Category: Albums

Michael has been nominated in the Composer of the Year category for this year's Scots Trad Music Awards. The winners will be announced on 3 December at an event at Queens Hall in Edinburgh.

Voting is open to the general public from 1 November till 25 November. Votes can be placed at two sites. Firstly at where you can download a voting form or at where you can vote on line.
Ordinary Angel which features three songs by Michael is also nominated in the Album of the Year category

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A full list of all the nominations is available at

To celebrate Midsummer we have put together
Volume Ten of the Marra collection featuring various tracks, some old, some new but all original Marra compositions with the exception of a couple of covers and one fan's homage to Michael.

Play

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The Rare Combo were Michael Marra on guitar, keyboards and vocals, Kenny Fraser on guitar, fiddle and whistle and Gordon Maclean on string bass. Their gig in The Ballroom in the Pentland Hotel, Thurso on Friday 13 June 2003 was part of the " Silence " Tour.

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To listen to Michael and his pals playing live in Thurso just click on this link[/size]

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For those of you who did not have the opportunity to see the Communicado production of A Wee Home From Home here is a change to hear the music and songs written and performed by Michael Marra.

A man returns home. There is no-one in but an un-nerving figure is hanging about reading the Daily Record. To kill time The Man takes off on a journey that weaves its way between past and present taking in pubs and streets, schools and dancehalls, all the cruelty, fun and sheer excitement of life in a big city. In a majestic display of story telling through movement, The Man is driven, led and accompanied by razor sharp lyrics and reverberating music of The Piano Man. The Man returns home, knocks on the familiar door and enters. That is when the nightmare begins.


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Above photo copyright Margaret McIntosh

To celebrate the fact that it is twenty years since Michael first released Gaels Blue we have a real treat from the archives - The Gaels Blue Orchestra play the music of Gaels Blue "live" from the Dundee concert on the night the album was officially released.

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Here is my review from the bands one and only appearance in Aberdeen at the Arts Centre - April 9 1985 - ( a couple of nights after the Dundee gig) when Michael fulfilled a long held ambition to play a date in Aberdeen with his big band. (Please excuse the hand made poster and note the ticket price.)

Michael Marra and The Gaels Blue Orchestra with support The Chillipeppers -

Playing in Aberdeen for the first time The Chillippers
are Gary Clark, Guitar and vocals, Alan McGlone on saxophone and Gerard Grimes on tea chest bass, yes tea chest bass and boy can Gerard play the thing. The three lads from Dundee only play together on an occassional basis as each have other full time committments, Gary and Ged Grimes in Spencer Tracy and currently getting rave reviews in the national music weeklies. Alan is a record producer and session musician. The set showed their great love of the popular song. Witness Nat King Cole's - Tender Trap, Bacharach and David's I Say A Little Prayer and I'll Never Fall In Love Again. Gary's voice is superb and his punchy rythm guitar was beautifully complimented by Alan's sax fills and breaks, all this was held together by Ged's lyrical bass and percussion courtesy of his feet. A short but classy set. You'll be hearing more from these guys!!

The Gaels Blue Orchestra's opening opus Flagrant Delicht was a tasty instrumental showing off the individual band member's musical prowess to great effect led by Mr Marra ,resplendent in white tuxedo, seated at the magnificent Steinway grand piano ................

Listen to them for yourself and imagine you were there. It's not difficult, close your eyes now .........


The setlist was as follows -
Flagrant Delicht
To Beat the Drum
Racing From Newburgh
When My Eyes Become Accustomed To The Light
3 Singing Headsquares
Mincing Wi Chairlhi
The Altar Boys
Gaels Blue
The Angus Man's Welcome to Mary Stuart
Black Babies
Happed In Mist
Peter
Barnyards O' Delgaty
General Grant's Visit to Dundee
Loving You [Is Sweeter Then Ever] {Encore}

The 11 piece band featured Michael Marra on piano and vocals, Derek Thomson on Keyboards, Christopher Marra on guitars, Kevin Murray on guitars and mandolin, Alan McGlone on saxophone, Ged Grimes on bass, Brian McDermott on drums, Gary Clark on percussion and vocals and The Three Singin' Headsquares, Alison Shearer, Frances Carlin and Pauline Rourke on backing vocals.


Remember to visit the section on the site and rate the songs.


