Music Archives - Paisley Scotland

Blog, Bungalow, Business, Events, Music, Newsletter, Paisley, People from Paisley, Press Release, Renfrewshire

The Scottish Pink Floyd

The Scottish Pink Floyd are a fantastic 9-piece tribute based in Glasgow.

Originally formed years ago for a one-off charity gig at Glasgow’s famous Barrowlands, the founding members of the band decided to make it an on going project.

The band has went through numerous personnel changes throughout the years and has grown from strength to strength with the inclusion of additional backing singers and saxophonist.

The band continues to grow and is known throughout the Scottish music scene as the most exciting tribute to Pink Floyd,

Pink Floyd’s very own friend and roadie – Chris Addison who can be heard on Dark Side of the Moon album referred to the Scottish Pink Floyd as “Bloody Fantastic” upon a visit to the studio one day

Friday, 26 July 2019 from 19:30-01:00 at The Bungalow.

24/04/2019/by Brian McGuire

Visitors will be able to learn valuable cooking tips from the professionals to reduce waste and help protect the environment at this year’s Paisley Food and Drink Festival.

The festival, which is one of Scotland’s largest outdoor food and drink events, will host a range of cookery demonstrations with celebrity chefs in collaboration with Zero Waste Scotland’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign, on Saturday 27 April.

Love Food Hate Waste aims to raise awareness of how doing easy, practical things in the home can reduce food waste, save money and benefit the environment.

Top chefs, including Gary Maclean, winner of MasterChef – The Professionals 2016, Matt Pritchard, star of hit MTV series Dirty Sanchez and BBC TV’s Dirty Vegan, and baking sensations Three Sisters Bake will teach their tricks of the trade and show how making small changes in the kitchen can have a big impact.

PAISLEY 2021 Food festival MFG

Love Food Hate Waste will be on hand to provide advice at the festival to help prevent good food ending up in the bin.

Ylva Haglund, Food Waste Campaigns Manager, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “A massive £1 billion worth of food is binned from our homes in Scotland every year. Most of this is good food that could have been eaten and enjoyed had it been used up in time. Food waste also contributes more to Scotland’s carbon emissions than any other type of waste.

“To make it easier for people at home to tackle this, we’ve teamed up with leading chefs at this year’s Paisley Food and Drink Festival, who will share tips and tricks to show just how simple it can be to save food from the bin.”

Ahead of the Festival, Love Food Hate Waste will also work with local community groups, including The Tannahill Centre, ROAR: Connections for Life, Erskine Music and Media Studios, Our Places Our Families and Active Communities, to host a selection of free to attend workshops across Renfrewshire.

Paisley Food Festival

The daily two-hour Love Food Hate Waste workshops aim to provide further advice on how to reduce food waste at home and will take place with the following groups:

Young Mums – The Tannahill Centre – Monday 22 April – 10am – 12pm
Older Adults – ROAR: Connections for Life – Tuesday 23 April – 2pm – 4pm
Erskine Community Hub – Erskine Music and Media Studios – Wednesday 24 April – 3pm – 5pm
Our Places Our Families – Our Places Our Families – Thursday 25 April – 1pm – 3pm
Feel Good Project – Active Communities – Friday 26 April – 10am – 12pm

Ms Haglund added: “Our popular Love Food Hate Waste training sessions are delivered to many community groups, businesses and local authorities across Scotland every year.

“They are fun, free, interactive sessions which will provide those attending with practical knowledge around the simple things we can all do to stop wasting food at home and save money in the process.”

Apple Oils Ltd will also be collecting waste cooking oil from participating traders at this year’s Paisley Food and Drink Festival, which will then be transformed into sustainable biodiesel.

The Glasgow-based company will filter the cooking oil and use a chemical process to turn it into biodiesel which can be used to fuel vehicle engines.

