User:ELAINEHAWKINS1/sandbox

Ian Bruce (Folk Singer and Songwriter) Active years 1977–present www.ianbruce.org

Born - Ian Morris Bruce

Birthday - 21 January 1956

Education - Calderwood Primary, Rutherglen Academy, Stonelaw High School, Anniesland College, James Watt College and Glasgow College of Commerce.

Father - John Horatio St. George Ross Bruce (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Mother - Blodwen Naomi Bruce (nee Morris) (Tredegar, Wales)

Pets - Harris and his son Alfie. (Both Plummer Terriers)

1956
Ian Bruce was born and brought up in Rutherglen, Glasgow. His father worked his whole life in the meat market. (London, Lincoln & Glasgow.) That and his time in the army saw him travel throughout Great Britain. Hence meeting Ian's mother, Blodwen, a nurse in Newport, South Wales back in 1939. John "Jack" Bruce became a Pipe Major for the London Scottish Regiment and as such was required to stay on British soil to teach bagpipes instead of being posted abroad during the war years. The Bruces moved to Glasgow in 1954 and settled into a normal suburban life with their two sons John Edwin Ross and Andrew Fraser. Two years later an unplanned Ian came along. Sadly the drink got the better of his dad and Ian's early life had its ups and downs as a result. Ian was always a shy boy and some of the problems at home made him even more introverted. However, there was an undercurrent of intangible love and there were many highlights. Music was Ian's salvation. Mostly pop music of the late 50s and sixties.

1965–69. Bring on the Folk
With his brother bringing LPs of Alex Campbell (singer), The Weavers, Pete Seeger, Hamish Imlach, Watt Nicoll and Fairport Convention into the house Ian's attention was being occasionally averted from The Beatles and Rolling Stones etc. to include much of this folkie stuff on his personal favourites playlist. Fraser, himself, was blazing the folk singing trail and Ian found himself comfortably falling into that genre and later, the life style. A bit of a godsend really. Ian never had corporate ambitions and would always find himself in trouble with his bosses. Probably down to an absolute lack of interest in "Office Life" and self doubt. It was music that had him hooked and has seen him through to the present day and, hopefully, well beyond.

1969–80.
Acoustic based pop and rock took Ian's attention. Cat Stevens, Strawbs, McGuinness Flint, Simon and Garfunkel and the live acts that played at Fraser's Folk Clubs (and he ran many) that were the most influential. The Clutha, The Laggan, Hamish Imlach, The McCalmans, Iain Mackintosh, Martyn Wyndham-Read, Greenmantle, Jolie Blon, Rankin File, Barbara Dickson, The Humblebums, Fraser Lamont, Archie Fisher, Cilla and Artie, The Humblebums and Rab Noakes all played their part in developing what Ian Bruce became. Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers too!!! Musical fumblings with friends (Gerry Ventilla, John Mann, Simon Hopkins and Chris Sissons) really got the folky juices flowing. Visits to Bromyard Folk Festival, Herefordshire, England and folk clubs in the Malvern and South Welsh areas really made an impression.

The First Half
1980–1986 Ian carved out a cosy niche for himself. Firstly with his brother Fraser (Fraser & Ian Bruce) he made three L.P.'s and toured the U.K. extensively for four years. They were no strangers to radio and T.V. but the highlight was appearing on prime time Danish TV in 1979. (Sten Bramsen's Musikalske Venner.) They were offered Danish tours on the back of this just at the time Denmark was enjoying an upsurge of Scottish acts. Sadly for Ian, Fraser's family and work commitments understandably put paid to that. It's a risky business after all.

1986–91.
Solo interspersed with Scotland Yard (a trio with Sandy Stanage and Marilyn Middleton Mellor) and another duo, Ian Bruce & Ian Walker. Both these Ians were writing their own powerful and sensitive songs. The combination was formidable! They recorded Ian Walker's first two proper albums together on Fellside Records. Flying High received the MRA Folk and Country Award. Songs like "Too Far From She", "Hawks and Eagles", "Child On The Green", and "Roses In December" all on the one album was bound to make some impact. This was a powerful bundle. As Hector Christie wrote of their "Crocketford Folk Festival" performance "Not a wasted moment!" (Ian Bruce released his first two solo albums in this period too. More about that later.) Both performers were still semi-pro but Ian Bruce's employment in Yarrow Shipbuilders came to an abrupt end in 1991. He was precipitated into "Professional Folk Singing!"

