NAAFC Guest of Honour 2024
Brian Griffin
BRIAN GRIFFIN - AMONG THE SOUND
Introduction
On a dreich Sunday April afternoon, I had the privilege and pleasure of spending a few hours in the beautiful Lockerbie home of Brian Griffin, discussing his musical career, reminiscences, and thoughts on over seventy years of playing the accordion. It was a rare insight into the quiet man who has played harmony accordion in Iain MacPhail’s band for over 50 years.
This year the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs have invited Brian to be Guest of Honour at their annual Celebrity Luncheon held in Dundee on the last day of June. We enjoyed an informal blether, catch-up, coffee, scones then a few tunes to conclude a memorable afternoon.
This is Brian’s story……
Harmony in the Genes
Harmony is most definitely in the genes. As a young lad Brian Griffin recalls Sunday afternoon family trips in his father’s Wolseley motor car, where the only in-car entertainment available was taking turns at singing favourite songs of the 40s and 50s to pass the time. The most fascinating part about these performances to Brian was his father’s ability to sing along in harmony to the tune, being able to add depth and colour to the sound. Fast forward some 70 years and we have a direct parallel to Brian’s natural ability to tastefully place harmonious additions at the forefront of arguably the most innovative and successful Scottish Dance Band of recent times, The Iain MacPhail Scottish Dance Band.
Brian has been a valuable and indeed integral element of the MacPhail band for over 50 years, making the second box chair his very own, probably with the most distinctive of styles on the scene today, and indeed of all time. His musicality shines through providing warmth and a depth of colour to an already vibrant band, with the resultant MacPhail exciting sound that is so often copied and admired across the world, wherever Scottish traditional music is treasured.
This magical partnership with Iain MacPhail first sprang to life in the early 1970s when Iain, together with Robin Hall, were invited to adjudicate a band competition held in one of Ayr’s large hotels. At that time Brian, in his mid-20s, was playing accordion in Derek Lawrence’s Band, together with Ronnie Easton on accordion, John Mason on fiddle, Derek of course on piano and Alec Wilson of The Merry Macs’ fame on drums. Iain obviously liked what he heard, with the band coming out as winners of the contest and Brian being invited to initially play a few gigs with the newly developing Iain MacPhail Band from Edinburgh. The rest they say, is history. But more of that later.
Early Days
Brian grew up in the sleepy former weaving village of Newmilns in East Ayrshire, most famously in Scottish dance music circles as being the location of Pate’s Mill, made famous by poet Allan Ramsay’s “The Lass o’ Pate’s Mill”. An aunt of Brian’s who lived a few miles away near Irvine kept a fascinating item beneath her bed; a small piano accordion. Every visit became an opportunity for young Brian to have a wee shot of the accordion which ultimately ending up in the boot of the Wolseley to find its new home in Newmilns. The family knew no other accordionists and with no local teachers available, Brian set about teaching himself the instrument by learning a tune at a time and building up his repertoire piece by piece. With his father being a competent pianist (on the black notes) and violinist with a good ear, help was never far from hand, with particular emphasis being directed on the left hand providing the accompaniment and harmony to the many tunes Brian picked up from the popular standards of the day. To this day Brian Griffin is entirely self-taught; quite an astonishing fact when considering the level of his talent and ability.
Other than a short foray with the trombone, the accordion has always been Brian’s musical love. The tone and sound of the instrument, together with its versatility were what initially attracted him. “The accordion always appealed to me, particularly the sound of it. I liked the sensuousness of the accordion, it was on you, you got vibrations from it, it was all I ever wanted to play.” He remembers hearing the sound of French musette pieces and yearned to emulate these tunes on his own. By the age of fifteen Brian was proficient on the instrument, being asked to play at local dances in and around the Irvine valley and Kilmarnock area. These were the days of the Mecca Dance Halls with many bands consisting of de-mobbed servicemen who had learned trumpets, cornets, and saxophones whilst in the services. These dances were predominantly to the popular music of the day, playing foxtrot, quickstep, and waltz standards.
