Dick Gaughan
Encyclopedia
Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan (born 17 May 1948, Glasgow) is a Scottish
musician
, singer, and songwriter
, particularly of folk and social protest songs.
's Rottenrow Maternity Hospital
, when his father was working in Glasgow as an engine driver. He spent the first year-and-a-half of his life in Rutherglen
, South Lanarkshire
, after which the whole family moved to Leith
, a port on the outskirts of Edinburgh
. He has never returned to Rutherglen, and is proud to be a Leither. His mother was a Macdonald
from Lochaber
, and was a native speaker of Gaelic
. As a child in the 1930s she won a silver medal at the Gaelic Mod
. His father was born in Leith, and his paternal grandfather was an Irish
speaker from Mayo
, who played the fiddle. The three children, of whom Dick was the eldest, grew up surrounded by the music of both Scotland and Ireland. The family experienced considerable poverty, which had a very strong influence on Gaughan's chosen path in life and his political views.
Gaughan took up the guitar at the age of seven. Although he later sang in Scottish Gaelic
, he is not fluent in that language; he does, however, have a powerful command of Scots
. Gaughan sang in Edinburgh folk clubs and became a professional musician in 1970, playing mainly traditional songs on an acoustic guitar
. He now writes his own songs as well as performing those of others. Although his approach to performing focuses on the words to the songs, Gaughan is also known as a master of the acoustic guitar. An example of his purely instrumental work is Coppers and Brass (1977).
, singing and playing guitar on their debut album in 1972. After leaving, he was a guest of the High Level Ranters
when they recorded The Bonnie Pit Laddie in 1975, performing on two tracks. From 1976 to 1978 there then followed a hectic period of his life pursuing two careers, one as a member of Five Hand Reel
and one as a soloist. It was a time of hard drinking, travelling continental Europe
in vans, and seeing very little of his wife and daughter. The crisis came when his daughter was struck by a car while he was away. The daughter survived, but Gaughan had to take stock of his life and re-prioritise things.
He taught himself to read and write music, and in the late 1970s he began to write reviews for what was at the time the only national folk music paper, Folk Review. He also saw more of his family. He joined the agitprop theatre group 7:84
. In this, he appeared to be following in the footsteps of another socialist theatre-director-singer Ewan MacColl
, even recording a tribute album to him in 1978. (Gaughan has also taken part in a tribute to Woody Guthrie
).
and his family after his serious road accident. Gaughan served two years as chair with Susie Stockton as secretary and Matt Armour as vice-chair. Following Gaughan's stepping down as chair due to his voice problems at the beginning of 1984, he was succeeded by Matt Armour.
Gaughan's solo albums of the 1980s returned to the acoustic style in which he had begun, containing both traditional ballads ("The Muckle Sangs") as well as his own songs, and using acoustic guitar (although he can play electric guitar and in fact most fretted instruments). His decision to concentrate on songs that convey political messages, rather than those more attractive to the mainstream, is clear in the important albums Handful of Earth (1981) and A Different Kind of Love Song (1983). Handful of Earth was Melody Maker
's album of the year in 1981, and in 1989 was also voted album of the decade by Folk Roots (now fRoots) magazine in both readers' and critics' polls.
musicians to take part in a band project called Clan Alba. The original lineup was Gaughan, Mary MacMaster
(Sprangeen, The Poozies
, Sileas
),
Brian McNeill
(Battlefield Band
), Patsy Seddon
(Sprangeen, The Poozies, Sileas), Davy Steel (Drinker's Drouth, Ceolbeg), Mike Travis (Wildcat
, Cauld Blast Orchestra), Dave Tulloch (Spencer's Feat, Five Hand Reel
) and Gary West (Ceolbeg). The first performance of Clan Alba was at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh
as part of the 1992 Edinburgh Folk Festival
, and over the next two years, Clan Alba performed at numerous festivals across the UK and Europe including Glastonbury
, Cambridge
, WDR Festival in Bonn
, Brugge, Tønder
and Stainsby
. In 1993, Gary West departed and was replaced by Fred Morrison
. In 1994 Clan Alba recorded a self-titled double CD at Redesdale Studios
with Gaughan producer
before disbanding in 1995. Since then, Gaughan has continued to pursue his solo career.
