Perth-based Inspiration Orchestra founder Ian White celebrated his 65th birthday by running 10k to raise funds for the orchestra, which runs free music lessons for the registered disabled. Here, we get to know him better:
Q: Where in the world are you happiest?
A: A tie between sailing my boat on Loch Earn, and playing music with my Inspiration Orchestra members on a concert stage.
Q: Favourite part of Scotland to explore?
A: Exploring tends to mean places you haven’t been to yet, so my wife Carol and I are looking forward to exploring any undiscovered wildlife parks and small zoos… we love animals.
Q: What would you have done if you hadn’t followed your current career path?
A: I think I could have enjoyed being a radio presenter, my wife would have me run a garden zoo.
Q: Who inspires you?
A: I get inspired by people who show real courageous persistence in their lives…overcoming obstacles of either disability, or, in the worlds of science or medicine, people who overcome resistance due to lack of imagination, jealousy or snobbery.
Q: Your house is on fire, what one item do you save?
A: My hand-built Robertson acoustic guitar. I’m not a guitar collector.
Since going full-time in music in 1985 I have only had five professional quality guitars, Ovations and Taylors up till now.
Three years ago I heard of a young Glasgow guitar maker called Paul Robertson.
He was just starting out, and only charged me £1,200 for an instrument that I think is every bit as good, as for example a £5,000 Moon guitar [a well-known, handmade Scottish guitar.
Q: Theme song for your life?
A: That’s the story of, that’s the glory of Love!
Q: Last meal on earth?
A: A meat Madras from the Himalayan Takeaway in South Street, Perth. Mr Assan and his wife have being making curries there since 1984 – fab.
Q: Dream post-Covid dinner guests?
A: Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan.
Q: First thing you’d do if you won £1 million?
A: Phone my son in London, who currently earns about four times what I do, and say, ‘Who’s laughing now?’
Q: If you could rule for a day, what would be the first thing you would do?
A: Mount a huge anti-litter campaign, with statutory teaching in nurseries and primary schools that you just DON’T throw your rubbish in the street. People I know, who were taught that growing up, just never, ever drop rubbish. It’s ingrained. So who teaches their kids to drop?
Q: Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know?
A: When I made my first record back in 1985, the producer told me I had a gap in my front teeth that would always cause a whistling when I sang into a mic, and recommended I had an extension tooth to fill the gap. I did, and it worked. I made 20 more records.
Q: Favourite holiday destination?
A: It used to be Orange County, California, which I grew to love on music trips, but also love Italy and my beloved Loch Earn with my sailing boat.
Q: What was the last book you read?
A: The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad.
Q: If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Italian cuisine.
Q: Have you ever had a paranormal encounter?
A: A good, second-hand one with my dad…I was in the next room when it happened. We grew up in a wee cottage in Ayrshire not far from Burns Cottage, and it would have been built around the same time.
What we used as a garage was a gloomy part of the house that still had rooms, fireplaces and remnants of wall decorations from past residents.
Above an old fireplace was an old picture of Burns Cottage. One Burns night in the 60s, my dad was working late in the garage underneath his car.
He heard the sound of creaking leather boots walking the length of the car… looking out he saw that the garage door was bolted from the inside.
Feeling a bit creeped out he went back under the car. Minutes later there was a big crash, and when he got up, the picture of Burns Cottage had fallen off the wall into the fireplace.
My dad deliberately went back into the garage the following Burns Night, and lay still. The picture crashed into the fireplace a second time.
My dad went back into the garage every Burns Night for years afterwards, but the creaking boots never returned.
*Read here about Ian White’s recent fundraiser for the Inspiration Orchestra:
