The Corries
Encyclopedia
The Corries were a Scottish
folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival
of the early 1960s. Although the group was a trio in the early days, it was as the partnership of Roy Williamson
and Ronnie Browne
that it is best known.
, Lothian
. His mother played the piano. At school he learned to play the recorder
by ear, pretending to read music
. The teacher found out and banned him from music lessons. He went to Wester Elchies School, then Aberlour
House and Gordonstoun
in Moray
. He taught seamanship and navigation at Burghead
before going to Edinburgh College of Art
. It was there that he met Ronnie Browne in 1955. The partnership lasted over thirty years.
Williamson teamed up with Bill Smith (born William Smith, in 1936, in Edinburgh) and Ron Cruikshank to form the "Corrie Folk Trio" in 1962. Their first performance was in the Waverley Bar in St Mary's Street, Edinburgh. After a few weeks Cruikshank left. They had already accepted an engagement at the Edinburgh Festival
so Williamson suggested that Ronnie Browne should be brought in to make up numbers. They also added female Irish
singer Paddie Bell
to become the "Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell". The audience was only eight people for the debut of this line-up but by the end of the festival it was house full at every performance. A corrie
is a deep bowl in the high Scottish mountains familiar to lovers of the Highlands. They chose it to evoke the Scottish landscape.
at the Usher Hall
in Edinburgh. The BBC
began a television series set in a folk club. The resident group at the "Hoot'nanny Show" was the Corrie Folk Trio. This meant they became full-time professionals. Within two years Paddie Bell and Bill Smith left. Williamson was a talented multi-instrumentalist and Browne was the singer. They cancelled all engagements for a few months to practise intensively. Under the new name, "The Corries", they performed at the Jubilee Arms Hotel in Cortachy
, Angus
. The response encouraged them to continue.
Another BBC series "The White Heather Club" began in 1958. It featured Andy Stewart
, Jimmy Shand
and his Band, Robin Hall
and Jimmie MacGregor
, and the Corries. While the rest of the show was set in a studio, the Corries were filmed in location: sea songs
were sung in a harbour, "Braes o' Killiecrankie
" was sung at the Pass of Killiecrankie
, and so on. They were effectively pioneers of the music video.
Williamson was a skilled woodworker. In the summer of 1969 he invented the 'combolins', two complementary instruments which combined several into a single instrument. One combined a mandolin
and a guitar
(along with four bass strings operated with slides), the other combined guitar and the Spanish bandurria
, the latter being an instrument Williamson had played since the early days of the Corrie Folk Trio.
Originally conceived as a way to combine several of the many instruments they carried around on tour - the Corries' long row of chairs behind them on stage bearing instruments is legendary - the combolins in fact became an additional two instruments for the tour van. Most often, Browne played the guitar/mandolin instrument with bass strings, and Williamson the other, which also had 13 sympathetic strings designed to resonate like the Indian sitar
. The wood for the instruments was obtained from antique hardwood furniture as well as premium grade Tyrolean spruce, and featured Williamson's artistic embellishments in silver and mother of pearl.
The Corries' next album, Strings and Things (1970), was specifically designed to showcase the new instruments and featured detailed descriptions of them on the rear sleeve. Many consider it to be their best album. On stage, when the combolins were played, the Corries would swap their seating position around from the conventional Williamson to Browne's right. Usually the combolins were played to accompany long ballads such as The Silkie of Sule Skerry and The Gartan Mother's Lullaby, as well as a number of the compositions of Peebles
baker George Weir, including Lord Yester and Weep ye Weel by Atholl.
The immense strain on the instruments caused by the multitude of strings meant they needed regular maintenance later in their life, and one of Williamson's best friends, instrument repairer David Sinton, maintained them. After Williamson's death, Sinton was bequeathed the two combolins. He has since issued a CD of tunes played on them, Caledonian Sunset, although it took many years to perfect the playing of these complex instruments, as well as deal with the undoubted emotional difficulty in playing them.
" (1974). It includes Flower of Scotland
and Roses of Prince Charlie
. It was quickly adopted by world lightweight boxing champion Ken Buchanan
whose fans sang it on his entering the ring. It was then taken up by supporters of rugby football
as the unofficial national anthem
and is still used at Scotland's rugby internationals. It has also been adopted as the national anthem at international football matches. The Corries' concerts frequently had the audience joining in spontaneously in the chorus of songs. The duo became closely identified with Jacobite
songs, celebrating the final years of clan loyalty and military courage. In 1977, one of their best albums Peat Fire Flame was released. This saw a move towards love songs and celebrations of the landscape.