Whilst Brian is widely recognised for his pioneering rhythm and harmony accordion role he fulfils in the MacPhail band, his passion for playing music was established on the modern music he first cut his teeth on, playing song tunes, continental and latin music.
From Newmilns Primary School, Brian went on to attend Kilmarnock Academy and Strathclyde University in Glasgow, graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering in the late 1960s before landing his first job as a Process Engineer with Monsanto, an American nylon producer based in Dundonald, which was coincidentally where he first met fellow accordionist Ronnie Easton from Muirkirk.
Discovering Scottish Music
Whilst at University in Glasgow, Scottish music first came to Brian’s attention during a show in Jimmy Logan’s New Metropole Theatre on St George’s Road. On the bill that night was the Ian Powrie Band shortly before Ian emigrated to Australia in 1967. The band were so slick, no nodding or counting in, they just knew when to start and performed not as individuals, but as one unit. Brian recalls Pam Brough on piano and Arthur Easson standing at the back playing drums with Dave Barclay on bass.
This was a real eye opener for a young accordionist, seeing Jimmy Blue and Mickie Ainsworth up close, and in all their glory, on stage. Despite Brian’s being known for his role as harmony accordionist today, it was Jimmy who lit his fuse more so than Mickie. For Brian, Jimmy was THE player, commenting that “the way he played tunes was the definitive way of playing them. Jimmy was the band leader, and then when Ron Kerr joined the band to replace Powrie, the band became even better.”
Brian is most well renowned for playing his trusty Hohner Morino VN which he purchased from J T Forbes in West Nile Street, Glasgow from salesman Bobby Lillie of the Kelvin Band fame. “It cost me £404 in 1968 and doesn’t owe me a penny” he jokes.
Moon landings and Woodstock aside, Monday 13thOctober 1969 was a turning point in Brian Griffin’s musical career. He was one of eight musicians and thirty-six enthusiasts who attended the opening meeting of Galston Accordion Club which was held in the Black Bull Hotel. The guest artist on that evening was Bert Shorthouse from Dunfermline. This visit opened Brian’s eyes to the box and fiddle community that was developing across the country at this time. Likeminded enthusiastic folk with a passion for accordion and fiddle music. Shorthouse made quite an impression on Brian, he was very professional and at that time something different to most accordion players he had encountered.
Ayrshire Fiddlers & the First MacPhail Band
Brian recalls that in October 1973, when the Royal National Mòd came to Ayr, there was a massed fiddlers’ rally led by the Ayr & Prestwick Strathspey & Reel Society organised by John Mason which was being recorded for TV and a forthcoming Philips long playing record. The Dam Park Hall had over 2000 in the audience and almost 150 musicians on stage. Late in the day Brian was brought in to play the electronic Manby bass on his Morino accordion to accompany the orchestra, ultimately featuring on the resultant LP “Strings of Scotland” at the expense of several bass players who didn’t quite make the grade. Electronics were already starting to take the place of bass players even as early as then.
Around this time Brian was delighted to be invited to join Iain MacPhail’s fledgling band which comprised of Iain on accordion, Allan Johnston on fiddle, Davy Flockhart on piano, and George Darling on drums.
Brian recalls “it was a remarkable band to play with. It was THE band I’ve ever played with, it played as a unit.” At this time Iain MacPhail’s band was the most innovative and exciting new sound on the scene, playing four or five times every week, travelling the length and breadth of the country taking their unique modern interpretation of Scottish music to their many followers.
Making Arrangements
One of the most distinguishable elements to Iain MacPhail’s band is the unique harmony accordion arrangements. The process of creating these commences with Iain arranging the tunes into sets with chordal accompaniment before handing the copy to Brian to add his unique stamp. In the earlier days of the band Davy Flockhart played a significant role in honing the MacPhail sound with his knowledge, ideas and skill in writing accompaniments to Iain’s clever arrangements. Davie and Brian talked at length about the execution of these arrangements and in particular, when you lay the music down in a bar; “if you’re too early or late, it just doesn’t work”.
