The Gaugers at St Andrews Folk Club 14-3-76 (guest artistes only)

The GAUGERS’, a trio of singers and musicians formed from members of the renowned Aberdeen Folk Club in 1974. The group comprised singers and musicians Tom Spiers (fiddle), Arthur Watson (whistle) and Peter Hall (concertina). Their first booking was at the Inverness Folk Festival in the spring of that year.
Peter Hall’s initial musical interests lay in jazz and trumpet, followed by skiffle, before becoming an influential figure in the Scottish folk revival. In 1964 he took up the concertina, and became a pivotal Scottish folk revivalist and song collector. Peter’s contribution to the revival in Scotland was enormous.
Born in London and raised in Newcastle, he moved to Aberdeen to study Medicine in the 1950’s and became engrossed in the ballads and songs of the North-east. At his first teaching post in Peterhead, he would ask his pupils if any of their family knew any traditional songs.
As a collector he made many recordings of the songs of the North-east particularly of the travelling people. Amongst those he recorded was Jeannie Robertson and, as a founder member of Aberdeen Folk Club in 1962 he encouraged Jeannie’s daughter, Lizzie Higgins, to sing in public.
Peter sadly passed away in 1996 and his recorded collection is believed to be lodged with the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh.
Arthur Watson, a trained printmaker, contemporary artist and sculptor, former secretary and president of the Royal Scottish Academy - now Programme Director Contemporary Art Practice at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, in Dundee, has had a long interest in traditional folk music.
His music is influenced by early experience singing in choirs, followed by a developing awareness of the music and song of tradition bearers, found virtually on his doorstep, artistes such as Jeannie Robertson and Lizzie Higgins. Arthur having grown up in a street in Aberdeen where a number of settled travellers lived, became immersed in many aspects of their language and their ways.
Tom Spiers, one of the early organisers of the Aberdeen club, first learned violin at school. He would become one of the few British folk singers to accompany themselves on fiddle.
Born in Aberdeen, on the north east coast of Scotland, in 1947 he was brought up in an extended family environment where singing was the norm.
In 1962 he joined Aberdeen Folk Song Club where in addition to organising events he performed as a resident fiddler and singer. Here too he got to know and admire legendary singers such as Jeannie Robertson, Jimmy McBeath and Lizzie Higgins, who were regular club guests and an invaluable source of material.
The groups first album, titled Beware of the Aberdonian, was released in 1976, to popular acclaim.
Following Peter Hall’s untimely death in 1996 they released their fourth and last album, “No More for Ever”, assembled in 2000 from live performances and practice sessions recorded before Hall’s death.
This archive St Andrews Folk Club ‘live’ recording features the following two sets:
SET ONE
1 - The Aberdonian. (Beware of)
2 - Ministers Sheep
3 - The Brewer Lad,
4a - Prince Charles’ Welcome to the Isle of Skye (i)
4b - Killiecrankie (i)
5 - Haud Y’er Tongue Dear Sally
6 - Billy Taylor
7 - The Scranky Black Farmer
SET TWO
8 - Sleepytoun
9a - McLaughlans Scotch Measure (i)
9b - Petronella (i)
9c - Neill Gow’s Farewell to Whisky (i)
10 - The Maid Gaed tae the Mill
11 - The Cruel Brither
12 - The Bonny Lass o’ Anglesey
13 - Lochaber No More
14 - Young Jackie (The Nutting Girl)
15a - Rachael Rae (i)
15b - The Mullen Dhu (i)
15 - ?? unknown (i)
16 - Mormon Braes
17 - Lassie Lie Near Me
18a - Yowie wi the Crookit Horn (i)
18b - The Jolly Shepherds (i)
18c - Polly Stewart (i)
(i) - instrumentals