The obvious fallacy that Americans don??t understand irony was given some credence in the 1970s by the conviction of some radio stations in the US that Scotland??s Average White Band must be black.
The obvious fallacy that Americans don??t understand irony was given some credence in the 1970s by the conviction of some radio stations in the US that Scotland??s Average White Band must be black. Not only was group??s name a bit of a hint, but AWB always made rather a lot of their origins, introducing Hamish Stuart and Onnie McIntyre as ??the Glasgow Guitars?? and Molly Duncan and Roger Ball as ??the Dundee Horns??.
It was Dundee, rather than Glasgow, that boasted a vibrant soul music scene back in those days, although the City of Discovery has a rich musical heritage in most departments, with Billy MacKenzie of The Associates and songwriter Michael Marra among other world-class natives. Yet when it comes to Unesco global recognition status, Dundee has gone for and won the City of Design title, reflecting its place as the home for the new Scottish outpost of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the excellent Dundee Contemporary Arts and McManus galleries, a particularly thriving suite of Wasps artists studios in old mill buildings and other assets.
While Glasgow made a compelling case for being a Unesco City of Music, you do not have to go back that many years to recall the city arguing vociferously that it was Scotland??s design capital. During the reign of Tim Clifford at the National Galleries of Scotland there was long discussion of the building of a V&A-type museum as part of the NGS portfolio in Glasgow, with proposals reaching the stage of real plans for the re-purposing of the former Sheriff Court building in Ingram Street, the Post Office in George Square or new build in Kelvingrove Park. It is no coincidence that some of those involved in Glasgow??s design-city ambitions back then are also involved in Dundee??s success now.
Taking pride in labelling one??s own place is not limited to the big cities of course, as Creative Scotland recognises in its Creative Places awards, applications for which opened for 2015 recently, with a deadline of February 2. The awards are the single most visible legacy of the brief tenure of the first CS chief executive, Andrew Dixon, and allow smaller communities who have used the arts to boost their area, to go further and win some national profile.
The village of Pathhead in Midlothian, where a generation of jazz and folk musicians have chosen to cluster, was the winner being singled out as the shining example from the most recent winners for the launch of next year??s awards, and I hope the good folks of Darvel were paying attention. On St Andrew??s Day the funkiest place in Scotland was, beyond doubt, Darvel Town Hall, where the Average White Band??s Hamish Stuart was taking the AWB repertoire out for a another spin with the group??s excellent London peers Kokomo in superb support.
As the concert??s ebullient emcee made clear, the Darvel Music Festival is all about the regeneration of the former lace town, yet the volunteer team are having to use all their fund-raising wiles to continue it after East Ayrshire council discontinued its support, and is reportedly considering closing the hall itself.
It was noticeable in the pre-referendum magazine articles by my colleague Alan Taylor that many people he talked to were enthusiastic about localism, as much, if not more so, than nationalism. I believe that pride in place was the real lesson of that vote??s huge turnout - and perhaps as true, paradoxically, of many ??no?? voters, when you consider it. In the end it perhaps doesn??t matter very much what title your own barrio goes by, as long as its specialness gets its due.
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