Paisley Food Festival

Alexander Macdonald of Apple Oils Ltd said: “We are delighted to be participating with Paisley Food and Drink Festival and support any actions that reduce waste and help save our environment. We collect waste cooking oil from all over Scotland and sell new to a selection of our customers.”

Paisley Food and Drink Festival takes place over two days on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 April and will see more than 40 vendors from across Scotland in the stunning surroundings of the town’s Abbey Close.

This year’s line-up will also feature delicious street food with traders from PLATFORM on Tour – the independent street food market who reside at Glasgow’s Argyle Street Arches, expert tasting sessions with the award-winning Gin71, the popular Rum Shack and the Renfrewshire CAMRA Beer Tent.

There will also be live music and entertainment on the Main Stage, sponsored by Paisley’s famous The Bungalow music venue, including Sprog Rock, Princesses of Pop and Esperanza – perfect for adults and kids alike.

Smaller portion sizes will be available for children and there’s something for all foodies with a range of halal, gluten free, veggie and vegan options also on offer.

Find out more about what’s on at the Paisley Food and Drink Festival 2019, visit https://paisley.is/featured_event/paisley-food-and-drink-festival/

18/04/2019/by Brian McGuire

The award winning The Buddy Beat is a mental health drumming group for adults across Renfrewshire that meets every Thursday morning at Johnstone High Parish Church Halls, Ludovic Square, PA5 8EE, 10 am to 12.

We help promote social inclusion and drumming has been found to help reduce stress, session full of therapeutic, improves self-confidence and self-worth. No experience is necessary and our style of drums are easy to learn. We also include percussion and singing to make every session is full of invigorating music and fun.

Drumming helps people self-manage their week and has helped many find other community activities, education courses, volunteering and employment. And real, lasting friendships blossom too.

We also run an Open Drum Circle on the last Wednesday evening of each month at The Charleston Centre in Paisley. Open to anyone, this runs from 6.00 pm to 7.45 pm.

For anyone interested in joining either of our activities, please email tom.thebuddybeat@sky.com for more information. Please also visit our Facebook page– Renfrewshire’s The Buddy Beat

17/04/2019/by Brian McGuire

Bungalow, Music, Newsletter

Win with The Bungalow and Spice Up Your Life

For all you Spice Girls fans out there, we have an AMAZING COMPETITION running for the next 4 days!!!

We are offering the opportunity for you and 3 friends to enjoy a great selection of gifts for an afternoon, evening and night on us!

WIN:

4 x Vouchers for the Gin 71 Tent at Paisley’s very own Food & Drink Festival on Saturday the 27th of April🥂

4 x Meals And Cocktail Vouchers for Paisley’s Burger & Keg with their exciting refurbishment and tasty new menu!

4 Tickets to the Girlpower & Spice World show here at – The Bungalow #PaisleysVenue on the evening of Saturday 27th April

WHO’S EXCITED?

Well here’s what you need to do for your chance to win:

1. Click into the event page below and click ‘interested’ in the event.

2. Tag the three friends you’d take with you then tell us your favourite Spice Girls song in the comments section of the event page.

Winners will be announced on Saturday 20th April 2019.

GOOD LUCK !!

Click here to enter.

#Paisley #Competition #NightOut #WhatsOn #PaisleyIs #prizes #paisleysvenue #PositivePaisley

16/04/2019/by Brian McGuire

Thousands of the world’s top pipers and drummers will again descend on Paisley for one of the biggest dates in the global piping calendar.

The British Pipe Band Championships will take place on Saturday 18 May at the St James Playing Fields – with 123 bands from across the UK and Ireland, and drum and pipe majors from as far afield as the USA, Denmark and Belgium set to compete.

The free-to-attend event will see a full day of family entertainment from 10am to 6pm – including a Highland Games competition, a food village, and sporty activity.

Scottish Power Win BPBC MFG

This will be the fourth year the championships have been in Paisley, with the town contracted to continue to host the event – one of piping’s five ‘majors’ and second-only in size to the World Championships – until 2021.

