Courier Rocktalk writer Alan Wilson looks back on a night that celebrated all that is good about the local music scene, and the sad news that followed of the death of one of its most admired figures.
On Saturday night musicians covering the past 60 years of Dundee’s music scene celebrated the city’s musical heritage with a night of superb music. Take It To The Bridge The Gig, was a hugely successful occasion at the Gardyne Theatre, superbly co-ordinated by Chris Marra and featuring musicians from the 1950s right through to the present day.
Teenagers, 20 and 30-somethings rubbed shoulders with the more mature among us at the show to mark Lorraine Wilson’s best-selling book, with a host of familiar faces performing songs by the likes of Danny Wilson, Average White Band, The Associates and Michael Marra.
Drew Larg, Sweden Through The Ages, Spare Snare, Havana Swing, Skeets Boliver, Boogalusa, Boston Tea Party, Adam 812, Sleaze Band, Anderson McGinty, Webster Ward & Fisher were just some of the bands represented on the night and with a top-notch house band it was a simply fantastic night.
Difficult, and unfair, to single out any highlights but Kit Clark singing Mary’s Prayer was a special moment, while Stewart Clark’s performance of Billy MacKenzie’s The Rhythm Divine was simply brilliant.
And the spine-tingling moment of the night was Dave Webster’s incredible vocal for Party Fears 2 that would surely have put a smile on Billy’s face.
The Last Waltz-style ”piley-on” at the end, which saw dozens of musicians and more than 350 people in the audience joyfully belting out Michael Marra’s ”alternative Scottish national anthem” Hermless, was just sublime.
Three days later and euphoria turned to sorrow.
Michael’s death hit everybody hard. The tributes poured in from across the country, showing the high esteem he was held in.
Comments like ”inspirational, legendary, funny, a gentleman, down-to-earth, a national treasure,” just sum up what we all knew Michael was a one-off whose music, humour and personality touched thousands across the land.
I first met Michael Marra when I was a young barman in the Taybridge Bar in the early 1980s. We all called him Mick and early on he defended me from the friendly ear-bashing his (equally lovely) brother Eddie was giving me for playing the music too loud in the lounge.
”It’s not that it’s too loud,” Mick explained politely in his thick Dundee brogue. ”It’s just that he doesn’t like it. But don’t take it personally.”
After that, Eddie and Mick’s approval was almost always sought.
Years later I was lucky enough to be allowed to gatecrash his 40th birthday bash in the back lounge of the ”Cammie” (Campbeltown Bar) on Hawkhill to join in the best singalong, musical party you can imagine, clumsily bashing whatever percussion instrument came to hand.
Fast forward another couple of years, while waiting to perform at the Caird Hall during the World Aids Day Concert, the by-then national figure returned the favour, nipping on stage with Boogalusa, picking up a triangle and niftily playing along with a big grin on his face.
As his solo career blossomed, so too did his determination to remain true to his roots, spending as much time with his friends and family in the west end of Dundee as he did on big stages around Europe, performing brilliantly with world-class musicians.
“I was lucky enough to have him observe and sing about me! He could make everybody feel special.”
Stewart Ivins, fellow member of St Andrew and the Woollen Mill and Skeets Boliver, said: ”Sometimes you walk into a room and everything changes. That happened to me the night I went to play at the Sunday Folk Club in Laings Hotel in 1972.
”A shy young man got up and played some of his own songs. I can still remember that feeling of hearing somebody and something that you just knew was very special.
”Michael and I became friends that night and we stayed that way for over 40 years. His music, lyrics and performances have been a huge part of my life. There really has been nobody quite like him.”
Another long-time friend and collaborator, guitarist Kevin Murray, remembers the fun times.
”Mick was always funny, his sharp and incisive wit always outpaced any would-be comedians in the room and he was better at puns than anyone I knew.
”For example, we were watching the breaking news story on Joanna Lumley becoming a figurehead in the Ghurka struggle for British Citizenship mid-rehearsal one night and Mick (poker-faced), turns to me and says: ‘You’ve got to be thankful for small mercenaries’. End of rehearsal.”
Kevin added: ”Mick was a great songwriter, musician, storyteller and source of positive influence to all those he encountered. He was also a loyal, fun, mischievous, generous and inspirational friend.”
Across Dundee at the moment, people are exchanging similar thoughts and personal stories of Mick: a loving husband, father, brother, cousin and friend; a humanitarian and an inspiration to many.
Michael Marra may be gone, but his legacy will live forever.
It was our privilege to know him.