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Just in case you get fed up watching the TV over the Festive period we thought we would reprise the Lyric Quiz from a few years back for all the new Michael Marra fans. Nothing difficullt you understand, just things that you should know! The answers could be found within the site.

Email your answers to me, The Meenister, by clicking on my name in the top left hand corner of the page.

The Meenister's decision is final. OK! Answers to me by 31 January 2007. Prizes still to be decided.

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LYRIC QUIZ - courtesy of Dr Mary Masson

1. By his side his adze and compass

2. On the dark side of Dunoon

3. Due to isotopes of Thorium and Alpha types of ray

4. Deeved about the life they choose

5. Will you breathe our air and witness our efforts

6. I'd rather be in Elgin, it's a better class of cold and wet

7. The best laid plan between Men and Mice

8. Stalwart and brave Caledonian Hotel

9. Batten down the four leaf clover

10. That the gowd in the tike has taen a thin disguise

11. He takes a deep breath and he seethes

12. Let them gather up their brows and their old wives tales

13. The leaves kept falling before they were due

14. I want to dance with Jimmy Howie in the pale moonlight

15. They very seldom jump over the moon

16. Peace on earth and earth on piece

17. Did you think it was the quality or preference of beer?

18. I'd wheel my wheelbarrow up Kilimanjaro

19. His fingers painting what his soul receives

20. I'd sing a song of Thomas Paine

Michael's latest theatre project is NAN GARLAND - The Opera. You can visit the project website by clicking [color=orange]HERE!

[size=14]Michael recently gave an interview to Kenny Farquharson of the Sunday Times about the Opera - here is what he had to say on the subject - Michael Marra walks into the foyer of Dundee Rep and peers around anxiously, a meerkat of a man wearing a beret. His nervousness is easily explained. For the past six months he has not seen much of the world outside the makeshift recording studio in his Newtyle home. There, working every day, he has been consumed by a project that marks a radical departure f or Scotland�s most celebrated songwriter. �I was beginning to worry about the isolation,� he says once we find a seat and some black coffee. As my wife pointed out, I get strange.� The voice is unmistakable � a rich growl that sounds as if someone has set his throat on fire then put the flames out with a tumbler of Laphroaig. Up close it seems a big voice for such a small man. Marra, 52 next month, has an air of vulnerability about him. Yet the clear eyes in the pockmarked face are mischievous and hold your gaze, and as he smokes his roll-ups he talks with the conviction of a man who knows he is at the height of his powers. A sign of this confidence is his new project � an opera. The choice may raise some eyebrows among those who cherish Marra for his mastery of the perfectly whittled four-minute song, finding the extraordinary in ordinary Dundonian experiences. But he says the time seemed right to try something on a bigger scale and to build on his experience of theatre writing. �I wanted something complicated,� he says. Marra�s guiding lights will be Guys and Dolls, Gilbert and Sullivan, West Side Story and Puccini. �I�m pitting myself against those standards,� he says with a nervous laugh. �People like Puccini wanted big hits and they were writing tunes that have stood the test of time. I want it to be solid.� Due to be finished at the end of this month, the opera has the working title of Nan Garland. �It�s about a group of truants � plunkers as we call them in Dundee � who, as they get older, just keep it up. They hide in the forest and keep it going into adulthood. And they start their own society. �People come and join them. Some of them go out to work in the normal world, pretending to be members of society but only to get funds to keep their own society going. There are complications because the police come looking for one of them, but basically their society prevails because of how they conduct it.� The working title is the name of the central character. �I�ve never met a woman called Nan that I didn�t like. And it�s also a name that women are not given these days, and I like that.� The plot is not Marra�s � he asked the Irish writer Michael Duke, formerly associate director of the Dundee Rep and now in charge of Tinderbox theatre in Belfast, to come up with a synopsis. The result has been a liberation for Marra, who describes his usual songwriting process as �a blur� and �a scuffle�. Writing to somebody else�s plot has been a release. �The job is clearer. You know where you are heading. There is no fight about it. I find it quite a calm process, which is strange for me.� Commissioned by Dundee Rep and featuring a Dundonian choir called Loadsaweeminsingin, the opera will make a virtue of not being rooted in any one place � even if for Marra it is �hovering above a perfect part of Angus�. Also due for release is a book of short stories called Karma Mechanics, adding yet another aspect to Marra�s artistic output. It is being published by an old friend, Mick McCluskey, who runs a firm called Intro2 from his home in the Sidlaw Hills above Dundee. Marra now lives in Angus, but the city on the Tay remains his touchstone, its pubs, history, footballers and failings lovingly chronicled in songs that can veer off into magic realism. This is seen in songs such as Frida Kahlo�s Visit to the Taybridge Bar, when St Peter at the pearly gates sends the Mexican painter to one of Marra�s favourite howfs. �For any artist Dundee is just the perfect place to look at the rest of the world,� he says. �Charles Mingus had a book called Beneath the Underdog. I always thought they should put that under Dundee on the sign outside the city.� Dundonians, he says, are the ultimate tough crowd. �The last thing you do in Dundee is try to impress. It�s absolutely not on. That for any artist is a great place to be � you work harder.� The reason for these attitudes, he says, is the city�s curious social structure. �I just cannot think of any place else where there is more or less one class of people.� If there is a Dundonian middle class, I point out that most of them are probably here in the Rep eating lunch. �Aye, and we can deal with them,� he growls. �They�re not giving us any trouble.� Copyright 2004 Times Newspapers Ltd.[/size]