Last year’s event attracted 17,000 attendees and generated more than £300,000 for the local economy, with half the attendees visitors to Renfrewshire and 7% from outwith Scotland.

Event organisers Renfrewshire Council and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association have also teamed up with McGill’s Buses to transport spectators to and from the event – free of charge.

There will be plenty local interest on the day – the Johnstone Pipe Band will have two entries, one going head to head with the world’s best in the prestigious Grade 1 competition, and another looking to win Grade 3a (having topped Grade 3b last year).

Kilbarchan Pipe Band will feature in the Grade 4b contest, while the Renfrewshire Schools Pipe Band will be hoping to equal or better last year’s brilliant performance, when they came third in Novice Junior Grade B in their first major championships.

Ian Embelton, chief executive of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Paisley to bring the British Championships to the town once again.

“Paisley is a popular venue with the bands for its central location, transport links and the many excellent options available locally to stay overnight and to enjoy a meal or a drink.

“This is the first of the annual majors and many of the world’s best pipe bands will be competing – for anyone who hasn’t been before, my message would be come along on the day and enjoy some top-class piping and drumming.”

McGill’s will run the shuttle buses from Paisley Gilmour Street station, West College Scotland and Swift Parking on Greenhill Road, with the latter two offering free event parking. Visitors should note there will be no public parking at the event.

Other transport options include getting the train to Paisley St James station, which is a short walk from the event site, or a McGill’s bus to Paisley town centre, and transferring to the free shuttle.

Renfrewshire Council Leader Iain Nicolson said: “Hosting major events like this is helps to build on Paisley and Renfrewshire’s now-established reputation as a key destination on Scotland’s events map.

“Renfrewshire has many businesses who will be ready to welcome the thousands of visitors with open arms and I hope as many of them as possible of will enjoy a day, and evening or an overnight stay with us.”

Other major events coming up in Paisley over the next few weeks include the Paisley Food and Drink Festival – expected to draw thousands to the town centre on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 April.

More information about the British Pipe Band Championships and other Renfrewshire events is available online at www.paisley.is.

16/04/2019/by Brian McGuire

8-year-old- Malcolm Tarbert has raised more than £400 for St. Vincent’s Hospice in a very unique way – by wearing shorts every single day since September 2018.

Malcolm, a pupil from Ralston Primary School, decided to support the local charity after they took care of his Grandpa and always made him feel welcome when he came to visit. After seeing a similar idea on television, he took up the challenge and lasted an incredible 181 days through the Scottish winter wearing shorts every day to raise sponsor money.

Malcolm’s Mum, Abigail Tarbert, said: “We are so proud of Malcolm. Honestly, it has been all him! When he first said he was going to wear shorts every day, we just assumed he would lose interest, so we just left it to see if it fizzled out. It didn’t – all through winter and right into spring, he was adamant he was wearing shorts for the Hospice.

“St. Vincent’s looked after his Grandpa towards the end of his life, and we all remember how welcome and comfortable we were made to feel any time we came in to visit him. The place holds a special place in all of our hearts, we already have a tree and a brick on the Woodland Walk in his memory. Malcolm decided he wanted to do something on his own and he’s already trying to think of what else he can do for his next ‘challenge’…I heard something about breaking a world record, but we’ll take it one at a time.”

St. Vincent’s Hospice is a specialist provider of palliative and Hospice care for people and families across Renfrewshire who are affected by life-limiting conditions. This includes bereavement support for relatives, as well as children and young people who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

Fundraiser for St. Vincent’s Hospice, Laura McDade, said: “We are all so impressed by Malcolm and his dedication to raising money for our Hospice. For someone who is just eight to already understand how important the work we do is, and feel connected enough to our services to get sponsors and stick to a challenge for so long is amazing!

“Every year, it costs nearly £2.5 million every year to run our Hospice, and donations like this go directly towards offering real care and support for local people who are going through some very difficult times. On behalf of all of us, thank you Malcolm!”

