Unless I am mistaken, Charlie Allan, a notable
bothy ballad singer referred to in Ian Russell's piece, is the son of John R.
Bothy ballad, senior, and Lona Thomson Memorial Cup - Doug Hay, Whitehills.
The star, who shot to fame as gruff-voiced Roisin in the TV soap, sets out to breathe new life into the ancient tradition of
Bothy Ballad singing.
Ian Russell's analytical study focuses on a performance event, the Champion of Champions
Bothy Ballad Competition, held at Elgin in 2004.
"Then, there's Karen Matheson and Donald Shaw of Capercaillie fame, and the first woman to win the
Bothy Ballad champion of champions, Shona Donaldson.
But for many she'll always be queen of River City for her role as Roisin and in her native North East she's also the
Bothy Ballad queen.
This article looks at the ways in which songs, alcohol, and local identity are firmly wedded in the
bothy ballad tradition of North-East Scotland.
Consciously or not, he was following the example of Newcastle, and he was followed by others: singing competitions in Lincolnshire and Lancashire, the North of England Musical Tournament, and the
bothy ballad competition at Elgin.
"WHEN you see fisher folk, do ye nae think shame...?" goes the line in the Buchan
bothy ballad Tatties n' Herrin.
Es got Sandy Mitchell o Avoch pittin pen tae paper -'A feow eer ago noo I went fae Avoch doon twice tae jine a bus stravaig roon places - ferms an villages - far certain
bothy ballads were set.
Moreover, his historical studies ranged from "Folk Tradition and Literature till 1603" and "Song Context in Seventeenth Century Aberdeenshire" to "The Expressive Culture of Nineteenth Century Scottish Farm Servants." The latter in particular is a gem, placing
bothy ballads in the context of local dances, wonder tales, jokes, riddles, rhymes, rites of passage, and other rituals.
Whether his interest in opera and classical music was first sparked by a childhood fascination with
bothy ballads is less certain.