In 1983 Gaughan was the subject of a BBC
Spectrum documentary entitled Gaughan, and in 2005 a further television documentary entitled A Different Kind of Love Song formed part of the BBC Four
Sessions series.
, Davy Graham and Bert Jansch
, but he also claims to have been influenced by musicians as diverse as Hank Williams and Seán Ó Riada
. His songs have been recorded by Billy Bragg
, Mary Black
, Jessica Haines
& Mark Kaiser and Capercaillie
amongst many others. He has also recorded extensively as a session musician
.
Gaughan's interest in composition
and orchestration
has led to two orchestral commissions from the prestigious Celtic Connections
festival: Timewaves (Lovesong to a People's Music) in 2004 and, in 2007, his first symphonic work, Treaty 300; a musical examination of the effects of the Treaty of Union
of 1707 on Scottish culture) composed for the inaugural concert of the Celtic Connections
Youth Orchestra.
One of Gaughan's strong interests is the Internet
, and he has a particular love for Usenet
in which he has been an active participant for many years. While recovering from voice problems in 1984 he took a course on computing. He designs and maintains his own extensive website and is strongly in favour of web accessibility
.
, Yorkshire, was released on 1 April 2008.
This discography excludes recordings to which Gaughan contributed only a few tracks.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, singer, and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, particularly of folk and social protest songs.
Early years
Gaughan was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
's Rottenrow Maternity Hospital
Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital
Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, was founded as the Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary in 1834 in Greyfriars Wynd. It moved to St Andrews Square in 1841 then to Rottenrow in 1860...
, when his father was working in Glasgow as an engine driver. He spent the first year-and-a-half of his life in Rutherglen
Rutherglen
Rutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1975, it lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow. In 1996 Rutherglen was reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.-History:...
, South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
, after which the whole family moved to Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
, a port on the outskirts of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. He has never returned to Rutherglen, and is proud to be a Leither. His mother was a Macdonald
Macdonald
MacDonald, Macdonald, and McDonald are Anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic name MacDhòmhnaill. It is a patronym where Mac means "son" and Dhòmhnaill means "of Dòmhnall". The personal name Dòmhnall is composed of the elements domno "world" and val "might", "rule"...
from Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
, and was a native speaker of Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
. As a child in the 1930s she won a silver medal at the Gaelic Mod
Royal National Mod
The Royal National Mod is the annual national mod, a festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture.The Mod is run by An Comunn Gàidhealach , and includes competitions and awards.-History:...
. His father was born in Leith, and his paternal grandfather was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
speaker from Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, who played the fiddle. The three children, of whom Dick was the eldest, grew up surrounded by the music of both Scotland and Ireland. The family experienced considerable poverty, which had a very strong influence on Gaughan's chosen path in life and his political views.
Gaughan took up the guitar at the age of seven. Although he later sang in Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
, he is not fluent in that language; he does, however, have a powerful command of Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
. Gaughan sang in Edinburgh folk clubs and became a professional musician in 1970, playing mainly traditional songs on an acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. He now writes his own songs as well as performing those of others. Although his approach to performing focuses on the words to the songs, Gaughan is also known as a master of the acoustic guitar. An example of his purely instrumental work is Coppers and Brass (1977).
1970s
He made one solo album, No More Forever, before joining The Boys of the LoughThe Boys of the Lough
-The early years:Their first album, called Boys of the Lough consisted of Aly Bain , Cathal Mc'Connell , Dick Gaughan and Robin Morton ....
