When it comes to telling your life story, too early is always better than too late.
That’s something Craig Weir learned from his “musical grandfather”, the late Alan Longmuir, when he toured with ’70s sensations The Bay City Rollers as a bushy-tailed 23-year-old.
“Back in 2016, I was invited out on tour with the Bay City Rollers, on their reunion tour,” recalls the Dundee musician, who fronts world-touring trad band Gleadhraich and folk-rock outfit Craig Weir and the Cabalistic Cavalry.
“I got to know the guys, but especially Alan Longmuir, really well,” he continues.
“He became a kind of musical grandfather to me. And he was working, at that time, on his own autobiography, about his time with the Bay City Rollers.
“As I’d got to know Alan, he’d often say: ‘You shouldn’t wait until you’re a grandad or at death’s door to tell your stories’.
“Then he passed away quite suddenly, and his book was published posthumously. I was asked to speak at the launch, and it was the first time I thought: ‘Hmm, maybe I should write something of my own’.”
And with star-studded stories like that which come thick and fast in a half-hour chat, it’s little wonder that despite having only just turned 30, Carnoustie-born Craig has just released his memoir, Weir’s World: Mapping My Musical Memories.
“In almost every spare minute I’ve had for the last year and a half, at home or on the road, I’ve had the laptop out, typing away,” laughs Craig.
“Turning 30 was a bit of a marker for me,” he admits. “I’m obviously not classed as a young person anymore, so I wanted to mark that chapter and all the things I’d done in my young life.
“Writing it really clarified to me and highlighted to me how lucky I’ve been, with the opportunities I’ve had to play around the world and play with my heroes.”
‘You can’t hide when you play the pipes’
Right enough, Craig’s been a busy boy from the moment he first picked up the bagpipes 22 years ago, as a shy eight-year-old at a family Christmas dinner.
“My mum’s uncle, Jack Stewart, was a piper,” he recalls. “We were round there one Christmas, and he said: ‘Why don’t you give them a go?’
“I decided: ‘Why not?’ And I loved it. So that was me from there.
“I was a painfully shy kid, but when you play an instrument like the pipes which are so in-your-face, it encourages you to become a bit bolder and more confident, because you can’t hide with pipes.”
Since embracing that bolder side of himself, Craig’s piped for Queen Elizabeth II, Michelle Obama and the Dalai Lama, played with Queen and Adam Lambert and the Bay City Rollers, and worked with The Libertines, The View and Canadian Celtic punk outfit The Peelers.
Long story short, he’s no stranger to celebrity egos.
Bay City Rollers reunion ‘got pretty messy’
“There’s a huge degree of honesty in the book,” admits Craig nervously.
“I’ve told the stories as they were at the time, there’s certainly some controversy in there. Like I did a lot of playing with Pete Doherty and the Libertines.
“That stuff is really interesting, because I think Pete’s really misunderstood by a lot of people. He’s an incredible musician and human being.”
And Craig reveals he was a “fly on the wall” for some of the less friendly interactions between the Bay City Rollers on their reunion.
“That tour got pretty messy,” he says. “The reunion was great, because it was 40 years since they’d played together as a band, but it turned a bit frosty between the guys.”
He admits it’s crossed his mind that releasing the book might impact future career opportunities, because “someone else might have a different slant on the same story”.
“There is obviously a degree of vulnerability when you put out those stories,” he observes. “I am so passionate about music and all the things I do, there’s an element of ‘Will this person want to work with me, knowing I’ve written about all this?’
“But if you’re a songwriter, and you’re not just writing nonsense, there’s vulnerability to passing that over to the public too. The difference is that now I have people I know texting me going: ‘Tell me more about this thing, you never told me about that!’
“And I’ll be like: ‘Yeah, just another one of my lives I’ve been living over the years!’”
The double life of ‘Mr Weir’
Indeed, busy as he is songwriting, performing, and publishing books, it’s easy to forget that Craig doesn’t live in the bubble of celebrity.
In fact, he spends the majority of his time in a Dundee classroom.
A full-time teacher at Our Lady’s Primary School in the Hilltown, ‘Mr Weir’ admits he “definitely” worries sometimes about pupils reading the book.
“I definitely do think about that,” he gulps. “But also as a teacher, I have an opportunity to help shape and guide young people’s lives. And I have done a lot of living that I can share with them, things that maybe not everyone could talk to them about.”
As if he didn’t have enough plates in the air, Craig even turned the Covid lockdowns into a productive period by launching his award-winning podcast, Weir’s World, with his sound engineer and long-time pal Ali Ogilvie.
“The podcast was launched kind of based upon the stories I was saving up for the book, and was wildly successful,” Craig smiles.
“It charted in like 37 countries! We did a year of one episode a week, which was our goal, and then the world started opening up and we were both busy…”
So will there be a second run of the popular audio show?
“I’d never say never, because it would be a cool thing to revisit in future,” replies Craig. “But certainly for now, it’s run its course.”
‘My partner Jenny inspires me a lot’
When it comes to inspiration, Craig says being able to travel again has been a boon to his songwriting, both for Gleadhraich and his Cabalistic Cavalry project.
“I always find myself in a rich vein of writing when I’m travelling,” he says, recounting his summer adventures in the US (including Tartan Week in New York) and Barbados for the island’s Celtic Festival.
“Obviously since Covid, I’ve had the opportunities to travel a lot and play in new places, which is inspiring because it’s all new horizons and new life experiences.
“In fact, one of the songs on the next Cavalry EP [coming early 2024] is inspired by San Diego, California. I found the place absolutely fascinating, it’s an exciting place to be.”
In contrast to the last Cavalry EP Reflections and Revelations, which Craig admits was “quite dark”, the new record and upcoming Gleadhraich EP, Sunlight, are “much more positive” in tone thanks to another source of inspiration in Craig’s life – his partner and fellow teacher Jenny.
“With Reflections and Revelations, there was a lot of life that had been lived and lot of challenging experiences there, whereas I’m in a much more positive place now than I was then,” Craig smiles.
“I’m in a very positive relationship with my partner Jenny, she’s moved up from Newcastle and she obviously inspires me a lot and supports me a lot in what I’m doing.”
It seems that as he grazes the threshold of his 30s, Craig has experienced more than many Dundonians will in their lifetimes.
But he’s not slowing down, as he hopes to cement his place in his city’s legacy.
“We do have a good music scene here, on the back of acts like The View, Be Charlotte, and even DJ Hannah Laing – who is a totally different genre of music to mine, but she’s doing massive things,” he observes.
“Hopefully as time goes on I’ll be regarded as someone who has contributed in some way to that scene.”
Weir’s World: Mapping My Musical Memories by Craig Weir, RRP £19.00, is on sale now.
The new Gleadhraich EP, Sunlight, will be released on November 10 2023.