Once Brian receives the copy, he then adds his own interpretation commenting that “99 and a bit percent of what I play is what I’ve written out, there is never any disagreement. I have a completely free hand; Iain is never critical about anything I’ve arranged for the band”.
“If you think about Scottish music, it’s 8 bars repeated, another 8 bars repeated, maybe repeat the entire 32 bars, it can become a bit samey and boring. I try and change wee bits, add bits to it or add cornerstones in to make sense of the tunes”.
Brian further describes the role of the harmony accordionist as providing a rhythmic style, a means of driving the band forward, whilst retaining tasteful musicality sewn together with a uniquely pioneering technique of accordion playing, “a lot of what I do is trying to kick the thing on, it’s about rhythm as well as just the harmony, it’s about punching it out to make it a wee bit more exciting” modestly admitting that “it works to a degree, some ideas work, some don’t”.
One of these exciting features of the MacPhail band is the ease of interchanging the lead part with the harmony accordion score, often both accordionists seamlessly swap roles within the arrangements, with only the most discerning listener able to distinguish any change to the style of performance at all; such is the musical ability and familiarity of both players’ techniques.
Well, exciting it certainly is to many musicians and enthusiasts, sparkling musical arrangements like a fine champagne, elevating the band to a different plane to most. Brian’s rhythmic style being copied but never emulated time and time again.
British Petroleum to The Blue Bell
In 1978 Brian and his wife Margaret relocated to West Lothian to take up a new role with BP in Grangemouth, where they remained for the next five years. Brian progressed to a senior position within the refinery organisation, becoming responsible for one third of the entire plant. He had always had a hankering to run his own business and in the early 1980s purchased the Blue Bell Hotel in Lockerbie which he and Margaret ran successfully for six years. This change of career resulted in a hiatus from travelling to and playing at live gigs. Anyone who has worked in the licence trade will tell you that the long hours and demands of running a busy hotel meant that Brian couldn’t commit to much work with the band. Music didn’t entirely take a back seat during this period though, as Brian was often to be found with the accordion strapped on accompanying various singers in the hotel during open mic sessions and also hosting the Lockerbie Accordion & Fiddle Club meetings.
Towards the end of the 80s Brian and Margaret decided to sell the hotel and settled in Lockerbie with Brian being tempted back to industry in various management consultancy roles in London before returning to BP in Grangemouth, ultimately retiring in 2003 freeing up more time to enjoy his music.
Music never followed in Brian’s immediate family, both his daughter and son, played fiddle and piano respectively for a time but never continued with that musical Griffin gene.
Electronics & Recordings
Brian purchased his first electronic Elkavox accordion in 1984 from Brian Forrest, salesman at the famous Clinkscale’s of Melrose and enjoyed experimenting with the extensive array of sounds this new toy provided. Nowadays he plays a Roland accordion, which in Brian’s view “is more of a computer than an accordion” demanding an entirely different technique to master than a traditional piano accordion. The variety of sounds and rhythms available are endless, he enjoys nothing more than spending hours playing music at home exploring the versatility and possibilities such an instrument delivers.
Three of Brian’s four accordions are electronic and with the addition of a drum machine together with several hundred watts of electronic equipment and MIDI expander units, Brian still to this day takes great pleasure from playing for social and sequence dancing whenever the occasion allows.
Together with George Darling on drums and vocals, the pair became a popular duo in the South of Scotland and Northern England playing for dances which allowed their natural talents to flourish.
