https://musical1.com/doricloon Tue, 07 Apr 2026 04:35:28 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/373/all-will-be-well-setlist-singers-and-musicians https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/373 Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:03:34 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/351/the-singing-moth-plays-aberdeens-lemon-tree https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/351 But it was clear from the number who had to “rehearse” communal singing of the like “Baps ‘n Paste” and “Hermless” that there were a lot of new faces there as well. And after witnessing Marra’s masterful performance they’ll be back the next time Dundee’s finest export ventures north even forgiving him for his jibes at the Aiberdeen in “I Don’t Like Methil” and “If Dundee Were Africa”.
The two sets contained many of Michael’s finest moments, and there are plenty of those in his vast and varied repertoire, and yet began with a inspired rendition of Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney's famous depression era anthem “Brother Can You Spare A Dime” showing a very relevant link with today's economic turmoil.  What followed was a master class in writing, brilliant lyrics happily married to fascinating tunes perfectly performed on the piano, and occasionally, the guitar with sometimes hilarious introductions populated with characters from Michael's past. The Bothy Cat, The Angry Cat. The Man with No Nickname and the Singing Moth.
Devotee favourites abounded – the wonderful unaccompanied tribute to Dundee drunks “Muggie Sha”, the imaginative blending of a famous Mexican artist Freda Kahlo with one of Dundee’s less salubrious drinking establishments (“Freda Kahlo’s Visit To The Tay Bridge Bar&rdquo and his tribute to  a castrated and wayward cat “Pious Portious”. "Farlow", "The Lonesome Death of Francis Clarke"," Bob Dylan's Visit to Embra",  "Big Wide World Beyond The Seedlies", a hilarious testament to the perils of Lonely Heart’s columns “He Said, She Said” and a new song on the setlist, the ravishing “Heaven’s Hound” (inspired by the Mississippi travels of  long time Marra friends and supporters from Kintore).  
Michael left the stage to a tumultuous, well deserved and heartfelt ovation returning to treat us a encore featuring a couple of songs from his own songwriter heroes. A beautuful tribute to the late Gerry Rafferty with his "Mary Skeffington" followed by a poignant treatment of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Rocking Chair” before  finishing with the Marra anthem “Hermless”, to my mind the saddest “comedy song” I’ve heard in many a long day.
The audience could have stayed all night so haste you back Michael. And when he does return I’m sure all who attended last night will be there once again bringing a few more friends with them. For Michael Marra is no longer Scotland’s best kept secret but is indeed one of Scotland’s greatest treasures.

]]> Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:37:39 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/348/take-it-to-the-bridge https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/348 Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:10:05 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/344/gil-scott-heron-rip https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/344 Tue, 31 May 2011 18:51:48 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/323/michael-marra-footage-in-stv-archives https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/323
Aly Bain and Friends was first broadcast in 1987 and the series features a wonderful guest list and features some great music. Michael is in episode 3. If you never witnessed the playing of Peerie Wille Johnson you will pleased to know that Willie is featured extensively in the programmes with episode 5 being a my personal favourite.  

http://www.youtube.com/show/alybainandfriends

The Ken Fine Show - a magazine style series presented by Jack Docherty, which celebrates the Scots language, dialects and Gaelic has Michael in all 12 programmes and they are also featured here in the archive -

http://www.youtube.com/show/thekenfineshow

Enjoy. ]]> Thu, 23 Sep 2010 10:25:25 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/310/marra-portrait https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/310
Mr Hawthorn, who will watch the singer perform in concert at Howden Park Centre on 19 May, said: "I am pleased to say that Michael has viewed my painting and is happy with it.

"I am always happy to see visiting artists coming to perform here, and it doesn't get much better than Michael Marra. It promises to be a cracking gig."

The artwork can be viewed at Joe Hawthorn's website ]]> Tue, 04 May 2010 16:02:35 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/308/blair-douglass-gaelic-mass https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/308
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rx9pw

This is from a recording made at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Portree, Skye, as part of Blas 2009. The Mass features soloists Paul MacCallum and Maggie Macdonald with the Inverness Gaelic Choir, Iain MacDonald and an ensemble of classical musicians conducted by Andy Thorburn, who arranged the piece. Hopefully it will also be available on the BBC iplayer after Sunday's broadcast. ]]> Sat, 03 Apr 2010 21:42:10 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/305/san-patricio-the-chieftains-and-ry-cooder https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/305 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:02:56 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/304/san-patrico-the-chieftains-with-ry-cooder https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/304 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:49:45 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/303/marra-and-mcfalls https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/303 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:15:09 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/302/blas-09-east-meets-west https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/302 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:11:13 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/298/ricky-ross-sings-lauder-marra-medley https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/298 Connections show " a Scottish Songbook". "The Laddies Who Fought and
Won/Happed In Mist". The songs written by two Scottish song giants, Harry Lauder
and Michael Marra.