For more information on how you can support St. Vincent’s Hospice, visit: www.SVH.co.uk.

15/04/2019/by Brian McGuire

At St. Vincent’s Hospice’s Strictly Come Prancing dance event, the unlikely duo of Lynn Ferguson and 81-year-old Alex Glass shocked both the audience and the judges by beating 12 other couples to win the competition.

The 8^th annual Strictly Come Prancing, based on the hit TV series, was the biggest in the organisations history with nearly 500 people in attendance, raising an astonishing £57,500 for the local charity.

With 13 twinkle toed contestants taking to the floor, the audience were treated to quicksteps, cha-chas, jives, sambas and tangos as the couples looked to impress the judges following months of training and preparation, all to support St. Vincent’s.

Senior Fundraiser for the Hospice, Louise Strachan, said: “What a great night this was! So much hard work and effort was involved in the lead up and owe a great debt of thanks to all involved. From Barr + Wray ltd (our headline sponsors for the event) to our choreographers, judges, make-up artists, local businesses, supporters and of course our incredible dancers who have given us so much of their time and dedication to fundraise and rehearse.

“Their efforts were not in vain, as this was our biggest Strictly event to date, raising a whopping £57,500, which will go directly towards helping St. Vincent’s to care for people in Renfrewshire and beyond who are affected by a life-limiting illness.”

Argentine Tango Dancers, Lynn and Alex, put their best feet forward and triumphed in the dance off against joint runners up, Martin Innes and Toni Kane and Joe McCrystal and Morag Lewis.
Alex said: “It was a joy to win the trophy and help raise such an amazing amount of money for St. Vincent’s. I have had such a wonderful time taking part and would recommend this experience to anyone. You’re never too old – I’m 81!”

His partner on the evening, Lynn, added: “I had a fantastic time taking part in Strictly. I met great people, from fellow dancers, to Hospice staff and volunteers, it was just a great experience for a great cause and I can’t believe we won!”

The Hospice are already looking forward to Strictly Come Prancing 2020 and welcome all applications from potential dancers and sponsors. For more information, contact Info@svh.co.uk.

29/03/2019/by Brian McGuire

Blog, Events, Glasgow, Music, Newsletter, Paisley, Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley Photographs, Paisley Visitor Attractions, People from Paisley, Press Release, Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire Arts, renfrewshire events, Renfrewshire Leisure

SURROGATE PRODUCTIONS TOURS THE UK PREMIERE OF JON FOSSE’S THE GUITAR MAN IN A TRANSLATION BY LOUIS MUINZER

The debut production from surrogate productions, The Guitar Man, opens as part of

Platform’s Outskirts Festival on Saturday 27 April, before embarking on a tour around Scotland in May.

‘Everything has its time, a man and a piece of music…’

A man makes his living singing the same songs day after day on the edge of town. He plays to an audience that is always on the move, always passing him by. People call him The Guitar Man.

On a winter’s night, he takes shelter and tells us his story: he came here because of a woman, and stayed here because of a son. Searching for answers to the past, present and future, he reaches a decision: to stop playing.

In a world made up of winners and losers, The Guitar Man asks what is left when we

reject the role we are expected to play? Written in 1997, by Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, the play speaks anew to a post-industrial society in crisis, where rootlessness and

homelessness have become a common experience.

Weaving text, song and silence to create an intimate, physical and disquieting

theatrical experience, this tender study of a so-called ‘outsider’ traces the delicate balance between loneliness and longing, loss and salvation.

The Guitar Man will be played by female performer Renee Williams, and is directed by actor and director, and Artistic Director of surrogate productions, Nora Wardell. The

production features a composition of vocal and guitar fragments by artist, composer and performer, Hanna Tuulikki with sound design by Kevin Murray. The creative team also includes dramaturgy by Eszter Marsalkó, set and costume design by Sarah Beaton and lighting design by Emma Jones.