As part of Iain’s band, Brian has has featured on around ten commercial recordings together with dozens of radio broadcasts. The only other band he has broadcast with during this time is none other than Max Houliston, who founded the very first accordion club in his famous Hole I’ the Wa’ pub in Dumfries. Brian confesses that he much prefers live recordings to studio sessions, as “once they are done, they are done”, he finds that the repetitive nature of re-recording sets loses some of the sparkle from that all-important first take. In earlier playing days Brian recollects many broadcasts were transmitted live, with the band playing in an Edinburgh studio with the announcer being in Glasgow, operating with red and green lights to denote “OFF AIR” and “ON AIR”.
Brian also recorded an album with Jimmy Lindsay from Glenalmond in the mid 1970s.
Competitive Spirit
In younger days Brian entered many competitions in and around South Scotland with Straiton and Gretna being memorable events. Success followed culminating by reaching the final of the All-Scotland Senior Accordion Championship in Perth in 1972 and 1973. In these days there were upwards of fifty competitors playing in the morning, with six finalists being selected to compete for the esteemed Scottish Champion title in front of some 2,000 spectators in the Perth Concert Hall during Bill Wilkie’s legendary concerts. The first year he was placed third, hoping to go a couple better, Brian was again selected for the final six however he had the misfortune of a broken bass strap minutes before he was due to play, rendering his accordion unplayable, effectively ending his hopes. Brian also entered a local variety competition in Kilmarnock as a duo with Davie Ross where they won through to the final which was held in the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow.
Musical Peers
Whilst admitting to not listening to too much Scottish music, Brian listed his favourite recordings as being LPs by Ian Powrie and Andrew Rankine, particularly Andrew’s Barn Dance Party featuring John Carmichael and George Darling both excellent, but the standout recording would have to be Jim Johnstone’s Measure of Scotch, primarily because of Ron Kerr on fiddle, “Ron was a fearsome player”.
“Shetland was an eye-opener musically when we first travelled there in 1975. So many great players, Jim Halcrow and Willie Hunter were phenomenal”. Ronnie Cooper would be at every function Iain and the band played at, there was very much a mutual appreciation between the greats of the day.
When asked for the most memorable musical experience of his career, without thinking Brian quickly declared “the most memorable was just playing with that first band, when it was on-song you didn’t actually realise you were playing, you were just among the sound. It just all worked, everyone was listening to each other, and it all just happened. That was the most memorable”.
Beyond Scottish Dance Music
Brian enjoys most types of music, stating that the advent of YouTube and Spotify provides people today with remarkable access to almost every kind of music available. He likes jazz music, particularly the Manouche, hot-club, gypsy swing style of jazz music made famous by Django Reinhardt. Another performer he admires is Edinburgh born jazz pianist Brian Kellock whom he has seen in concert on several occasions.
Having spent over a year of his life in South America during band trips, Brian is passionate about Brazilian music, such as Forró, Tex-Mex and Latin-American where the accordion is recognised as a mainstream instrument throughout the country. Differing styles and colours bathing that famous Brazilian rhythm into the music. No doubt some of these rhythms, sounds and ideas have washed off onto Brian’s own technique, finding their way into his unique accompaniment to Scottish dance music.
Box & Fiddle Clubs
Brian commented that the accordion and fiddle club movement has been such a cohesive environment for bringing enthusiasts together over a common interest for many years and the friendships that have been made through the clubs have been such a great thing. There has never been any competitiveness within the clubs which he believes has been part of its success.
He also wanted to express his thanks to the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, not only for bestowing this award on himself, but for being the thread that has held together the Scottish dance music scene, being a vehicle for this during the past 53 years.
and finally…
Music has provided Brian Griffin with camaraderie and years of enjoyment, “I always did it just for the fun of it. If it ceased to become enjoyable, I would stop, I really enjoy playing the accordion. Part of playing is wanting to give other folk enjoyment, it’s a lucky thing to be appreciated for something you actually enjoy doing”.
Brian, on behalf of everyone whom your music has ever touched, Congratulations on your richly-deserved award, I hope that playing the accordion never stops being a source of enjoyment for you.
