Aly Bain | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1946-05-15)15 May 1946 (age 79) |
| Origin | Lerwick,Shetland, Scotland |
| Genres | Folk,Traditional,Celtic,World Music |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Fiddle/viola |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Whirlie Records |
Aly BainMBE (born 15 May 1946) is aScottishfiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time masterTom Anderson. The formerFirst Minister of ScotlandJack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon."[1]
Bain was born in the town ofLerwick, in theShetland Islands ofScotland. In the early years of his career, he was—briefly and unofficially—part of the bandThe Humblebums withGerry Rafferty,Billy Connolly and Tam Harvey.[2] He was one of the members of the band "Gordon Hank and the Country Ramblers", which also included Gordon Smith, Ian Stewart and Jack Robertson in 1967 and was based in Shetland.[3][4]
He became nationally prominent as a founding member ofThe Boys of the Lough,[5] a Scots-Irish folk group, with whom he played for over 30 years.
Simultaneously, Bain pursued a solo career in collaborative and television projects withPelicula Films director Mike Alexander and producer Douglas Eadie, working on several international television series:The Down home Recordings (which described how fiddling music spread from Scotland and Ireland to America[6]),The Shetland Sessions (recorded at the Shetland folk festival in 1991[6]),Aly Meets The Cajuns, and six series of theTransatlantic Sessions.[7]
Since the early eighties, Bain has regularly collaborated and recorded with prominent, international musicians, including:Phil Cunningham,Jerry Douglas,Emmylou Harris,Norman Blake,Mark O'Connor,Jay Ungar,Mary Black,Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh,Dan Tyminski,Rosanne Cash,James Taylor,Eddi Reader,Paul Brady,Darrell Scott,Michael Doucet,Martha Wainwright,Kate & Anna McGarrigle,John Martyn,Danny Thompson,Iris DeMent,Karen Matheson,Karan Casey,Donal Lunny,Joan Osborne,Allison Moorer,Bruce Molsky andAllan MacDonald, bringing traditional music to a wider audience.
In 1989, Bain played at theCarnegie Hall in New York, USA, to a capacity crowd.[5]
In 1993, hisautobiographyFiddler on the Loose, co-written with Alastair Clark, was published by "Mainstream".[8]
In 1999 Bain played at the first opening of theScottish Parliament in Edinburgh.[9]
In 2000, Bain played at the funeral of the Scottish first ministerDonald Dewar.[9]
In 2006, a television programme celebrating Bain's 60th birthday was broadcast by the BBC, documenting his life and works.[1] The same year, Bain was inducted into the Scots Traditional Music Hall of Fame.
In 2009, Bain collaborated withNicola Benedetti to create a television programme forBBC Scotland:When Nicola Benedetti Met Aly Bain, broadcast the same year.[10]
In 2010, Bain made a further hour-long television programme forBBC withPelicula Films andBilly Connolly:Fishing for Poetry, celebrating the life and works of the Scottish PoetNorman MacCaig.[11]
In 2012, Bain and Cunningham celebrated their 25th anniversary of touring as a fiddle and accordion duo. Bain also tours with Swedish multi-instrumentalistAle Möller (with whom he has recorded two albums) and with American old-time fiddler, singer, guitarist and banjo playerBruce Molsky; as a trio, they released their first album in 2013.
Bain has received many honours for his services to music.
In 1989, he received aSilver Disc from the Record Industry Association for hisAly Meets the Cajuns recording. A further Silver Disc followed in 1991 forThe Pearl, recorded on his own Edinburgh Record Label,Whirlie Records.[7]
In 1994, he was awarded theMBE for his musical accomplishments.[12]
He also has received five honoraryDoctor of Music (DMus) degrees from:Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama;[5]Stirling University;[13]The University of St Andrews (2003);[14]The Open University (2005)[15] andEdinburgh University (2009).[16]
In 2005, he andPhil Cunningham won theBBC's "Best Duo of the Year" award.[17]
On 27 November 2007, Bain and Cunningham were awardedDoctor of Letters fromGlasgow Caledonian University for their contributions to music and to the education and encouragement of young musicians.[18]
In 2010, Bain won theBBC Radio 2Folk "Good Tradition Award".[7]
In the 2013BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Bain was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.[19]
He has also received severalhonorary doctorates in the US.[citation needed]
Bain has three daughters – Annalese, Jessica and Sophie who were respectively 25, 24 and 8 years old in 2003.[20]
He endorsed the independence campaign in theScottish independence referendum, 2014.[21]
In 2009Paidriag O'Keefe's/Con Cassidy's fromIn The Tradition was included inTopic Records 70 year anniversary boxed setThree Score and Ten as track fourteen on the third CD.
In 2009Soldier's Joy fromThe Silver Bow was also included inThree Score and Ten as track seven on the fourth CD.
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