You can view his performance at -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/music/celticconnections/2010/artists/mcintosh_ross
/

See what you think? ]]> Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:58:19 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/295/chain-up-the-swings-on-river-city https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/295
The distinctive vocals of Mr Marra singing "Chain Up The Swings" were featured in
Tuesday night's episode of BBC Scotland's television domestic drama River City.

The wife spotted it you understand, and called me through the ha'e a listen.

If you want to confirm it for yourself, purely in the interests of research
ofcourse, you can view it using the bbc iplayer at -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00q089b/b00q07r4/River_City_12_01_2010/

The song starts about 10 minutes into the programme. I undertand that "When These Shoes Were New" has also featured in the past. Producer obviously has imaculate taste!!! ]]> Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:37:30 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/268/l-saluto-di-giovanni-moscardini https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/268 That year, however, he returned to Scotland to help run his uncle's Royal Cafe in Campbeltown, and there his distinguished footballing career came to an end playing for Campbeltown Pupils AFC. He subsequently moved to Prestwick where he died in 1985. Being the only player from Barga ever to play in the Italian national team, the local football stadium is named in his honour. Blair Douglas came across Moscardini’s story by chance. His daughter, Ceitidh (Katie), wrote about him for a school project and asked her father to proof-read her work. “I was immediately intrigued with Johnny Moscardini. Here was a young man who was born of an immigrant family in Scotland but pursued a highly successful professional football career in Italy and who gave it up to help out in a family business in Kintyre. How times have changed. It was also a revelation to read about Barga’s strong connections with Scotland through the numerous local families who came over to this country. The tune Il Saluto di Giovanni Moscardini, is in honour of Johnny, one of Barga’s most famous sons, but it is also in recognition of the huge contribution Scots-Italians in general have made to our nation. I plan to record the reel on my next album, but would relish the idea of premiering the tune in Barga itself. The idea of playing the tune in the Johnny Moscardini’s home town greatly appeals to me, particularly if it could be done in collaboration with local Barga musicians. I don’t know the Italian for ‘great crack’, but undoubtedly that’s what the premiere would be.”
Il Saluto di Giovanni Moscardini (Johnny Moscardini's Salute) - A new Blair Douglas Composition Blair Douglas, one of Scotland’s foremost musicians, has just penned a composition in honour of the Scots-Italian footballer, Giovanni or Johnny Moscardini, who though born in Falkirk in 1897, took to the field a total of nine times for ‘Azzurri’ between 1921 and 1925. The tune “Il Saluto di Giovanni Moscardini”, (Johnny Moscardini’s Salute) is a reel for pipes and drums, brass band, strings, and percussion. Whilst composed in the Scottish traditional idiom, it has distinct Mediterranean influences. Il Saluto is up-tempo and exhilarating as would befit a tune named for a prolific striker such as Johnny Moscardini. Giovanni Moscardini’s father was one of three brothers from Barga in Tuscany who moved to Scotland to set up fish and chips shops and ice-cream parlours. At the outbreak of the First World War, Johnnie enlisted in the Italian army and after demobilisation he settled in his father’s hometown. A talented footballer, he turned out for the local team but was soon spotted by the local senior club Lucca, then playing in the Italian League - Tuscany Section. He later signed for near neighbours Pisa, becoming the club's top scorer and the first choice at centre-forward for the national side. Latterly, he joined Genoa, then the top Italian club and he made his last appearance for Italy against France on March 22nd, 1925 marking the occasion by scoring twice in a 7-0 win.
That year, however, he returned to Scotland to help run his uncle's Royal Cafe in Campbeltown, and there his distinguished footballing career came to an end playing for Campbeltown Pupils AFC. He subsequently moved to Prestwick where he died in 1985. Being the only player from Barga ever to play in the Italian national team, the local football stadium is named in his honour. Blair Douglas came across Moscardini’s story by chance. His daughter, Ceitidh (Katie), wrote about him for a school project and asked her father to proof-read her work. “I was immediately intrigued with Johnny Moscardini. Here was a young man who was born of an immigrant family in Scotland but pursued a highly successful professional football career in Italy and who gave it up to help out in a family business in Kintyre. How times have changed. It was also a revelation to read about Barga’s strong connections with Scotland through the numerous local families who came over to this country. The tune Il Saluto di Giovanni Moscardini, is in honour of Johnny, one of Barga’s most famous sons, but it is also in recognition of the huge contribution Scots-Italians in general have made to our nation. I plan to record the reel on my next album, but would relish the idea of premiering the tune in Barga itself. The idea of playing the tune in the Johnny Moscardini’s home town greatly appeals to me, particularly if it could be done in collaboration with local Barga musicians. I don’t know the Italian for ‘great crack’, but undoubtedly that’s what the premiere would be.” ]]> Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:23:48 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/267/sinsheens-new-cd-lift-produced-by-michael-marra https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/267 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:29:33 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/266/old-cape-cod-geraint-watkins https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/266 sweet magnolia trees
]]> Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:30:22 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/265/long-gone-lonesome https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/265     Long Gone Lonesome Written by Duncan McLean
Directed by Vicky Featherstone
Featuring the Lone Star Swing band Long Gone Lonesome tells the story of Thomas Fraser. The Shetlander with two lives. By day fisherman, father and islandman, by night world class innovator in American country and roots music.