Iain Cathcart, May 2024
Introduction
On a dreich Sunday April afternoon, I had the privilege and pleasure of spending a few hours in the beautiful Lockerbie home of Brian Griffin, discussing his musical career, reminiscences, and thoughts on over seventy years of playing the accordion. It was a rare insight into the quiet man who has played harmony accordion in Iain MacPhail’s band for over 50 years.
This year the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs have invited Brian to be Guest of Honour at their annual Celebrity Luncheon held in Dundee on the last day of June. We enjoyed an informal blether, catch-up, coffee, scones then a few tunes to conclude a memorable afternoon.
This is Brian’s story……
Harmony in the Genes
Harmony is most definitely in the genes. As a young lad Brian Griffin recalls Sunday afternoon family trips in his father’s Wolseley motor car, where the only in-car entertainment available was taking turns at singing favourite songs of the 40s and 50s to pass the time. The most fascinating part about these performances to Brian was his father’s ability to sing along in harmony to the tune, being able to add depth and colour to the sound. Fast forward some 70 years and we have a direct parallel to Brian’s natural ability to tastefully place harmonious additions at the forefront of arguably the most innovative and successful Scottish Dance Band of recent times, The Iain MacPhail Scottish Dance Band.
Brian has been a valuable and indeed integral element of the MacPhail band for over 50 years, making the second box chair his very own, probably with the most distinctive of styles on the scene today, and indeed of all time. His musicality shines through providing warmth and a depth of colour to an already vibrant band, with the resultant MacPhail exciting sound that is so often copied and admired across the world, wherever Scottish traditional music is treasured.
This magical partnership with Iain MacPhail first sprang to life in the early 1970s when Iain, together with Robin Hall, were invited to adjudicate a band competition held in one of Ayr’s large hotels. At that time Brian, in his mid-20s, was playing accordion in Derek Lawrence’s Band, together with Ronnie Easton on accordion, John Mason on fiddle, Derek of course on piano and Alec Wilson of The Merry Macs’ fame on drums. Iain obviously liked what he heard, with the band coming out as winners of the contest and Brian being invited to initially play a few gigs with the newly developing Iain MacPhail Band from Edinburgh. The rest they say, is history. But more of that later.
Early Days
Brian grew up in the sleepy former weaving village of Newmilns in East Ayrshire, most famously in Scottish dance music circles as being the location of Pate’s Mill, made famous by poet Allan Ramsay’s “The Lass o’ Pate’s Mill”. An aunt of Brian’s who lived a few miles away near Irvine kept a fascinating item beneath her bed; a small piano accordion. Every visit became an opportunity for young Brian to have a wee shot of the accordion which ultimately ending up in the boot of the Wolseley to find its new home in Newmilns. The family knew no other accordionists and with no local teachers available, Brian set about teaching himself the instrument by learning a tune at a time and building up his repertoire piece by piece. With his father being a competent pianist (on the black notes) and violinist with a good ear, help was never far from hand, with particular emphasis being directed on the left hand providing the accompaniment and harmony to the many tunes Brian picked up from the popular standards of the day. To this day Brian Griffin is entirely self-taught; quite an astonishing fact when considering the level of his talent and ability.
Other than a short foray with the trombone, the accordion has always been Brian’s musical love. The tone and sound of the instrument, together with its versatility were what initially attracted him. “The accordion always appealed to me, particularly the sound of it. I liked the sensuousness of the accordion, it was on you, you got vibrations from it, it was all I ever wanted to play.” He remembers hearing the sound of French musette pieces and yearned to emulate these tunes on his own. By the age of fifteen Brian was proficient on the instrument, being asked to play at local dances in and around the Irvine valley and Kilmarnock area. These were the days of the Mecca Dance Halls with many bands consisting of de-mobbed servicemen who had learned trumpets, cornets, and saxophones whilst in the services. These dances were predominantly to the popular music of the day, playing foxtrot, quickstep, and waltz standards.
