Michael Marra
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Michael Marra
Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk clubs and village halls. While mainly known as a songwriter, he also worked extensively in theatre, radio and television. His songwriting was rooted in Scottish life and he found an audience within and beyond the folk music scene, which led to him working as a support musician for performers including Van Morrison, The Proclaimers, Barbara Dickson and Deacon Blue. His song "Hermless" was somewhat humorously suggested as a potential Scottish national anthem. Origins Marra was brought up in the Lochee district of Dundee, the son of a printer and a schoolteacher. His first public performance, in the 1950s, was at a Christmas party given by NCR, formerly a major employer in the city, with a large factory there. Musical career Marra attended Law ...
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Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or 6,420/sq mi, the second-highest in Scotland. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Angus, the city developed into a burgh in the late 12th century and established itself as an important east coast trading port. Rapid expansion was brought on by the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the 19th century when Dundee was the centre of the global jute industry. This, along with its other major industries, gave Dundee its epithet as the city of "jute, jam and journalism". Today, Dundee is promoted as "One City, ...
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Dundee Repertory Theatre
Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house - hosting work from visiting companies throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom including drama, musicals, contemporary & classical dance, children's theatre, comedy, jazz and opera. It is home to the Dundee Rep Ensemble, Scotland's only full-time company of actors, as well as Scotland's principal contemporary dance company, Scottish Dance Theatre. ‘’'The Rep'’’ building is located in Tay Square at the centre of the city’s ''"cultural quarter"'' in the West End. Recognised to be among the top regional theatres in the UK, it plays to an average audience of over 70,000 people a year attracting a very broad cross-section of the local population in terms of age and occupation. History Foundation Dundee has had a number of ...
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Rab Noakes
Robert Ogilvie Noakes (13 May 1947 – 11 November 2022) was a Scottish singer-songwriter. Noakes was at the forefront of Scottish folk music for over 50 years and recorded over 19 studio albums. He toured folk clubs and often performed at the Glasgow music festival Celtic Connections. In 1970 he released his first album ''Do You See the Lights'', a blend of easy-going country rock, and included songs "Too Old to Die", "Together Forever" and "Somebody Counts on Me". In 1971 Noakes was a founding member of the folk rock band Stealers Wheel, along with Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan. He played on Rafferty's ''Can I Have My Money Back'', notably "Mary Skeffington". He recorded with Lindisfarne in 1972, on songs "Turn a Deaf Ear", "Nicely Out of Tune", "Together Forever", and "Fog on the Tyne". He performed with Lindisfarne for a John Peel concert and in 1995 produced a BBC Radio 2 programme ''The Story of Lindisfarne''. One of his best-known recordings, "Branch", from his ''Red Pump S ...
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Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre of Scotland's ''The Bacchae'' and Samuel Beckett's ''Endgame'' at The Old Vic, opposite Daniel Radcliffe. On Broadway, he has appeared in ''The Threepenny Opera'', as the master of ceremonies in ''Cabaret'' (for which he won a Tony Award), ''Design for Living'', and a one-man adaptation of ''Macbeth''. Cumming's film roles include his performances in '' Emma'', ''GoldenEye'' and as Nightcrawler in '' X2'' (X-Men 2), Loki in ''Son of the Mask'', and as Fegan Floop in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy. Cumming also appeared on ''The Good Wife'', for which he was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Satellite Award. Cumming starred in the 2018–2019 CBS TV series ''Instinct''. In ...
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Coope Boyes And Simpson
Coope Boyes and Simpson was an English vocal folk trio, formed around 1990. Their sound was rich and often had unusual vocal harmonies. The group comprised singers Barry Coope, Jim Boyes (formerly of Swan Arcade) and Lester Simpson, and almost all of their music was sung entirely a cappella, although they occasionally used accordion, guitar and drums very sparingly on recordings. They performed a mixture of both traditional folk songs (though often creatively arranged), hymns and carols, and their own original compositions. Most of their albums have been released on the No Masters label—the No Masters Co-operative is a recording and publishing company run by songwriters, singers and musicians based in the North of England. Much of their music was political in nature, but they also performed sacred music, and released two albums consisting of Christmas carols and hymns, which receive extensive airplay on Classic FM around Christmas time from DJ Natalie Wheen. In addition t ...
