The feeling was pretty mutual. The Governor stated: ‘This is our second year of live entertainment. It breaks up the monotony of jail life for the inmates. They love it. We want to make the jail part of the community. We want to do things for the town and, hopefully, it will do things for us in return so that the individuals in Aberdeen feel they are not forgotten.’From there I thought we should try and do events like that more often and so things snowballed.
We had a karaoke night that was hosted by the then Northsound disc jockey John McRuvie. John’s voice is commonplace on the Aberdeen airwaves and now he is on Original 106. I remember talking to him as I escorted him back out and he told me that was something he would never forget. We also got a few local bands in, like the Sandy West Quartet, and the comedian Bob Weir. Then we were able to take things to a whole new level.
18
Songbirds and Jailbirds
Musicians and the wrong side of the law can often go hand in hand. Some of the greatest and biggest names in music have spent time behind bars.
The likes of Chuck Berry, Sir Paul McCartney and Rolling Stones pair Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have all done time. Jagger and Richards spent just one night in custody on drugs charges before they were released on bail the following day but spending time inside certainly seemed to be rock ‘n’ roll for many.
Artists who have done time can be like a Who’s Who of music. Outrageous Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious was arrested after his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, was found dead in his New York apartment.
Wildman Ozzy Osbourne might be more famous for his television appearances now but in his wayward past had several stints inside. Serving time has helped so-called stars live up to their bad-boy reputations, although it is fair to say Sir Paul McCartney doesn’t exactly fall into that category, although he was arrested in Japan for a drug offence.
Boy George and the late George Michael are two other high-profile offenders who have spent time behind bars, courtesy of Her Majesty’s Prison Service.
At HMP Aberdeen we also had our fair share of ‘performing celebs’ – although I have to make it clear from the start that none of them broke the law! They all came to the prison of their own accord.
We managed to persuade a few well-known faces to come in and perform at Craiginches. It all snowballed from the early boxing shows, football visits and other events we organised and put on at the prison through our Community Links Committee.
We thought it would be a good idea, if possible, if we could take things to another level. We knew Aberdeen was a popular tour destination, thanks to the Capitol, The Music Hall and other top venues it could boast, like the Lemon Tree. We thought it might be worth trying to see if some more well-known stars would consider playing on a slightly more off-beat stage.
It certainly didn’t do much to derail the career of the late Johnny Cash. The legendary American country and rock star starting performed in American prisons in the 1950s. He kicked off at the San Quentin State Prison and continued to play various detention centres across the States. It also led to him recording two of his most famous albums Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison in 1968 and then a similar record back at San Quentin a year later.
Other more current British stars like Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow has performed at HM Holloway Women’s Prison while Billy Bragg is another, having played at HMP Dorchester.
Arguably, one of the biggest names we had at HMP Aberdeen actually came to us: Toyah Willcox. Toyah first broke on to the music scene as part of the New Wave of music which hit our radios and television channels in the 1970s to mid-1980s. She fronted her own band simply named Toyah before she embarked on her own successful solo career with her biggest hits being ‘It’s a Mystery’, ‘Thunder in the Mountains’ and ‘I Want to Be Free’. Toyah then branched into television and was a household name having appeared in popular shows like Minder and Tales of the Unexpected. She was also cracking the big screen in the cult film Quadrophenia.
So we couldn’t believe our luck when Toyah pitched up at the gates of the prison one day. She was touring in the city and decided to pay Craiginches a visit. The staff certainly didn’t have to be asked twice to give her a tour and it is fair to say she left more than a fair few happy faces, from the staff to the prisoners.
Toyah then told us that when she toured she liked to go and visit local prisons and young offender’s units. She admitted it was unusual but she got a wee kick out of it. She just milled about and spoke to the prisoners. They couldn’t believe their luck!
When we told her that we actually held regular live gigs and social events for the prisoners she told us she hadn’t realised or she would have played a set for them. She then promised the next time she came up to Aberdeen she would do a live show in the prison.
We weren’t sure if she was just paying us lip service but she was true to her word and we didn’t have to wait too long before she was back in the Granite City, starring in Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus play at His Majesty’s Theatre.
So Toyah got in touch and agreed to come up to the prison to do a live show for us. She did a tribute gig to the late American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin, who tragically died of a drug overdose.
It was ironic but I thought there was a decent message from the show and Joplin’s downfall which Toyah depicted in her show.
I was quoted in the local press as saying: ‘There might be a message for the prisoners.’ Toyah’s visit caused a bit of a media flurry with headlines like ‘Toyah plays to a captive audience’, ‘Tragic tale behind bars’ and ‘Key roles for Toyah’ in the local Aberdeen press.
The day came and Toyah came up to the prison that afternoon with her band.
Toyah had to get changed and it is fair to say we didn’t have many female options for her in a primarily all-male prison. I ended up taking her to the chapel so she could get changed. I put her in behind one of the confession boxes and as I waited it gave me a chance to tell her about our entertainment programme of concerts, Burns suppers and the Pensioners’ Christmas party. I also told her about the work we did on outside projects with the prisoners. She could hardly believe it and she said: ‘That’s fantastic.’ Then Toyah appeared dressed and ready to perform to her waiting and adoring public.
