Mark Simson

The Carntyne man who has died, suddenly, at 58, was a piano-playing globe-trotter who toured many countries as accompanist to most of the leading Scottish singers of the past four decades.

He recently returned from visiting New Zealand and Australia on a major concert tour with the singer Kenneth McKellar. Last winter, he played for American travellers and Scots expatriates in the Caribbean, entertaining in ocean-going cabaret with Peter Morrison and the Alexander Brothers.

One wee secret emerges about this talented musician: not everyone was aware that Simson - real name, Archibald Simpson, stage name Mark Simson minus the ``p'' - made his mark early as a precocious boy star, winning festival competitions in the West of Scotland and earning plaudits as a member of the Kirkintilloch Junior Choir.

Little did he know in those boyhood days of the late forties, that he would, in his adult years, be the musical associate of a fellow former member of that legendary children's choir, the singer Moira Anderson.

One of his longtime associates, the operatic and concert singer Alexander Morrison, said of him: ``Mark loved good music, was well-read, and proved a most witty companion to his friends and fellow performers. The fact that he was so closely linked with singers of Scottish songs did not rule out his interest in the best music of all categories.''

Simson, who was associated in his early career with the Arthur Blake Singers, was a versatile musician who could find a niche in every type of production. They ranged from summer seaside seasons at the Barrfields Pavilion, Largs, to the stylish revues at the former Glasgow Alhambra Theatre, and to homely Glasgow pantomime at the Pavilion. He also made a number of successful overseas tours with the late Andy Stewart.

A cheery, witty and talented friend has been lost by the popular music world as well as by those singers who still find a warm response as they take the traditional songs of Scotland to other continents.