, singing and playing guitar on their debut album in 1972. After leaving, he was a guest of the High Level Ranters
High Level Ranters
The High Level Ranters are a Northumbian traditional musical group founded in 1964, best known for being one of the first bands in the revival of the Northumbrian smallpipes....
when they recorded The Bonnie Pit Laddie in 1975, performing on two tracks. From 1976 to 1978 there then followed a hectic period of his life pursuing two careers, one as a member of Five Hand Reel
Five Hand Reel
Five Hand Reel was a Scottish/English/Irish Celtic rock band of late 1970s that combined experiences of traditional Scottish and Irish folk music with electric rock arrangements...
and one as a soloist. It was a time of hard drinking, travelling continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
in vans, and seeing very little of his wife and daughter. The crisis came when his daughter was struck by a car while he was away. The daughter survived, but Gaughan had to take stock of his life and re-prioritise things.
He taught himself to read and write music, and in the late 1970s he began to write reviews for what was at the time the only national folk music paper, Folk Review. He also saw more of his family. He joined the agitprop theatre group 7:84
7:84
7:84 was a Scottish left-wing agitprop theatre group. The name comes from a statistic, published in The Economist in 1966, that 7% of the population of the UK owned 84% of the state's wealth....
. In this, he appeared to be following in the footsteps of another socialist theatre-director-singer Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
, even recording a tribute album to him in 1978. (Gaughan has also taken part in a tribute to Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
).
1980s
At the beginning of 1982, Gaughan proposed and oversaw the organisation of a conference, held at Cecil Sharp House, which set up an organisation in the UK called "Performance of Folk and Other Related Music", which was intended to be an umbrella body of people involved in "Folk and Other Related Music" in any capacity - performers, promoters, record companies, journalists, broadcasters, etc. - to facilitate greater communication and cooperation. One of the achievements in its short life was the coordinating of fundraising events to support Nic JonesNic Jones
Nicolas Paul "Nic" Jones is an English folk singer, fingerstyle guitarist and fiddle player whose professional career spanned the years 1964-1982. He recorded five solo albums, and was a frequent guest performer.-Biography:...
and his family after his serious road accident. Gaughan served two years as chair with Susie Stockton as secretary and Matt Armour as vice-chair. Following Gaughan's stepping down as chair due to his voice problems at the beginning of 1984, he was succeeded by Matt Armour.
Gaughan's solo albums of the 1980s returned to the acoustic style in which he had begun, containing both traditional ballads ("The Muckle Sangs") as well as his own songs, and using acoustic guitar (although he can play electric guitar and in fact most fretted instruments). His decision to concentrate on songs that convey political messages, rather than those more attractive to the mainstream, is clear in the important albums Handful of Earth (1981) and A Different Kind of Love Song (1983). Handful of Earth was Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
's album of the year in 1981, and in 1989 was also voted album of the decade by Folk Roots (now fRoots) magazine in both readers' and critics' polls.
1990s
In 1991, Gaughan invited seven other well-established Scotsmusicians to take part in a band project called Clan Alba. The original lineup was Gaughan, Mary MacMaster
Mary Macmaster
Mary Macmaster is a Scottish harpist, performing with The Poozies and the duo Sileas.-References:...
(Sprangeen, The Poozies
The Poozies
The Poozies are an all-women band that produce folk music from the English and Scottish traditions. The band perform traditional and self-composed material. Contemporary songs written by Sally Barker also feature heavily in the current live set...
, Sileas
Sileas
Síleas is a Scottish harp duo. Patsy Seddon plays electric harp and gut-strung harp, and Mary Macmaster plays electric harp and metal-strung harp. Together they make up part of the all-women folk band The Poozies....
),
Brian McNeill
Brian McNeill
Brian McNeill is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and musical director. He was a founding member of The Battlefield Band which combined traditional celtic melodies and new material....
(Battlefield Band
Battlefield Band
Battlefield Band is a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, there are no founder members in the band....
), Patsy Seddon
Patsy Seddon
Patsy Seddon , BA is a Scottish harpist, violinist and traditional singer in Scots and Gaelic languages, who performs with bands such as The Poozies and the duo Sileas and solo. A Kodaly-trained music teacher, sheeaches harp and singing in Edinburgh schools.-External links:*...
