Over the years Old Blind Dogs have evolved and grown into one of Scotland’s favorite folk bands. In the early days, Dave Francis was involved on percussion and Carmen Higgins on fiddle. In 1992 Davie Cattenach joined the band and they toured as a four piece and recorded four great CDs with Scotland’s record label KRL – New Tricks, Close to the Bone, Tall Tails and Legacy.
In 1996 Fraser Fifield became the fifth member of the Old Blind Dogs adding to the bands cutting edge sound with his tasty jazz licks on the sax and his superb playing of the small pipes. Their first album as a quintet titled Five aptly enough and released in 1997 – completed their five-album deal with KRL. Then in early 1997 Graham ‘Mop’ Youngson (ex – Wolfstone) replaced Davie Cattenach with his funky hard-hitting rhythm kit. The band was busy in 1998 touring in the United States of America, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the UK.
1999 saw the Old Blind Dogs embracing the New Year with a new and evolved line up. Ian Benzie retired from the band in January. Ian was the lead singer with OBD since the band was born in 1990 and was soon missed by the band members and fans. Fraser Fifield also moved on to develop other musical projects. The Old Blind Dogs continue on with the introduction of another great Scottish singer and songwriter Jim Malcolm and Rory Campbell (Deaf Sheppard) on small pipes and whistles.
Jim Malcolm is a performer of traditional Scots music and song with particular strong links to the ballads of Perthshire and Angus. In addition he is a fine exponent of simultaneous guitar and harmonica playing. His debut album Sconeward was well received by critics both at home and abroad. A new album Rohallion went straight to the top of Greentraxs best seller’s list.
Piper Rory Campbell will be most recognized through his contributions in another great Scottish Folk band – Deaf Sheppard.
The World’s Room was released with Green Linnet Records in October 1999.
The lineup of the band has changed frequently with only Jonny Hardie (Fiddle mandolin and backing vocals) remaining from the original group.
Discography:
New Tricks (KRL 1992)
Close to the Bone (KRL 1993)
Tall Tails (KRL 1994)
Legacy (KRL 1995)
Five (1997)
Live (1999)
The World’s Room (Green Linnet Records 1999)
Fit (Green Linnet Records 2001)
The Gab o Mey (Green Linnet Records 2003)
Play Live (Green Linnet Records 2004)
Four On The Floor (Compass Records 2007)
Wherever Yet May Be (Compass Records 2010)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