As a young man, Roy Williamson played rugby for Edinburgh Wanderers. However, he suffered from asthma
and before a series of concerts he would deliberately cease treatment in order to provoke attacks and gain temporary immunity. During the Corries' 1989 tour, Williamson's health went into decline and he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He spent his last years living in Forres
, close to where he spent his school years. He died on 12 August 1990.
Ronnie Browne continued recording and moved into acting, as well as expanding his career as a noted painter, including commissions for the 1990 Scottish Rugby Union team's Grand Slam victory. He toured as a soloist for a few years after Williamson's death, and even released a solo album, but never reached the same level of success that he achieved as part of the duo. He has now retired from performing.
Paddie Bell made some solo albums following her departure from the trio, most notably with Irish musicians Finbar and Eddie Furey, but withdrew from the folk scene followed by a period of dependency on alcohol and anti-depressant medication. In the 1990s Bell, with the help of several friends and fans on the folk scene in Edinburgh, revived her singing career with a couple of new recordings and became something of a celebrity again. She died in 2005 aged 74.
In December 2007, The Corries were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame at the Scottish Trad Music Awards in Fort William
, promoted by concertina virtuoso Simon Thoumire
's Hands Up for Trad organisation.
Many of the Corries recordings have now been reissued on CD by Moidart Music, a company set up originally to release Williamson's posthumous Long Journey South solo album. The recordings are now overseen by Browne's son Gavin, who runs the official Corries website, along with original recording engineer Allan Spence and David Sinton.
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...
folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
of the early 1960s. Although the group was a trio in the early days, it was as the partnership of Roy Williamson
Roy Williamson
Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician, most notably with The Corries.-Early life:...
and Ronnie Browne
Ronnie Browne
Ronnie Browne , is a Scottish folk musician and founding member of The Corries....
that it is best known.
Early years
Roy Williamson was born in 1936 in EdinburghEdinburgh
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...
, Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
. His mother played the piano. At school he learned to play the recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
by ear, pretending to read music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. The teacher found out and banned him from music lessons. He went to Wester Elchies School, then Aberlour
Aberlour
Aberlour , is the name of a place in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. A burn , a tributary of the River Spey, and surrounding parish, are both named Aberlour, but the name is most commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the...
House and Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
in Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
. He taught seamanship and navigation at Burghead
Burghead
Burghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the...
before going to Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
. It was there that he met Ronnie Browne in 1955. The partnership lasted over thirty years.
Williamson teamed up with Bill Smith (born William Smith, in 1936, in Edinburgh) and Ron Cruikshank to form the "Corrie Folk Trio" in 1962. Their first performance was in the Waverley Bar in St Mary's Street, Edinburgh. After a few weeks Cruikshank left. They had already accepted an engagement at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
so Williamson suggested that Ronnie Browne should be brought in to make up numbers. They also added female 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...
singer Paddie Bell
Paddie Bell
Paddie Bell was an Irish folk singer and musician.She was born in Belfast, but was a resident of Edinburgh, Scotland most of her life. She sang with The Corries Folk Trio from 1962 and was a founder member. The band later became The Corries after she left when she got pregnant in 1965...
to become the "Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell". The audience was only eight people for the debut of this line-up but by the end of the festival it was house full at every performance. A corrie
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
is a deep bowl in the high Scottish mountains familiar to lovers of the Highlands. They chose it to evoke the Scottish landscape.
Television success
Within a year they appeared on television. Williamson and Browne were art teachers, Smith was an architect and Bell was a secretary. In 1964 they topped the bill at a show with The DublinersThe Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
at the Usher Hall
Usher Hall
Usher Hall is a concert hall, situated on Lothian Road, in the west end of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,900 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its acoustics...
in Edinburgh. The 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...
began a television series set in a folk club. The resident group at the "Hoot'nanny Show" was the Corrie Folk Trio. This meant they became full-time professionals. Within two years Paddie Bell and Bill Smith left. Williamson was a talented multi-instrumentalist and Browne was the singer. They cancelled all engagements for a few months to practise intensively. Under the new name, "The Corries", they performed at the Jubilee Arms Hotel in Cortachy
Cortachy
Cortachy is a village in Angus, Scotland. It lies in at the mouth of Glen Clova, on the River South Esk, four miles north of Kirriemuir. Nearby lies Cortachy Castle, seat of the Earls of Airlie....
, Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
. The response encouraged them to continue.
Another BBC series "The White Heather Club" began in 1958. It featured Andy Stewart
Andy Stewart (musician)
Andrew "Andy" Stewart MBE was a Scottish singer and entertainer.-Career:The use of tartan patriotism and stereotypical Scottish humour goes back to Sir Harry Lauder and music hall songs. In the 1960s this strand was continued by the entertainer Andy Stewart.He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in...