(Sprangeen, The Poozies, Sileas), Davy Steel (Drinker's Drouth, Ceolbeg), Mike Travis (Wildcat
Wildcat
Wildcat is a small felid native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa.-Animals:Wildcat may also refer to members of the genus Lynx:...
, Cauld Blast Orchestra), Dave Tulloch (Spencer's Feat, Five Hand Reel
Five Hand Reel
Five Hand Reel was a Scottish/English/Irish Celtic rock band of late 1970s that combined experiences of traditional Scottish and Irish folk music with electric rock arrangements...
) and Gary West (Ceolbeg). The first performance of Clan Alba was at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
as part of the 1992 Edinburgh Folk Festival
Edinburgh Folk Festival
The Edinburgh Folk Festival has had a shadowy existence since about 1951. Hamish Henderson was instrumental in creating the first "People's Festival" in 1951, with funding from the British Council, The Communist Party and the Scottish TUC, this was revived in 2002 by the Scottish Socialist Party...
, and over the next two years, Clan Alba performed at numerous festivals across the UK and Europe including Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, Cambridge
Cambridge Folk Festival
The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is renowned for its eclectic mix of music and a wide definition of what might be considered folk. It occurs...
, WDR Festival in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Brugge, Tønder
Tønder Festival
Tønder Festival is a large annual folk music festival in Tønder, Denmark. It is always held at the last weekend of August.It was founded in 1975....
and Stainsby
Stainsby Festival
Stainsby Festival is a small, annual folk music event held in the Derbyshire village of Stainsby, England. It usually takes place in July over three days.The festival is one of the oldest folk festivals in the country, with the first being held in 1969...
. In 1993, Gary West departed and was replaced by Fred Morrison
Fred Morrison
Fred Morrison is one of the world's leading pipers and is a globally renowned composer of music for the bagpipes.Morrison is known for his unique, powerfully exuberant, virtuosic and highly improvisational style which combines the Gaelic piping tradition of South Uist with contemporary and eclectic...
. In 1994 Clan Alba recorded a self-titled double CD at Redesdale Studios
Redesdale Studios
Redesdale Studios was a popular Northumberland recording studio founded in 1996. It was situated in the beautiful and historic village of Elsdon in North Northumberland. It began as a partnership between Rubber and Black Crow Records manager Geoff Heslop, Scottish singer and songwriter Dick...
with Gaughan producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
before disbanding in 1995. Since then, Gaughan has continued to pursue his solo career.
In 1983 Gaughan was the subject of a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Spectrum documentary entitled Gaughan, and in 2005 a further television documentary entitled A Different Kind of Love Song formed part of the BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
Sessions series.
Style and interests
Gaughan has many and various influences. In his guitar playing one can detect the influence of Doc WatsonDoc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
, Davy Graham and Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
, but he also claims to have been influenced by musicians as diverse as Hank Williams and Seán Ó Riada
Seán Ó Riada
Seán Ó Riada , was a composer and perhaps the single most influential figure in the revival of Irish traditional music during the 1960s...
. His songs have been recorded by Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, Mary Black
Mary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
, Jessica Haines
Jessica Haines
Jessica Haines is an South African actress. She is best known for the 2008 film Disgrace in which she acts alongside John Malkovich. She frequently works in Johannesburg and currently lives in Kenya.-Early life and career:...
& Mark Kaiser and Capercaillie
Capercaillie (band)
Capercaillie is a Scottish folk band, founded in the 1980s by Donald Shaw and fronted by Karen Matheson. They have seen four of their albums placed in the UK Albums Chart, and continue to perform and record to the present day.-History:...
amongst many others. He has also recorded extensively as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
.