Whilst Brian is widely recognised for his pioneering rhythm and harmony accordion role he fulfils in the MacPhail band, his passion for playing music was established on the modern music he first cut his teeth on, playing song tunes, continental and latin music.
From Newmilns Primary School, Brian went on to attend Kilmarnock Academy and Strathclyde University in Glasgow, graduating with a degree in Chemical Engineering in the late 1960s before landing his first job as a Process Engineer with Monsanto, an American nylon producer based in Dundonald, which was coincidentally where he first met fellow accordionist Ronnie Easton from Muirkirk.
Discovering Scottish Music
Whilst at University in Glasgow, Scottish music first came to Brian’s attention during a show in Jimmy Logan’s New Metropole Theatre on St George’s Road. On the bill that night was the Ian Powrie Band shortly before Ian emigrated to Australia in 1967. The band were so slick, no nodding or counting in, they just knew when to start and performed not as individuals, but as one unit. Brian recalls Pam Brough on piano and Arthur Easson standing at the back playing drums with Dave Barclay on bass.
This was a real eye opener for a young accordionist, seeing Jimmy Blue and Mickie Ainsworth up close, and in all their glory, on stage. Despite Brian’s being known for his role as harmony accordionist today, it was Jimmy who lit his fuse more so than Mickie. For Brian, Jimmy was THE player, commenting that “the way he played tunes was the definitive way of playing them. Jimmy was the band leader, and then when Ron Kerr joined the band to replace Powrie, the band became even better.”
Brian is most well renowned for playing his trusty Hohner Morino VN which he purchased from J T Forbes in West Nile Street, Glasgow from salesman Bobby Lillie of the Kelvin Band fame. “It cost me £404 in 1968 and doesn’t owe me a penny” he jokes.
Moon landings and Woodstock aside, Monday 13thOctober 1969 was a turning point in Brian Griffin’s musical career. He was one of eight musicians and thirty-six enthusiasts who attended the opening meeting of Galston Accordion Club which was held in the Black Bull Hotel. The guest artist on that evening was Bert Shorthouse from Dunfermline. This visit opened Brian’s eyes to the box and fiddle community that was developing across the country at this time. Likeminded enthusiastic folk with a passion for accordion and fiddle music. Shorthouse made quite an impression on Brian, he was very professional and at that time something different to most accordion players he had encountered.
Ayrshire Fiddlers & the First MacPhail Band
Brian recalls that in October 1973, when the Royal National Mòd came to Ayr, there was a massed fiddlers’ rally led by the Ayr & Prestwick Strathspey & Reel Society organised by John Mason which was being recorded for TV and a forthcoming Philips long playing record. The Dam Park Hall had over 2000 in the audience and almost 150 musicians on stage. Late in the day Brian was brought in to play the electronic Manby bass on his Morino accordion to accompany the orchestra, ultimately featuring on the resultant LP “Strings of Scotland” at the expense of several bass players who didn’t quite make the grade. Electronics were already starting to take the place of bass players even as early as then.
Around this time Brian was delighted to be invited to join Iain MacPhail’s fledgling band which comprised of Iain on accordion, Allan Johnston on fiddle, Davy Flockhart on piano, and George Darling on drums.
Brian recalls “it was a remarkable band to play with. It was THE band I’ve ever played with, it played as a unit.” At this time Iain MacPhail’s band was the most innovative and exciting new sound on the scene, playing four or five times every week, travelling the length and breadth of the country taking their unique modern interpretation of Scottish music to their many followers.
Making Arrangements
One of the most distinguishable elements to Iain MacPhail’s band is the unique harmony accordion arrangements. The process of creating these commences with Iain arranging the tunes into sets with chordal accompaniment before handing the copy to Brian to add his unique stamp. In the earlier days of the band Davy Flockhart played a significant role in honing the MacPhail sound with his knowledge, ideas and skill in writing accompaniments to Iain’s clever arrangements. Davie and Brian talked at length about the execution of these arrangements and in particular, when you lay the music down in a bar; “if you’re too early or late, it just doesn’t work”.