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YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the List of most visited websites, second most visited website, after Google Search. YouTube has more than 2.5 billion monthly users who collectively watch more than one billion hours of videos each day. , videos were being uploaded at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute. In October 2006, YouTube was bought by Google for $1.65 billion. Google's ownership of YouTube expanded the site's business model, expanding from generating revenue from advertisements alone, to offering paid content such as movies and exclusive content produced by YouTube. It also offers YouTube Premium, a paid subscription option for watching content without ads. YouTube also approved creators to participate in Google's Google AdSens ...
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Grit (Martyn Bennett Album)
''Grit'' is the last studio album by the Scottish Celtic fusion artist Martyn Bennett. It was released on 13 October 2003 on the Real World label. Background The album was recorded while Bennett was ill and unable to play his instruments, so instead he brought together samples of unaccompanied traditional Scottish folk singers, his own bagpipe and fiddle playing, and electronic drum beats. The opening track, ''Move'', samples a recording of traditional singer Sheila Stewart performing Ewan MacColl’s ''Moving On Song''. Stewart was delighted that he was taking her music to a new audience. The album features many other traditional Scottish singers, including Lizzie Higgins and Scottish Gaelic singer Flora MacNeil, as well as Michael Marra narrating an English translation of psalm 118 in the track ''Liberation''. In Bennett's sleeve notes for Grit, he wrote, “In recent years so many representations of Scotland have been misty-lensed and fanciful to the point that the word â ...
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Martyn Bennett
Martyn Bennett (17 February 1971 – 30 January 2005) was a Canadian-Scottish musician who was influential in the evolution of modern Celtic fusion, a blending of traditional Celtic and modern music. He was a piper, violinist, composer and producer. He was an innovator and his compositions crossed musical and cultural divides. Sporting dreadlocks at the height of his performing career, his energetic displays led to descriptions such as "the techno piper". Diagnosis of serious illness at the age of thirty curtailed his live performances, although he completed a further two albums in the studio. He died fifteen months after release of his fifth album '' Grit''. Early life He was born Martyn Bennett-Knight in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. His father Ian Knight was a Welsh geologist and musician. His mother was Margaret Bennett, singer and folklorist who was born on Skye. His grandfather, George Bennett, was also an enthusiastic piper. For his first five years, h ...
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Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised for her solo career, winning three awards at the BBC Folk Awards in 2005, and was previously a member of Malinky and Battlefield Band. Polwart is currently a member of The Burns Unit, and collaborated with The Fruit Tree Foundation on its debut album, ''First Edition''. Biography Early life and career Polwart grew up in the small Stirlingshire town of Banknock and had an interest in music from an early age. She has described her whole family as being interested in music and one of her brothers, Steven, is also a professional musician who plays guitar in the Karine Polwart band, whilst her sister Kerry is developing her own musical career with the group The Poems. Despite an active musical career from a young age, including forming her own ...
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Karen Matheson
Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lead vocals, either alone or with Elaine Morgan. She and Morgan sang together on the Breton language song "Diwanit Bugale", the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. She made a cameo appearance in the 1995 movie '' Rob Roy'' singing the song "Ailein duinn". Biography She grew up in the small village of Taynuilt in the region of Argyll, western Scotland. She was appointed an OBE in the 2006 New Year's honours list. Matheson also appeared as a guest musician on Spirit of the West's 1997 album ''Weights and Measures''. Matheson performed a solo in Secret Garden's song "Prayer" in the 1999 album '' Dawn of a New Century''. She is married to fellow Capercaillie member Donald Shaw, and they have a son. On 2 February 2010, Matheson ma ...
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Eddi Reader
Sadenia "Eddi" Reader MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the works of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. Early career Reader was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the daughter of a welder, and the eldest of seven children (her brother, Francis, is vocalist with the band The Trash Can Sinatras and her grandmother, Sadie Smith, was a leading Scottish footballer). She was nicknamed Edna by her parents. Living at first in the district of Anderston, in a tenement slum demolished in 1965, the young Reader family moved to a two-bedroomed flat in the estate of Arden.My Schooldays: Eddie Reader
The Scotsman, 22 May 2002
In ...
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Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poet laureate", Smith fused rock and poetry in her work. Her most widely known song is " Because the Night", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen. It reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1978 and number five in the UK. In 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2010, Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir ''Just Kids''. The book fulfilled a promise she had made to her former long-time partner Robert Mapplethorpe. She placed 47th in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of 100 Greatest Artists published in December 2010 and was also a recipient of the 2011 Polar ...
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