Thomas was dedicated to his art, mastering the styles of his heroes - like pioneering country singer Jimmie Rodgers, America's Blue Yodeller - and making their songs his own.

Using all his hard earned money from the sea, he bought the first Grundig reel to reel, creating ground-breaking self made multi-tracked recordings, which he gave to close friends as gifts. His modesty stopped them travelling any further.

Thomas died in 1978, at the age of 50, following an accident at sea. His immense shyness meant only a handful of people had ever seen him perform. His tapes were more or less forgotten for a quarter of a century until his grandson realised their importance and started the slow process of restoring them and transferring them to CD. The first modest release ignited a blaze of interest in Thomas and his music.

Three more CDs have followed as well as a festival in his honour, plaudits from critics and scholars around the world, a documentary - and now this musical telling of his story.

‘I've written a script that aims to tell Thomas's story, and to convey the essence of the music he loved and performed with so much passion. Produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and directed by the Company’s own Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone - it's not a play as such. Instead, the show will be a mix of storytelling, music and what you might call dramatic jam sessions with games, improvisations, tall tales, exaggerations, musical explorations and heartfelt personal confessions disguised as jaunty novelty numbers.’ Duncan McLean, July 2009 ]]> Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:13:34 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/264/blair-douglas-a-gaelic-mass https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/264 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:40:30 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/262/the-mearns-distilled https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/262
Michael Marra has written the forward to Andy Hall and Francis Boag's new book " The Mearns Distilled" - A painter and photographer's inspiration.

The Mearns in Kincardineshire has indeed provided inpiration for Francis Boag, the painter and Andy Hall, the photographer. There are some wonderful images contained in the book including a photograph of a newly ploughed field covered in mist. Michael lyric's for "Happed In Mist" completes the picture. The Mearns
Distilled is also dedicated to James Leslie Mitchell (Lewis Grassic Gibbon). A beautifully designed booked with images, words and lyrics all inpired by The Mearns.   The book is available to buy online
at -

< http://www.andyhallphotography.com/homepage.htm >

or

< http://www.francisboag.com/ >

Enjoy ]]> Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:17:26 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/261/missed-opportunity-for-more-of-marra https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/261 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:19:42 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/257/new-thomas-fraser-cd-just-call-me-lonesome https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/257 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:40:08 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/255/a-wee-home-from-home-tour-dates https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/255
For those Marra fans who missed this wee gem first time round A Wee Home From Home tour dates are begining to appear. Michael performs the music and songs live including Mother Glasgow set in it's original and true context.

"Returning to Glasgow Frankie knocks on a door to find no one home. With time on his hands he wanders the streets of his past and is swept up in the ensuing roller coaster of memories and emotions.

Twenty-one years after this gem of a show first played to full houses and immense public acclaim, plan B have reunited the original creative team to bring A Wee Home From Home to a new generation.

Performed by Michael Marra and Frank McConnell, the duo creates a double act full of warmth and charm with undertones of menace. Using an eclectic mix of raw live music, inspired, high-octane choreography and powerful theatricality, the show opens Scotland to its own wounds while celebrating a vibrant and indomitable spirit with pathos and a huge dose of humour." Check out Plan B's website for more information and full tour dates - http://www.planbcreative.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=106






]]> Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:01:15 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/254/a-wee-home-from-home https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/254 Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:56:18 +0100 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/249/mr-mcfall-and-mr-marra https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/249  
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Live-review-McFall39s-ChamberMichael-Marra.5053929.jp
 
Me I thought it was rare!!! ]]> Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:03:20 +0000 https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/248/interview-with-mr-mcfall https://musical1.com/doricloon/blog/248 http://www.list.co.uk/article/16276-mr-mcfalls-chamber-with-michael-marra/
Sound really exciting!!! ]]> Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:55:16 +0000