, Jimmy Shand
Jimmy Shand
Sir James Shand MBE was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion.-Early life:...
and his Band, Robin Hall
Robin Hall
Robin Hall was a Scottish folksinger.He was born in Edinburgh but spent his childhood years in Glasgow. After studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he briefly became an actor....
and Jimmie MacGregor
Jimmie MacGregor
Jimmie Macgregor is a Scottish folksinger and broadcaster.He was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art, becoming a potter and teacher....
, and the Corries. While the rest of the show was set in a studio, the Corries were filmed in location: sea songs
Sea Shanties
Sea Shanties is the debut album of Progressive Rock band High Tide. The cover artwork was drawn by Paul Whitehead.-Production:Denny Gerrard produced Sea Shanties in return for High Tide acting as the backing band on his solo album Sinister Morning...
were sung in a harbour, "Braes o' Killiecrankie
Braes o' Killiecrankie
Braes o' Killiecrankie is the name of four distinct folk songs, all originally from Scotland.The version that begins with the line "Whare hae ye been sae braw, lad?" is the one discussed here. The versions that begin with the line "Clavers and his highland men" are either the Scots version or the...
" was sung at the Pass of Killiecrankie
Killiecrankie
Killiecrankie is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland on the River Garry. It lies at the Pass of Killiecrankie, by the A9 road. The village is home to a power station forming part of the Tummel Hydro-Electric Power Scheme...
, and so on. They were effectively pioneers of the music video.
The Combolins
Main Article: CombolinCombolin
The Combolin was invented by Roy Williamson of The Corries in the summer of 1969. The combolin combined several instruments into a single instrument...
Williamson was a skilled woodworker. In the summer of 1969 he invented the 'combolins', two complementary instruments which combined several into a single instrument. One combined a mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(along with four bass strings operated with slides), the other combined guitar and the Spanish bandurria
Bandurria
The bandurria is a plectrum chordophone from Spain, similar to the cittern and the mandolin, primarily used in Spanish folk music.Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had with a round back, similar or related to the mandore. It had become a flat-backed instrument by the 18th century, with five...
, the latter being an instrument Williamson had played since the early days of the Corrie Folk Trio.
Originally conceived as a way to combine several of the many instruments they carried around on tour - the Corries' long row of chairs behind them on stage bearing instruments is legendary - the combolins in fact became an additional two instruments for the tour van. Most often, Browne played the guitar/mandolin instrument with bass strings, and Williamson the other, which also had 13 sympathetic strings designed to resonate like the Indian sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
. The wood for the instruments was obtained from antique hardwood furniture as well as premium grade Tyrolean spruce, and featured Williamson's artistic embellishments in silver and mother of pearl.
The Corries' next album, Strings and Things (1970), was specifically designed to showcase the new instruments and featured detailed descriptions of them on the rear sleeve. Many consider it to be their best album. On stage, when the combolins were played, the Corries would swap their seating position around from the conventional Williamson to Browne's right. Usually the combolins were played to accompany long ballads such as The Silkie of Sule Skerry and The Gartan Mother's Lullaby, as well as a number of the compositions of Peebles
Peebles
Peebles is a burgh in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed. According to the 2001 Census, the population was 8,159.-History:...
baker George Weir, including Lord Yester and Weep ye Weel by Atholl.
The immense strain on the instruments caused by the multitude of strings meant they needed regular maintenance later in their life, and one of Williamson's best friends, instrument repairer David Sinton, maintained them. After Williamson's death, Sinton was bequeathed the two combolins. He has since issued a CD of tunes played on them, Caledonian Sunset, although it took many years to perfect the playing of these complex instruments, as well as deal with the undoubted emotional difficulty in playing them.
Commercial success
The early 1970s saw the Corries reach their peak of popularity. They had several albums in the top 50 album charts in Scotland, and released a single: - "Flower of ScotlandFlower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland is a Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events. Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, Flower of Scotland is one of a number of songs which unofficially fulfil this role, along with the older Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave...
" (1974). It includes Flower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland is a Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events. Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, Flower of Scotland is one of a number of songs which unofficially fulfil this role, along with the older Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave...
and Roses of Prince Charlie
Roses of Prince Charlie
"Roses of Prince Charlie" is a modern Scottish folk song composed by Ronnie Browne of The Corries. It was written circa 1973 and first appeared in their album released in 1974, Live From Scotland Volume 1. The title of the song refers to the symbol of Charles Edward Stuart, which was a white rose...