She must have done a live set for about an hour, doing all Joplin’s most famous numbers, like ‘Piece of My Heart’ and ‘To Love Somebody’. The prisoners loved it and lapped it up. She signed off by signing a few autographs and gave a few lasting memories to some inmates who thought they might never have seen the likes again.
It is fair to say Toyah got a kick out of it as well. She did an interview with a newspaper after her visit and said: ‘The audience in Aberdeen was very focused on what was going on and when you see they are enjoying the show, it gives you the energy to carry on. Doing this show around prisons is the most precious and rewarding thing I have done in my career because it is done to purely communicate with people and not simply for a wage packet. In saying that, it is not the easiest or most enjoyable thing I have done because it is not like theatre work. You are playing to a single sex audience with a lot of tension in the air.’
Our very own Evelyn Glennie was another visitor to Craiginches. We were fortunate enough to get the North-east percussionist to the prison a couple of times. The first time was in 1990 and she came back a second time three years later. Her return was part of a special tour that British Telecom sponsored. They wanted to bring artists to more offbeat venues that maybe couldn’t attract or afford the bigger name artists and took them the length and breadth of Scotland from Stornaway all the way down to Dumfries. If I remember correctly, Evelyn did ten dates as part of our tour and every date was completely sold out – well, the ones you could buy tickets for anyway!
The other off limits date she did, outwith Aberdeen, was at a young offenders institute in Dumfries.
Evelyn was big, big news at the time. She was not only a talented musician but she had also been awarded her Officer of the Most Excel
lent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year before her visit to Craiginches in 1993. That title was then upgraded in 2007 to Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE).
Evelyn, even today, still remains one of the world’s top percussionists – despite the fact that she has been totally deaf since she was a child.
Her second visit was more hands-on. She signed autographs and posed for photographs and then she played a short set and held a special workshop with the prisoners and taught them how to play some basic notes on various percussion instruments. The fact that the prisoners were more hands-on made it even better for them.
Evelyn, speaking at her visit, insisted: ‘Music is a marvellous medicine for all human beings. I don’t see why we should exclude people who are in prison. I think we need to try and help prisoners rather than just shut them away. Music can affect them in a deep way.’ Country star Dominic Kirwan certainly can’t be classed as a songbird but in the country and western circuit he is certainly up there with the biggest names in his genre. The Irishman was another we persuaded to come to the prison. I managed to get a hold of Dominic through Jim Rosie and Moira Fraser. Jim used to stay beside us and he had a music shop in the city. They knew a lot of artists. He told me Dominic was coming to Aberdeen and he would ask him if he would play at the prison. Sure enough Jim came back to me and said Dominic was more than happy to come up to the prison.
I have to admit I was more than a little concerned the day he was due to come. He was twenty minutes late and there is always a bit of doubt at the back of your mind as to whether or not they will really turn up.
I was thankful because if he hadn’t arrived we might well have had a riot on our hands and I would have been the one getting lynched. We had also invited the Maidencraig young disabled group from Woodend Hospital up for the show. So I would have felt awful if Dominic hadn’t appeared.
Dominic, much to my relief, did arrive with his five-piece band. He was really apologetic and then told us he had been late because he had been struggling to find somewhere to get his laundry done.
So I sent Dominic to go and get set up and I told him I had the perfect solution. I went down to see our prison reception laundry chief, Tam. I asked him if he could sort out Dominic’s washing. He said no problem and took it. The only problem was that because Tam was still in the laundry he missed most of Dominic’s concert and he wasn’t happy! He came in with his washing as Dominic was playing his last number. Tam turned and said: ‘Bugger that. I have just done his washing and I’ve not heard one song!’ So I went up and explained the situation to Dominic and asked him if he could play another couple of tracks. I told him his washing would be dried and ready to go by then! So he played another couple of songs and everybody left happy.
Dominic’s appearance led to coverage in both the Press and Journal and Evening Express newspapers. Dominic was quoted as saying: ‘I am not used to singing in the afternoons but it was good craic and I hope the guys enjoyed it as much as I did.’Some of these artists were at the heights of their fame when they came to the prison. It really was a great touch coming up to entertain the prisoners on a completely voluntary basis. They never cost us a penny other than the washing powder for Dominic Kirwan’s clothes! All joking aside, I also don’t think the likes of Toyah, Evelyn and Dominic realised just what an impression their visits made.
To many of the prisoners it would have been the highlight of their time inside and would have brightened up some otherwise sad existences.
That was summed up by a former HMP Aberdeen governor, Bill Rattray, who was once famously quoted as saying: ‘Events like these help to improve the quality of life for the men. That is why we always try our best to get bands and artists to perform at the prison.’ The only artist we got knocked back from, ironically, was Toyah Willcox – although it wasn’t directly from her! She came back up to the North-east and was playing a gig at Stonehaven. I went down to the venue to see if I could catch a quick word with Toyah. When I asked if there was any chance of speaking to Toyah, the lady at the desk just looked me up and down and then said: ‘Just buy a ticket like everybody else!’ I didn’t pursue things any further as I only wanted to meet her again and tell her about my book.
