Robbie Roberstsonroad RIP

The world of popular music is in mourning for the late great guitarist Robbie Robertson from The Band.

Robertson and his bandmates Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson served their time in the late 50s/early 60s as the Hawks, backing rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins, and went on to become famous for their work with Bob Dylan in the late 60s and 70s, from the time he went electric up to their swansong performance with him in the film ‘The Last Waltz’ in 1978.

Sadly the fuss around Robertson’s demise meant that the passing the same day of his lesser-known cousin from Stornoway (an only slightly less successful musician himself) went largely unnoticed.

Robbie Robertsonroad grew up on Canada Crescent and became a music fan from an early age. His love of music soon brought him to buy a guitar from Fonn and very soon he was busy writing his own songs. His natural talent of knowing three chords soon brought him to the attention of well known rock-a-uilly artist Shonnie Mawkins. 

Shonnie Maw-kins and the Mawks were a popular Manor Park band and had a residency at the Porter’s Lodge. Shonnie had the reputation of being a hard taskmaster and expected nothing but the best from his Mawks. Several members came and went, driven out by the punishing touring and rehearsing schedule, but eventually a line up stabilised in the form of: 

Robbie Roberstsonroad- guitar 

Rick Fanko- banjo and vocal

Levon Holm – side drum and vocals

Richard Mawnewalls – button accordion and vocals

Garth Hughson- piano accordion, chanter and vocals

However, after a few years the Mawks started to get tired of Rock-a-Uilly and could see that musical tastes were changing with the coming of The Peatles and the Rolling Ollacks. They bailed out on Shonnie, leaving  him stranded on Coll Beach after playing for the 1962 Niccy 6th Years’ ‘End of School Dance and Sherry Tasting’ Evening.

With their new found freedom, the five of them hit the stages throughout Lewis. There wasn’t a wedding, wake or fank that they didn’t perform at. At first they called themselves  ‘Levon and the Mawks’ and later ‘The Mawks’, building up a critically acclaimed reputation as the band who knew all the way up to ‘Fa’ on the music scale. 

The Mawks caught the eye of local folk hero Bobban Dylan. He was heavily in to the Civil Rights movement and was the  composer of many popular folk songs including  ‘Blone In The Wind’ (about the scandal caused when a poor holy cailleach had her underskirts blown asunder by a sudden gust of wind in the Cromwell St  Narrows – which, it is rumoured, gave Mawraline Munro the idea for her famous photo) and ‘The Bus Times They are A-Changing’ (about the controversial decision to amend the time the last Mitchell’s bus left for the country on a Saturday night). 

Bobban asked them if they fancied becoming his backing group for a tour of Lewis. Bobban himself had seen the change a-coming  in musical tastes and wanted to broaden the scope of his music. 

And so the Mawks were with Bobban when he went electric. “Going electric” was of course even more of a challenge for Bobban Dylan than it was for his American cousin, since most of the venues on his infamous 1966 tour were in maw places that didn’t actually have any electricity yet. 

Older readers will no doubt be familiar with the big scandal at the Mangersta Free Church Hall concert in 1966 when the Mawks discovered (yet again) that they had fleek all to plug into. Matters were made worse when a section of the audience who’d turned up 14 years too soon (due to a misprint in the Gazette) realised that Dylan and the Mawks weren’t the famous late 70s metal band they’d been expecting to see. 

When their  demands for “Livin’ After Midnight” and “Breakin’ the Law” were refused, the audience became agitated and somebody let out the now infamous cry of: “Judas Priest!” 

After the shows with Bobban they decided it was time for them to go ‘solo’ and make a name for themselves without the need to back somebody famous. 

They decided that they would call themselves ‘The Baaah-nd’ and began a hugely creative period of songwriting. Robbie took the lead role and wrote most of their material including much loved classics like:

The Weighbridge

The Night Bennadrove Old Dixie Downtown

Up on Cripple Creed

This Creel’s on Fire

The Sheep I’m In

Life is a Cearn Phabaidh

In the summer of 1968, the Baaah-nd were looking for somewhere to record their debut LP, but their first choice of Tong Studios was unavailable due to its not having been invented yet. Luckily Rick Fank-o had got a job as a relief janny at the Nicolson, and during the holidays he was able to sneak the Baaah-nd into the deserted Springfield South building. It was there that they recorded their legendary album ‘Music From Big Pinkschool’.

Other classic studio albums included ‘Mawdog Matinee’ and ‘(Sober) Islands’.

By the late 70s The Baaah-nd knew that their time had run out and decided to split up, but not before going out in style.  The idea of a BBC Alba documentary film of their final concert was touted to them by film director Martin Sgorpsese and the Baaa-nd agreed to take part.

Their farewell concert took place in November 1976 in the Galaxy Ballroom.  It featured a stellar cast of the island’s top musicians including Eric Claptong, Neil Diamond, EmmyLewis Harris, Joni Mitchellsbus, Van Mawrison, Ringo StarrInn, Murdy Otters, Ronnie Woodlandcentre, and Neil Tong. 

The hours of footage was edited together and turned in to the ‘The Last Wooltz’ which came with a double live album featuring all their hits. 

After The Baaa-nd Robbie became a noted record producer and also wrote musical scores for adverts on Grampian, as well as film soundtracks including ’Raging Wool’ starring Robert di Niseach. 

He released several solo albums including the best selling “Robbie Robertsonroad” (1987), on which he collaborated with numerous artists including Peat-er Gabriel and Ewe2. The album spawned the hit songs ‘Showdown at Big Skyeferry’ (a duet with the Rev A**** S****) and of course, ‘Somewhere Down The Creedzy River’.