Once Brian receives the copy, he then adds his own interpretation commenting that “99 and a bit percent of what I play is what I’ve written out, there is never any disagreement. I have a completely free hand; Iain is never critical about anything I’ve arranged for the band”.
“If you think about Scottish music, it’s 8 bars repeated, another 8 bars repeated, maybe repeat the entire 32 bars, it can become a bit samey and boring. I try and change wee bits, add bits to it or add cornerstones in to make sense of the tunes”.
Brian further describes the role of the harmony accordionist as providing a rhythmic style, a means of driving the band forward, whilst retaining tasteful musicality sewn together with a uniquely pioneering technique of accordion playing, “a lot of what I do is trying to kick the thing on, it’s about rhythm as well as just the harmony, it’s about punching it out to make it a wee bit more exciting” modestly admitting that “it works to a degree, some ideas work, some don’t”.
One of these exciting features of the MacPhail band is the ease of interchanging the lead part with the harmony accordion score, often both accordionists seamlessly swap roles within the arrangements, with only the most discerning listener able to distinguish any change to the style of performance at all; such is the musical ability and familiarity of both players’ techniques.
Well, exciting it certainly is to many musicians and enthusiasts, sparkling musical arrangements like a fine champagne, elevating the band to a different plane to most. Brian’s rhythmic style being copied but never emulated time and time again.
British Petroleum to The Blue Bell
In 1978 Brian and his wife Margaret relocated to West Lothian to take up a new role with BP in Grangemouth, where they remained for the next five years. Brian progressed to a senior position within the refinery organisation, becoming responsible for one third of the entire plant. He had always had a hankering to run his own business and in the early 1980s purchased the Blue Bell Hotel in Lockerbie which he and Margaret ran successfully for six years. This change of career resulted in a hiatus from travelling to and playing at live gigs. Anyone who has worked in the licence trade will tell you that the long hours and demands of running a busy hotel meant that Brian couldn’t commit to much work with the band. Music didn’t entirely take a back seat during this period though, as Brian was often to be found with the accordion strapped on accompanying various singers in the hotel during open mic sessions and also hosting the Lockerbie Accordion & Fiddle Club meetings.
Towards the end of the 80s Brian and Margaret decided to sell the hotel and settled in Lockerbie with Brian being tempted back to industry in various management consultancy roles in London before returning to BP in Grangemouth, ultimately retiring in 2003 freeing up more time to enjoy his music.
Music never followed in Brian’s immediate family, both his daughter and son, played fiddle and piano respectively for a time but never continued with that musical Griffin gene.
Electronics & Recordings
Brian purchased his first electronic Elkavox accordion in 1984 from Brian Forrest, salesman at the famous Clinkscale’s of Melrose and enjoyed experimenting with the extensive array of sounds this new toy provided. Nowadays he plays a Roland accordion, which in Brian’s view “is more of a computer than an accordion” demanding an entirely different technique to master than a traditional piano accordion. The variety of sounds and rhythms available are endless, he enjoys nothing more than spending hours playing music at home exploring the versatility and possibilities such an instrument delivers.
Three of Brian’s four accordions are electronic and with the addition of a drum machine together with several hundred watts of electronic equipment and MIDI expander units, Brian still to this day takes great pleasure from playing for social and sequence dancing whenever the occasion allows.
Together with George Darling on drums and vocals, the pair became a popular duo in the South of Scotland and Northern England playing for dances which allowed their natural talents to flourish.