Gaughan's interest in composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
has led to two orchestral commissions from the prestigious Celtic Connections
Celtic Connections
The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international...
festival: Timewaves (Lovesong to a People's Music) in 2004 and, in 2007, his first symphonic work, Treaty 300; a musical examination of the effects of the Treaty of Union
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...
of 1707 on Scottish culture) composed for the inaugural concert of the Celtic Connections
Celtic Connections
The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international...
Youth Orchestra.
One of Gaughan's strong interests is the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and he has a particular love for Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
in which he has been an active participant for many years. While recovering from voice problems in 1984 he took a course on computing. He designs and maintains his own extensive website and is strongly in favour of web accessibility
Web accessibility
Web accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users can have equal access to information and functionality...
.
Present day
In 2002 Gaughan released Prentice Piece, a self-selected thirty-year retrospective of his career (although some material could not be included owing to copyright disputes), and a studio album, Lucky for Some, was released in April 2006. A live CD (the first since 1985) entitled Gaughan Live! at the Trades Club, recorded at the Trades Club in Hebden BridgeHebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden .A 2004 profile of...
, Yorkshire, was released on 1 April 2008.
Solo or main performer
- No More Forever (1972)
- The Boys of the Lough (1973) (The Boys of the LoughThe Boys of the Lough-The early years:Their first album, called Boys of the Lough consisted of Aly Bain , Cathal Mc'Connell , Dick Gaughan and Robin Morton ....
) - Kist o' Gold (1976)
- Five Hand Reel (1976) (Five Hand ReelFive Hand ReelFive Hand Reel was a Scottish/English/Irish Celtic rock band of late 1970s that combined experiences of traditional Scottish and Irish folk music with electric rock arrangements...
) - Coppers and Brass (1977)
- For A' That (1977) (Five Hand Reel)
- Songs of Ewan MacColl (1978) (with Dave Burland and Tony CapstickTony CapstickJoseph Anthony 'Tony' Capstick was an English comedian, actor, musician and broadcaster.-Life and career:...
) - Gaughan (1978)
- Earl o' Moray (1978) (Five Hand Reel)
- Handful of Earth (1981)
- Parallel Lines (1982) (with Andy IrvineAndy Irvine (musician)Andrew Kennedy 'Andy' Irvine is a folk musician, singer, and songwriter, and a founding member of the popular band Planxty. He is an accomplished player of the mandolin, bouzouki, mandola, guitar-bouzouki, harmonica and hurdy-gurdy....
) - A Different Kind of Love Song (1983)
- Fanfare for Tomorrow (1985) (with Ken HyderKen HyderKen Hyder is a Scottish jazz fusion drummer and percussionist born in Dundee, Scotland, perhaps best-known for combining folk, ethnic and Celtic music with jazz...
) - Live in Edinburgh (1985)
- True and Bold (1986)
- Call It Freedom (1988)
- Clan Alba (1995) (with Clan Alba)
- Sail on (1996)
- Redwood Cathedral (1998)
- Outlaws and Dreamers (2001)
- Prentice Piece (2002)
- Lucky for Some (2006)
- Gaughan Live! at the Trades Club (2008)
As a guest contributor
- Songs of Ewan MacColl (1985) (with Dave Burland and Tony CapstickTony CapstickJoseph Anthony 'Tony' Capstick was an English comedian, actor, musician and broadcaster.-Life and career:...
- Woody Lives! (1987) (with Bert JanschBert JanschHerbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
, Rab NoakesRab NoakesRab Noakes is a Scottish singer-songwriter.-Biography:He has performed with Lindisfarne, who recorded his songs "Turn a Deaf Ear" on their first album, Nicely Out of Tune, and "Together Forever" on their second, Fog on the Tyne...
, Rory McLeod, Rod ClementsRod ClementsRod Clements is a British guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Career:...
and Ray JacksonRay JacksonRay Jackson is a retired American college and professional basketball player. He was part of the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with former NBA players Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose and current NBA player Juwan Howard that reached the 1992 & 1993 NCAA Men's Division...
) (commemorating Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
)
This discography excludes recordings to which Gaughan contributed only a few tracks.