1991. Professional Folk Singer
It's not easy trying to carve a decent living from folk music and things were tough at first. He played bass for Blue Rooster (a country band with Dez Walters and Iain "Skippy" Murray with whom he supported such luminaries as The Chieftains and Sydney Devine and generally had a great time playing around the country scene donning a stetson. It was with these guys, but under Ian's name, that Ian toured the USA in the early nineties. Then solo again. Ian was offered a support tour with Steeleye Span. They played 6 shows together. Hereford Leisure Centre, Ipswich Corn Exchange, Leeds Variety Theatre (The Good Old Days' theatre), Colston Halls, Bristol, The Riviera Centre, Torquay and Stafford's Gatehouse Theatre. In the U.S.A. Ian played The Cherry Hill Folk Society in Philadelphia with Maddy Prior shortly after that.. Back in the U.K. he was becoming popular at Sidmouth Folk Festival and some of the clubs in the south of England due in no small way to his personable approach, impressive vocal prowess, poignant songwriting and powerful renditions of such folk classics as Graeme Miles' "My Eldorado" and, a bit later, Julie Gold's "From a Distance". (Which he sings unaccompanied and brings the house down every time.) Ian is well remembered for the time the BBC equipment went down in The Ham Marquee, Sidmouth and he played to 700 folkies completely unplugged. A defining moment!

1988–1995. The Solo Recordings
Ian released four fairly heavily produced solo albums. Too Far From She was on his own Ruglen Record Company. Blodwen's Dream became Fellside Recordings first venture from vinyl to CD; an accolade previously reserved for their star performer Jez Lowe). Out of Office was also a Fellside release. Free Agent was on Iona Records.  All of these were well received but his fans wanted him very solo and told him so. So it was no surprise that his one voice-one guitar CD Naked Truth Volume 1 an acoustic revisit to his songs to which he added "From a Distance" saw him on BBC's "Folk On Two" with Jim Lloyd. The CD went on to sell in its thousands. Recorded by Ian McCalman of Kevock Digital and again released Ruglen Records.

U.S.A.
As you have read, Ian was a regular visitor to the States and House Concerts, Folk Clubs and sizeable Scottish gatherings (Grandfather Mountain, McHenry, Loon Mountain and many more) up the eastern seaboard and into Nashville supplied the greater proportion of Ian's income and fan base.

1994–96. From Little Acorns!!!
In amongst the early recordings and U.S. trips Ian received a call from an old friend and fan, Rolf Köhlert. Would he be interested in returning to Germany to play a concert in the Harz Mountains? Ian had very much enjoyed a tour of the British Army Camps with Fraser back in 1980 so the answer was "Yes please!" Coincidentally, whilst playing a session in Edinburgh with The McCalmans, Adelbert Thulke, who ran the Bielefeld Folk Club was there and on hearing Ian booked him instantly. However, returning to Germany for two concerts was crazy. Help came from a very unexpected source. Hilda (R.I.P.) in The Clutha Vaults, Glasgow on hearing of Ian's "tour" pointed over to two very drunk and unlikely Germans at the other side of the bar and said "Herbert and Norbert will help you!" Reluctantly Ian went through the rigmarole of giving them a scrap of paper with his contact details on. To his surprise and delight, within the week Herbert had sobered up and arranged a concert in his home town of Osterholz Scharmbeck. Stagge's Hotel! It turns out that one of their regulars and huge folk music fan knew of Ian's Blodwen's Dream CD and recommended he be taken on. Three gigs now and there we have it. Ian's first solo German tour (1994) where he met Heidi Stagge and never looked back. She became a great friend and fan and pushed very hard for gigs all over Germany. She was good. Fortunately Ian did not let her down and was going down very well there. Repeat bookings were abundant.

1996. Enter Robert Burns and Dr. Fred Freeman (Not necessarily in that order)
Dr. Fred Freeman was not an unknown name to Ian who had featured favourably in a Freeman article on Scottish Songwriters some years previously. However, his first personal encounter came in the form of a phone call in 1996. "Fred" wanted Ian to sing on Volume Two of Linn Records Series "The Complete Songs of Robert Burns". "The Soldier's Return" and "Ye Jacobites by Name" were to be Ian's. On Ian's request he was also "allowed" "Now Westlin' Winds and Slaught'rin Guns" which had already been mastered by Dick Gaughan, who, incidentally had praised Ian on his version of "From a Distance". All of these Burns' songs and "Lassie Wi' The Lintwhite Locks" which Ian sang on Volume 3 of the series, feature heavily in Ian's future. Soldiers Return and Ye Jacobites have both gained over 100,000 views on YouTube and Westlin' Winds was the song Linn Records had Ian sing live for them on The Gadget Show in 2004. (That show was repeated many times all around the world.) This same year was when Ian and Doug Bailey of Wild Goose records recorded "A Kind and Gentle Nature". Backing musicians were Paul Hutchinson and Paul Sartin (of Belshazzar's Feast, Faustus & Bellowhead fame) and released it under the name Ian Bruce Breeze Band. The idea was to leave all the electronic gadgetry out. Not even compression! They recorded what Ian consider's one of his strongest set of songs but the final mix resulted in Ian buying his own studio equipment. More punch required. From that moment on Ian learned about the recording techniques and has mostly produced his and a good number of others' music since. Ruglen Record Company was now releasing Ian's self produced albums.