28/03/2019/by Brian McGuire

CELEBRATED artist and playwright John Byrne came back to his roots for the opening of his annual drawing competition exhibition.

John, aged 79, was born in Paisley’s Ferguslie Park and went to school in the town’s St Mirin’s Academy.

And on Wednesday (March 27) he returned to Ferguslie for the launch of the 2019 John Byrne Drawing Competition exhibition being held in The Tannahill Centre, in Blackstoun Road.

John – who found fame through his paintings, artwork for album record covers, along with creating and writing theatre and television shows – met two talented local school pupils who were runners-up in the competition.

The artwork of Marie McNicol, from Paisley Grammar School and Rachel Bryceland from Trinity High School, in Renfrew has been chosen to be shown in the free exhibition, which is open to the public until Monday, April 15.

The exhibition, organised by Education Scotland in partnership with Renfrewshire Leisure, showcases the highlights of the fifth annual John Byrne Drawing Competition, open to young people from Primary 4 to S3 from all over Scotland.

John joined pupils from St Fergus and Glencoats Primary Schools in a drawing workshop at The Tannahill Centre before the official launch of the exhibition.

Chairperson of Renfrewshire Leisure, Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes said: “This annual drawing competition is a great way to encourage young people to fulfil their artistic potential.

“John Byrne is one of Paisley’s famous sons and his paintings and plays are enjoyed by many generations.

“And for all we know, we might find a new John Byrne in our midst among the young artists whose work is on show at the exhibition.

“I’m particularly pleased to congratulate the two pupils from Renfrewshire whose work has been chosen to feature in the exhibition.”

Alan Armstrong, Strategic Director for Education Scotland said: “Art and design are important parts of the Scottish curriculum.

“For years, this competition has encouraged many thousands of children to use their artistic talents to create inspiring and unique drawings.

“Education Scotland is proud to support the competition and its ethos of keeping the art of drawing alive.”

28/03/2019/by Brian McGuire

Announcement, Blog, Events, Music, Newsletter, Paisley, Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley Visitor Attractions, People from Paisley, Press Release, Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire Council, renfrewshire events, Renfrewshire Leisure

Tenants tread the boards in new play

Renfrewshire Council Sheltered housing tenants have taken starring roles in their own theatre production, thanks to funding from Renfrewshire Council.

Tenants from four complexes across Renfrewshire took to the stage to perform ‘UpLIFTing Renfrewshire Folk’, performing two sold out performances at the Starlight Youth Theatre to rave reviews.

Karen Herbison, Director of H-Arts has been involved in working with the tenants, using their life experience and stories to write and produce the show, with many tenants appearing in performing roles.

Assisted by her core team, Karen and the tenants developed a performance telling stories that touched audiences, showcasing new and original sketches and featuring monologues, poetry and song.

Sally Logan, Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator for Renfrewshire Sheltered Housing Service, said:

“All the tenants worked really hard to produce an unmissable piece of theatre and had a great time in the process.

“It has provided our tenants with the opportunity to channel their inner creativity. It also shows how important it is to keep active and socialise to reduce the effects of loneliness and Isolation.”

The project was supported by Renfrewshire Council’s Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF). Launched in 2016 to support Paisley’s bid to be UK City of Culture in 2021, CHEF has supported over 100 projects across Renfrewshire with the aims of increasing participation in cultural activity and showing how creativity can boost education, social inclusion and quality of life.

Leader of Renfrewshire Council, Iain Nicolson said:

“The CHE fund has been key in involving local people in cultural and creative activity and I’m pleased to see our sheltered housing tenants benefit.

“Involvement in culture has a positive impact on health and wellbeing and it’s fantastic that the tenants have had this opportunity to take part in what was a new experience for many of them.”

Applications for the next round of the Culture, Heritage and Events Fund are now being accepted. More information about the fund is available online at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/CHEF.

28/03/2019/by Brian McGuire