Jock Tamson's Bairns

"The reputation of Jock Tamson's Bairns is so well established that comment is almost superfluous" - so wrote Paul Scott of the Scotman at Edinburgh International Festival.

Praise indeed, but it does sum up one of the country's most respected bands, having carried the torch for true Scottish music since their inception at the end of the 1970's. In their hands, fiddles, concertina, whistles, harmonica, guitars, cittern, bodhran and even the humble jaw harp are played with character, freshness and a natural sense of resolution which brings its own excitement. Their instrumental playing remains the benchmark for younger aspiring players and in singers Rod Paterson and John Croall they have great interpreters of both Burns and traditional Scottish songs.

After two albums ("Jock Tamson's Bairns" - 1980 and "The Lasses Fashion" - 1982), 'The Bairns' officially went into 'retirement' between 1983 and 1995, but came back with a bang when Greentrax released their first two albums on one CD - "A' Jock Tamson's Bairns" (CDTRAX112) and then followed that up in 2001 with a new album "May Ye Never Lack a Scone" (CDTRAX206). Incidentally "The Lasses Fashion" is still regarded as one of the finest expressions of the great revival of traditional music that helped shape and create the contempoary Scottish identity, and was chosen as one of the 'all-time top ten albums' - and the only 'folk' recording - alongside Elvis Presley, Te Platters and The Smiths, by Richard Thompson for "Q" magazine!

In 2001 "May Ye Never Lack a Scone" was chosen by BBC Radio Scotland's Travelling Folk" as one of their "Folk Albums of 2001". The 'Bairns' were the fron cover feature in the April 2001 edition of Living Tradition and the reviewer wrote:-
"24-carat J.T.B's, sounding like they've never been away and the 20 years simply have not passed. It was fabulous sound then and it still is now. Mighty indeed."