. It was quickly adopted by world lightweight boxing champion Ken Buchanan
Ken Buchanan
Ken Buchanan is a former boxing undisputed world lightweight champion. Many consider Buchanan to be the best boxer ever to come out of Scotland.- Early career :...
whose fans sang it on his entering the ring. It was then taken up by supporters of rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
as the unofficial national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
and is still used at Scotland's rugby internationals. It has also been adopted as the national anthem at international football matches. The Corries' concerts frequently had the audience joining in spontaneously in the chorus of songs. The duo became closely identified with Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
songs, celebrating the final years of clan loyalty and military courage. In 1977, one of their best albums Peat Fire Flame was released. This saw a move towards love songs and celebrations of the landscape.
As a young man, Roy Williamson played rugby for Edinburgh Wanderers. However, he suffered from asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
and before a series of concerts he would deliberately cease treatment in order to provoke attacks and gain temporary immunity. During the Corries' 1989 tour, Williamson's health went into decline and he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He spent his last years living in Forres
Forres
Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...
, close to where he spent his school years. He died on 12 August 1990.
Ronnie Browne continued recording and moved into acting, as well as expanding his career as a noted painter, including commissions for the 1990 Scottish Rugby Union team's Grand Slam victory. He toured as a soloist for a few years after Williamson's death, and even released a solo album, but never reached the same level of success that he achieved as part of the duo. He has now retired from performing.
Paddie Bell made some solo albums following her departure from the trio, most notably with Irish musicians Finbar and Eddie Furey, but withdrew from the folk scene followed by a period of dependency on alcohol and anti-depressant medication. In the 1990s Bell, with the help of several friends and fans on the folk scene in Edinburgh, revived her singing career with a couple of new recordings and became something of a celebrity again. She died in 2005 aged 74.
In December 2007, The Corries were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame at the Scottish Trad Music Awards in Fort William
Fort William, Scotland
Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles...
, promoted by concertina virtuoso Simon Thoumire
Simon Thoumire
Simon Thoumire is a Scottish musician and a concertina virtuoso.Thoumire has played all over the world. A winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Tradition Award in 1989, Thoumire has always been keen to explore different genres of music, releasing many records over the years delving into folk, jazz,...
's Hands Up for Trad organisation.
Discography (original studio/live recordings)
- The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie BellThe Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell- Line-Up :*Roy Williamson *Ronnie Browne *Bill Smith *Paddie Bell Note: Acoustic guitars, mandolin and bandurra are also heard but no credits are given....
(1964) - The Promise Of The DayThe Promise Of The DayThe Promise of the Day is a music album by the band The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell. It was produced in 1965.-Overview:The title of the album is a line from "The Uist Tramping Song". It was their first album in stereo and "The Uist Tramping Song" gives the three male voices very distinct...
(1965) - Those Wild Corries (1966)
- Bonnet, Belt and Sword (1967)
- Kishmul's Galley (1968)
- Scottish Love Songs (1969)
- Strings and Things (1970)
- In Retrospect (1970)
- Sound The Pibroch (1972)
- A Little Of What You Fancy (1973)
- Live from Scotland Volume 1 (1974)
- Live from Scotland Volume 2 (1975)
- Live from Scotland Volume 3 (1975)
- Live from Scotland Volume 4 (1977)
- Peat Fire FlamePeat Fire FlamePeat Fire Flame is an album recorded in 1977 by The Corries, a Scottish folk group. The combolin is heard to advantage on "Come By the Hills". Williamson and Ronnie Browne are heard on the vocals. There is multi-tracking to include both men on guitars, Northumbrian pipes, harmonicas, whistles,...
(1977) - Spotlight On The Corries (1977)
- Stovies (album)Stovies (album)Released in 1980, Stovies is the eighteenth album by The Corries. Recorded at one or more live concerts, most of the songs have spoken introductions. As well as two Jacobite folk songs written by the band, the release includes a tribute to Rob Roy....
(1980) (live) - A Man's A Man (1980)
- The Dawning of the Day (1982) (live)
- Love From Scotland (1983) (compilation)
- Scotland Will Flourish (1985) (live)
- Barrett's Privateers (1987) (live)
- The Bonnie Blue (1988) (live)
- Flower of Scotland (1990) (new live recording on BBC Records)
Many of the Corries recordings have now been reissued on CD by Moidart Music, a company set up originally to release Williamson's posthumous Long Journey South solo album. The recordings are now overseen by Browne's son Gavin, who runs the official Corries website, along with original recording engineer Allan Spence and David Sinton.