‘Surreal weekend’ for Shetland musicians who warmed up for Deacon Blue
Four Shetlanders performed in a ‘house band’ at Scottish Sea Farms’ recent 25th anniversary celebrations in Glasgow
“THE WHOLE weekend was surreal.”
That is the view of David Bisset, one of Scottish Sea Farms’ many Shetland employees as he reflected on attending the company’s 25th anniversary bash in Glasgow last month.
He did not just enjoy the usual experience of food, drink and fun, however – he was involved in a Northern Isles musical supergroup tasked with warming up for Scottish stalwarts Deacon Blue at the event.
And the Scottish Sea Farms ‘house band’ did not just grace the stage in any old venue – it was the Old Fruitmarket, which has a capacity of many hundreds, of 1,300 if folk are standing.
Bisset (guitar/vocals) was one of four Shetland musicians who performed in the band at the glitzy event, joined by Jack Hunter (guitar) and Stephen Ferguson (bass) – while friend Anthony Peart, the only member not employed by Scottish Sea Farms, stepped in on drums at the last minute.
The group, who were joined by two colleagues from Orkney, only rehearsed in the two days prior, at a rehearsal studio in Glasgow – coincidentally next door to Texas, who were preparing to perform at the Radio 2 in the Park event in Stirling.
With the last-minute rehearsals completed, the band then played a set of seven covers to warm up for the night’s main act, Deacon Blue – known for tracks like Real Gone Kid and Dignity.
Scottish Sea Farms’ head vet Ronnie Soutar was given the job of putting the band together, assembling the line-up in secrecy.
He told the company’s newsletter: “This has bubbled around for a while because the company has some really talented musicians and we toyed with using them for a social event after idea was that the Orkney guys would manager meetings.
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“Then, with the 25th anniversary coming up, we decided it would be the perfect opportunity to showcase our home-grown talent.
“All those involved play semi-professionally in Shetland or Orkney, in local bands and for gigs and festivals.
“I’d have liked to have included musicians from across the company and avoided an all-male line-up, but it was an absolute Catch-22 because I couldn’t mention it to anyone.
“That said, I can’t imagine having a better group to work with in the end.
“We also had the problem of getting them in the same place to rehearse. The idea was that the Orkney guys would go up to Shetland, but it was our busy time of the year and we couldn’t make that happen.
“So I booked rehearsal space in Glasgow on the Thursday and Friday before the concert, which was the first time that they all got together.”
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