip to Belfast. The occasion was an invitation to provide a show around Folksong from Scotland at Queens University. Later that year a wee tour of East Anglia was undertaken and here the name The Great Fife Road Show was unveiled.
As 1970 emerged, ambition was rife and a tour over the summer months was suggested. And so it came to pass. The numbers expanded and the tour was plotted. It’s here the late John Watt makes his presence felt and a level of professionalism and organisational skill is introduced. The tour covered Scotland from Dumfries to Ullapool, a total of some 25 dates.
Following that outing, the personnel altered slightly as new members arrived and others went on to establish substantial presence in the world of music’n’song. Reunions and celebratory events have occurred occasionally and The Great Fife Road Show has gone on to achieve legendary status.
This celebratory show will be performed by all surviving ex-members featuring Maureen (Chalmers) Blyth, Davie Craig, Barbara Dickson, Noel Farroe, Cilla Fisher, Jim Herd, Jimmy Hutchison, Brian Miller, Rab Noakes, Davey Stewart and Artie Trezise. Singer/Guitarist Des Haldane, who died too young in 2008, will be fondly remembered and there’ll be a segment of the show devoted to the seminal John Watt which will contain several of his masterly compositions. The show will revisit some of its renowned ensemble pieces and solo performances. There’ll be old songs, new songs, old jokes and a delicious camaraderie on display.
To quote the song ‘Fife’s got Everything’ – ‘Fife’s entertainment, finest in the country, when it comes to arty talk we’re no’ the mugs’. But we’ll let the audience be the judge of that claim.
Laughter, tears, nostalgia and memories of 50 years of friendship, wrapped up in The ‘Great Fife Road Show’.
Saturday 18 January 2020 Lochgelly Centre, Lochgelly, Fife. KY5 9RD. Show 8pm Tickets £10 Tel. 01592 583303 boxoffice.lochgelly@onfife.com | www.onfife.com/venues/lochgelly-centre
Photo Credit: Jurek A Putter