Ian Anderson – An Obituary
by Andy Ross
B&F May 2004
Family, colleagues and followers of Scottish music were utterly shocked and dismayed at the sudden and untimely death on Monday 22nd March of Inverness-based accordionist Ian Anderson.
Ian was born in Forres on 17th December 1950 into a family who adored Scottish Dance music. His late father, Jack, played fiddle for many rural dances in his young days and our type of music could be heard daily in the Anderson household either from the wireless or the mass of 78s accumulated over the years. Ian was gifted his first accordion when around the age of ten by his elder brother George, who had made a brave attempt at mastering the instrument but in his own words, “The right and left hands just couldn’t agree on how or what to play”. Ian also has a younger sister Dorothy.
After a few lessons from local musician Iain Armour, Ian joined Elgin music teacher Jennifer Wilson for further tuition.
In his late teens he formed his first band with his first wife Ena on piano, brother-in-law James Campbell on second accordion and John Brander on drums. The band was very busy and soon was rewarded with regular booking at The Nethybridge Hotel, where they made their first record in 1975 for Craighall. It was while playing there that they were heard by The Tartan Lads who invited them to do a season with them in their Waggle o’ the Kilt Show in many venues all over the South of Scotland, at which time they moved home to Livingston. They also did a lot of engagements for impresario Jimmy Nairn, mainly in The Aviemore Centre.
They returned to Forres towards the end of 1977 and Ian was one of the founder members of the Forres A&F Club, which got off the ground in January 1978.
The band also recorded albums for Emerald Gem in 1977 and Bluebell in 1980, followed by two recording son their own Varis label, the last one in 1989.
The band’s first BBC broadcast was on March 24th, 1979, and they made several broadcasts in later years on ‘Take the Floor’, also for Radio Forth and Moray Firth Radio. In 1980 Ian led the players when the Forres Club made an appearance on a programme called Fiddle and Box for Grampian TV.
The band played several overseas engagements including Copenhagen, Nigeria, Holland, Tenerife and Costa del Sol. Locally they played at A&F Clubs, ceilidhs and old time dances including quite a few trips to the Western Isles. Incidentally, they had been booked to play in Glasgow on the evening prior to his funeral….Latterly Ian had a Trio with himself on accordion with MIDI system, fiddle player Kenny Laing plus a drummer.
Ian worked as an electrician for the past 26 years with Moray Council, having previously served his apprenticeship with a Forres company. His funeral service was held in the East Church, Academy Street, Inverness on Saturday 27th March and was conducted by Rev. Dr. John Ferguson. There was a huge congregation of family, fellow musicians, work colleagues and Scottish music enthusiasts and the internment took place at Petty church on the A96 about six miles east of Inverness.
Ian is survived by his wife of 11 years Joan, his two sons from his first marriage Ian Jnr and Douglas and also two stepdaughters Aileen and Catherine. He will be sadly missed by hundreds of people, far and wide.
Ian was born in Forres on 17th December 1950 into a family who adored Scottish Dance music. His late father, Jack, played fiddle for many rural dances in his young days and our type of music could be heard daily in the Anderson household either from the wireless or the mass of 78s accumulated over the years. Ian was gifted his first accordion when around the age of ten by his elder brother George, who had made a brave attempt at mastering the instrument but in his own words, “The right and left hands just couldn’t agree on how or what to play”. Ian also has a younger sister Dorothy.
After a few lessons from local musician Iain Armour, Ian joined Elgin music teacher Jennifer Wilson for further tuition.
In his late teens he formed his first band with his first wife Ena on piano, brother-in-law James Campbell on second accordion and John Brander on drums. The band was very busy and soon was rewarded with regular booking at The Nethybridge Hotel, where they made their first record in 1975 for Craighall. It was while playing there that they were heard by The Tartan Lads who invited them to do a season with them in their Waggle o’ the Kilt Show in many venues all over the South of Scotland, at which time they moved home to Livingston. They also did a lot of engagements for impresario Jimmy Nairn, mainly in The Aviemore Centre.
They returned to Forres towards the end of 1977 and Ian was one of the founder members of the Forres A&F Club, which got off the ground in January 1978.
The band also recorded albums for Emerald Gem in 1977 and Bluebell in 1980, followed by two recording son their own Varis label, the last one in 1989.
The band’s first BBC broadcast was on March 24th, 1979, and they made several broadcasts in later years on ‘Take the Floor’, also for Radio Forth and Moray Firth Radio. In 1980 Ian led the players when the Forres Club made an appearance on a programme called Fiddle and Box for Grampian TV.
The band played several overseas engagements including Copenhagen, Nigeria, Holland, Tenerife and Costa del Sol. Locally they played at A&F Clubs, ceilidhs and old time dances including quite a few trips to the Western Isles. Incidentally, they had been booked to play in Glasgow on the evening prior to his funeral….Latterly Ian had a Trio with himself on accordion with MIDI system, fiddle player Kenny Laing plus a drummer.
Ian worked as an electrician for the past 26 years with Moray Council, having previously served his apprenticeship with a Forres company. His funeral service was held in the East Church, Academy Street, Inverness on Saturday 27th March and was conducted by Rev. Dr. John Ferguson. There was a huge congregation of family, fellow musicians, work colleagues and Scottish music enthusiasts and the internment took place at Petty church on the A96 about six miles east of Inverness.
Ian is survived by his wife of 11 years Joan, his two sons from his first marriage Ian Jnr and Douglas and also two stepdaughters Aileen and Catherine. He will be sadly missed by hundreds of people, far and wide.