As part of Iain’s band, Brian has has featured on around ten commercial recordings together with dozens of radio broadcasts. The only other band he has broadcast with during this time is none other than Max Houliston, who founded the very first accordion club in his famous Hole I’ the Wa’ pub in Dumfries. Brian confesses that he much prefers live recordings to studio sessions, as “once they are done, they are done”, he finds that the repetitive nature of re-recording sets loses some of the sparkle from that all-important first take. In earlier playing days Brian recollects many broadcasts were transmitted live, with the band playing in an Edinburgh studio with the announcer being in Glasgow, operating with red and green lights to denote “OFF AIR” and “ON AIR”.
Brian also recorded an album with Jimmy Lindsay from Glenalmond in the mid 1970s.
Competitive Spirit
In younger days Brian entered many competitions in and around South Scotland with Straiton and Gretna being memorable events. Success followed culminating by reaching the final of the All-Scotland Senior Accordion Championship in Perth in 1972 and 1973. In these days there were upwards of fifty competitors playing in the morning, with six finalists being selected to compete for the esteemed Scottish Champion title in front of some 2,000 spectators in the Perth Concert Hall during Bill Wilkie’s legendary concerts. The first year he was placed third, hoping to go a couple better, Brian was again selected for the final six however he had the misfortune of a broken bass strap minutes before he was due to play, rendering his accordion unplayable, effectively ending his hopes. Brian also entered a local variety competition in Kilmarnock as a duo with Davie Ross where they won through to the final which was held in the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow.
Musical Peers
Whilst admitting to not listening to too much Scottish music, Brian listed his favourite recordings as being LPs by Ian Powrie and Andrew Rankine, particularly Andrew’s Barn Dance Party featuring John Carmichael and George Darling both excellent, but the standout recording would have to be Jim Johnstone’s Measure of Scotch, primarily because of Ron Kerr on fiddle, “Ron was a fearsome player”.
“Shetland was an eye-opener musically when we first travelled there in 1975. So many great players, Jim Halcrow and Willie Hunter were phenomenal”. Ronnie Cooper would be at every function Iain and the band played at, there was very much a mutual appreciation between the greats of the day.
When asked for the most memorable musical experience of his career, without thinking Brian quickly declared “the most memorable was just playing with that first band, when it was on-song you didn’t actually realise you were playing, you were just among the sound. It just all worked, everyone was listening to each other, and it all just happened. That was the most memorable”.
Beyond Scottish Dance Music
Brian enjoys most types of music, stating that the advent of YouTube and Spotify provides people today with remarkable access to almost every kind of music available. He likes jazz music, particularly the Manouche, hot-club, gypsy swing style of jazz music made famous by Django Reinhardt. Another performer he admires is Edinburgh born jazz pianist Brian Kellock whom he has seen in concert on several occasions.
Having spent over a year of his life in South America during band trips, Brian is passionate about Brazilian music, such as Forró, Tex-Mex and Latin-American where the accordion is recognised as a mainstream instrument throughout the country. Differing styles and colours bathing that famous Brazilian rhythm into the music. No doubt some of these rhythms, sounds and ideas have washed off onto Brian’s own technique, finding their way into his unique accompaniment to Scottish dance music.
Box & Fiddle Clubs
Brian commented that the accordion and fiddle club movement has been such a cohesive environment for bringing enthusiasts together over a common interest for many years and the friendships that have been made through the clubs have been such a great thing. There has never been any competitiveness within the clubs which he believes has been part of its success.
He also wanted to express his thanks to the National Association of Accordion and Fiddle Clubs, not only for bestowing this award on himself, but for being the thread that has held together the Scottish dance music scene, being a vehicle for this during the past 53 years.
and finally…
Music has provided Brian Griffin with camaraderie and years of enjoyment, “I always did it just for the fun of it. If it ceased to become enjoyable, I would stop, I really enjoy playing the accordion. Part of playing is wanting to give other folk enjoyment, it’s a lucky thing to be appreciated for something you actually enjoy doing”.
Brian, on behalf of everyone whom your music has ever touched, Congratulations on your richly-deserved award, I hope that playing the accordion never stops being a source of enjoyment for you.
Iain Cathcart, May 2024