"Folk on Tap" magazine Autumn 2001 Issue 89

"A sensitive, easy-listening singer - another Archie Fisher".

Early July, and we were experiencing one of those all-too-rare token spells of hot weather which the British climate occasionally throws our way; I had just spent a few idyllic days holidaying in the Thames Valley, and ahead of me lay an evening to savour - having long been an ardent admirer of his renditions of Scottish ballads in particular, I was about to meet up again with Hector Gilchrist to talk music with him for an hour or so. (What gave this evening a particular edge over so many others was that, since he was to perform there afterwards, we were meeting at the venue of Bishop's Waltham's Nonsuch folk club with which, as some of you may know, I was associated in a previous incarnation, so for once I was in no danger of getting lost....!)

Hector arrived right on time (and looking bronzed to the gills!), and we settled down to chat over a couple of pints of the amber nectar.

Coming from an Ayrshire farming community, Hector grew up in a family environment steeped in the musical tradition.. He has been singing in public since he was a small boy - "according to an aunt of mine, my first musical offering to the masses was as a three year old!", he said. He took up the ukulele in his teens, and at about the same time he began to learn the piano. "I play the harmonica, too" he told me, "it seems to come fairly naturally to me - but 1 never ever play it in public.!"

At seventeen, he was offered the chance of a contract singing with the Billy Ternant Band but, astutely realising that the days of big band music were numbered, he decided to finish his studies and then think again. Perhaps predictably, the need to earn a living pushed him along the career path, and music was sidelined to the status of rewarding hobby.

Several years as an active member of Crewe folk club followed, combined with frequent gigs in the Cheshire area. "I remember the club booking all the big names of the day, people like Carthy and Swarbrick, Tony Rose, Cyril Tawney and Alex Campbell, most of whom were charging around £20 for an evening. I also remember we turned down an offer from Maddy Prior to gig for £7 because we didn't think she was quite up to it!! We made amends some years later, but by then the fee had increased somewhat...."

Hector's recording debut came in 1966, on the Liverpool Festival album, and it was this, he thinks, which led to his being invited to meet Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger to discuss the possibility of working with them, only to have these plans scotched by a work move north of the border.

Over the years, Hector has worked with many giants of the folk world, particularly Scots such as Barbara Dickson, Robin Hall & Jimmy MacGregor and Isla St Clair. He has also broadcast on both national and local radio.

Those who have heard Hector will know that much of his repertoire is Scottish, and he has a definite predilection for the songs of Robert Burns. He has an unique singing style which, he says, has been criticised for being 'too operatic'; however, he himself acknowledges that, with the extra time that recent semi-retirement from work allows him, and following some singing lessons he took a few year back, his voice is now at its best. "I can't say the same about my guitar­ playing, however," he confessed. "I wish now I'd developed more as an instrumentalist, but I've always been rather lazy about it - and a bit intimidated by those who make a living out of playing". Personally, I've always enjoyed Hector's relaxed-sounding picking style, and I wondered how he would describe it. "Basically, my guitar-playing, such as it is, "he said", I suppose, rather like somebody playing cards by sleight of hand - I'm simply making it sound more than it is". (I've heard quite a few guitar-players say something very similar, and I can only conclude that either the guitar is an easier instrument to play than I'd realised, or they're not fully recognising their own skills...).

In addition to his work as a solo performer, Hector joined up with Bill & Heather Long a few years back to form Triple Tipple, which lasted until Bill & Heather moved to Oxfordshire. For the past fifteen years, he has also been one half of Selkie, a duo completed by Liz Thomson. "Liz" says Hector "is a natural musician, a fine pianist and organist, with hundreds of songs at her disposal, and her harmonising is superb. Niamh Parsons heard her singing on one occasion, and said `I love your harmony - how do you do it?' to which Liz replied `I watch his lips'! While she is more innovative than /am musically," Hector continued, "she has also done a great deal in Scotland, where she lives, to help keep traditional music alive".

Mindful of the hundreds of miles that separate them, I asked if rehearsals were a problem. "No, not really- Liz sends me tapes to practise, but - as anyone who comes to one of our shows will realise -I don't!"

As I listen to Hector talking, it occurs to me that this is typical of the man - his performances are always polished, indeed virtually faultless, yet he is very aware of his own perceived shortcomings, a fact well illustrated by a story I heard about his days in Ireland. A work colleague had given the barmaid in their hotel a copy of Hector's first tape, and she had begun to play it. Two tracks through, she declared "Who the hell's that? He's bloody awful!" "No idea," replied Hector at once, "take it off and put on Daniel O'Donnell"!

He describes himself as the antithesis of Joni Mitchell's 'leave `em laughing when you go' concept, as he frequently leaves them "passing the Kleenex"- not, he says, because his songs are necessarily depressing or sad, but "because many of the ballads will express some form of emotion which needs listening to".

Since reducing his work-load last year, Hector hopes to devote more time to music with, all being well, an increase in festival and club appearances. He recently performed at the MacLachlan clan gathering, and Selkie are scheduled to appear at the Paddy O'Brian Aonach festival in Tipperary in late summer. They have a diary date for Banbury's Ride A Cock Horse folk club in November, to be followed by further Irish tour in December. They also hope to start work on another recording album before too long.

If you like good melodies, fine harmonies, and clear delivery of some of the finest of traditional Scots music, laced with a sprinkling of songs from elsewhere, Hector's your man, either as a solo act or as part of Selkie. Over the years, I've heard him in both formats many times and, if the opportunity arose, I'd go again tomorrow - and probably the next day as well!

Author: Terry Pearson