A recent purchase of an unrecorded broadside, printed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1833, provides a few tantalising clues as to the identity of the ‘Wandering Piper‘, who roamed throughout Britain and Ireland in the 1820 and 1830s. There are several contemporary accounts of the piper in provincial newspapers, one of which, from the Bury & Norwich […]
Tag: Music
The First Edinburgh Musical Festival of 1815
Two hundred years ago today, at ten o’clock in the morning, musicians from London, Carlisle, Glasgow and Edinburgh gathered together for a first rehearsal to present a musical extravaganza never before heard in Scotland, a musical festival! Edinburgh enjoyed its first ‘Festival Week’. “From England, and the remotest parts of Scotland, individuals and whole families […]
House of Cash
(Photo credit: Insight Editions) (Image shows the cover of the book which displays a drawing of a guitar with the title ‘House of Cash: the legacies of my father, Johnny Cash’ and the name of the author: John Carter Cash) House of Cash is an unprecedented look at the life and inspirations of the Man […]
Women make noise: girl bands from Motown to the modern
(Photo credit: Supernova Books) (Image shows pictures of various girl band members) In recent years, female artists such as Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga and Adele have had huge commercial and critical success as well as massive media attention. As more and more female solo artists hit the mainstream the question arises: where are the girl […]
‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky
Sergeant Pepper. Woodstock. Altamont. Live Aid. Moments that changed music forever. Spanning the last 50 years from when Elvis Presley brought rock’n’roll to the mainstream via The Frank Sinatra Show to the death of Michael Jackson in 2009, influential music writer – and passionate music fan – Paolo Hewitt selects 50 key moments in the […]
Document and eyewitness: an intimate history of Rough Trade
(Photo credit: Document and eyewitness: an intimate history of Rough trade by Neil Taylor. Published by Orion. Image above shows the title and author of the book in black and red text against a white background) There never has been and there never will be another record company like Rough Trade. From its pre-punk […]
Scottish opera stars
We have recently added some interesting early 20th century items to our collections associated with two of the famous names from Scotland’s musical past.