A collection of interesting photographs of Michael and his musical and acting friends.

Michael in The Hollywood Room Buxton 2004 - Photo by Blumacjazz



Jake Mackenzie - Blumacjazz - with Michael, Jake is Mayor of Rohnert Park, California and a fan.



Michael in York 2004 - Photo by Blumacjazz



Relaxing on the set of Danger Doyle's Doos



The Storyteller from Beauty and The Beast




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Above photo copyright Margaret McIntosh

Michael reads the famous Daily Record headline " Savage Gerbil Ruins Family Life"


Alan McGlone



Brian McDermott



At Viz Studios



Doogie Martin



Fishing trip



Gary Clark and Christopher Marra



The Lads in the Taybridge Bar



Gig Poster - Note that students were required to signed in by a member of the General Public.



Michael and Gus Foy



Posing



Michael in USA



A smiling Mr Marra





Peter McGlone





Anither pose




The ticket for 1983 exhibition of Michael's drawings



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Photo copyright Stewart W. Sutherland

A young Michael Marra

Michael's fabulous 13 piece band The Gaels Blue Orchestra live at the Bonnar Hall, Dundee. The cream of Dundee's musicians appeared in the line up Dougie Martin, Gary Clark, Peter and Alan McGlone, Mick McCluskey, Mark Fletcher, Ged Grimes. Donny Coutts .... on this occasion the wonderful Rab Noakes joined them for a couple of songs

Here is sax player Mick McCluskey's set list for the gig with his notes re song jeys etc. >

Here is a unique opportunity to see Michael perform
in the flesh so to speak through the magic of online video. The clips are taken from theatre and television performances.

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Click on the links below, you will need the latest version of one of the following media players... Windows Media Player, Winamp, DivX, or Real Player.
Please be patient while the video files load as some of them are large and will take a wee minute. We Trust that it does not spoil you enjoyment of the performances.


A young Michael Marra appearing in Wildcat Theatre Company's production of Border Warfare.

MINCING WI CHAIRLHI

The following clips are from Butterstone Burns filmed in Dougie Maclean's home near Dunkeld in Perthshire.

RACING FROM NEWBURGH
THE LASS WI THE FLAX IN HER HAIR

These clips are taken from a recent Burns programme hosted by Michael with guests, Eddi Reader, Rod Paterson and Christine Hansen

AE FOND KISS
GREEN GROW THE RASHES

David Kane's film Ruffian Hearts features Michael's version of the old Doris Day song Que Sera Sera

QUE SERA SERA

Michael enjoys singing with a big band. He also enjoys singing classic soul music. In these clips from Drumbeat he is joined by Pat Kane and fellow Dundonian Gary Clark.

LUCEILLE
SOUL SISTER, BROWN SUGAR
MISTRA KNOW IT ALL

Finally Michael was the musician in residence on the Channel 4 series The Ken Fine Show which was hosted by Jack Doherty. The programme dealt with Scots language and dialect. The musicians playing with Michael are Christopher Marra on guitar, Blair Douglas on accordian and keyboards,
Calum McKenzie on bass and LLoyd Anderson on drums.

BARNYARDS OF DELGATY
BROOM OF THE COWDEN KNOWE
JOCK O' HAZELDEAN
LETTER FROM AMERICA
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