19
Robbie Shepherd, Haggis and Prisoners with Knives
I thought it would be a good idea to hold a Burns supper. Burns night is always a big occasion in Scotland, as people get together to celebrate the life of one of its favourite sons, the poet Robert Burns, or the Bard as he is also affectionately known.
I thought it would be good to organise our own supper because we could also get some of the local community involved. I spoke to the governor, Bill Rattray, and the kitchen staff, mainly Norrie Page and Gordon Tough, as they had most of the work to do, but I knew I could depend on them. They were all really enthusiastic and up for it. Whatever they served up at whatever event always seemed to be a big hit with all our visitors.
So we got organised and decided that it would be a good idea to invite some of the local pensioners along. I had a great rapport with Ted Munro, who ran the local old age pensioners association, St Fittick’s, in Torry. So I approached him. He was delighted. He asked the men and women involved and they were all really keen to come along to the Burns supper. The only problem was that we had to limit the numbers for security reasons. We needed a number that could be easily controlled, especially if anything happened. We settled on about thirty visitors and then allowed Ted to put out his chosen invitations. Things went well and it didn’t take him long to fill up all his slots. By all accounts, he had to leave a few people disappointed but we were hopeful this would be the first of many and others would get the opportunity to come along to future Burns suppers.
There was a fair bit of planning to get everything organised for the supper, from the setting up of the dining room to the kitchen staff preparing the food and getting the entertainment booked and arranged.
We even managed to pull off a major coup to get a big name to address our haggis at that first Burns supper. I managed to get an article printed in the Press and Journal newspaper where I cheekily asked Robbie Shepherd if he would toast our haggis. I didn’t know Robbie at all, so it was nothing more than a shot in the dark.
Robbie, as everyone knows, is a Scottish icon. He was born in Dunecht but is a real champion of the North-east of Scotland. He was famed for his broadcasting on Radio Scotland and his traditional Scottish dance music show, until he announced his retirement in 2016. He has also written his fair share of books in the mother tongue of the North-east – Doric.
It was a bit of a punt on our behalf but it was a case of: ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get.’ What was the worst case scenario? Robbie could only say no or not get back to us at all. What was there to lose?
Luckily enough we found Robbie to be the perfect gentleman. Sure enough he saw the article and got in touch with me. He asked me the details of the Burns supper, checked his diary and his commitments and then came back and said he would be delighted to attend.
It was great news for the prison, the pensioners and everyone who was involved in the organising, knowing that this was going to be a Burns supper with a real difference!
Robbie did the Burns supper that first year and toasted our haggis in some style. He absolutely loved it and came back every year to address all our future Burns suppers. He was great company and the pensioners and prisoners all loved him because he was such good fun.
It was important that the prisoners also felt a part of it because it was all about them. We got one of the inmates, Tam, to play the part of the famous Robert Burns character Holy Willie. We dressed him up all in white and we gave him a candle and his own Bible to make him look the part. He loved it despite being labelled ‘Holy Willie’ by some of his fellow prisoners. He was even given his moment of fame as he was quoted in the Press and Journal newspaper saying: ‘I read a wee bit of poetry and I’m doing all this for a wee laugh. I’m a bit of
an extrovert, so I don’t think I’ll be nervous when I get up to read the poem.’ He did well reading out Holy Willie’s prayer and the Selkirk Grace. A lot of real hard work was done behind the scenes by everyone.
The only thing the pensioners had to do was to turn up on time. It would be like any other night out for them, but we asked them to leave any valuables or handbags at home. We know that some might have needed their purses or wallets for bus fares, but if that was the case we made sure they were locked up safely at the front entrance. The last thing we wanted to see was anything going missing or being stolen. It would have caused us a lot grief with the prison service and if there were any problems then it would have made it harder for us to organise similar events in the future.
Thankfully, that first night went like clockwork. Everything went to plan. We welcomed the pensioners, sat them down at their tables and then brought in the prisoners to join them before the haggis was piped in.
‘Holy Willie’ then read out his poem, Robbie addressed the haggis and then we did the traditional toast – although whisky was substituted for orange juice in the only real change from your traditional Burns supper.
We then let a prisoner loose with a big knife but there was nothing to fear because it was just for use on the haggis. We then served the haggis up with neeps and tatties (swedes and potatoes). After the meals had been finished off we cleared the tables and then allowed the pensioners, staff and prisoners to finish things off with a dance. That was normally in front of some very good entertainment acts. That first night we had Pam Dignan’s Dancers and the Ian Menzies Dance Band. In later years we had the Horizon Dance Band and also welcomed Iain MacPhail, who had his own Scottish dance band. He was another big name in the Scottish dance band scene, up there with Jimmy Shand. He was involved in the union of the prison officers. Iain initially made contact by writing to me. He had heard about our Burns suppers and asked if he would be able to attend the following year. I told him we would love to have him as long as he brought along his accordion and promised to play for us. He came back to us and thought I was joking, as he didn’t even realise we had live music at the supper.
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