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Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe


Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

10 years ago today, we lost a great Scottish musician, singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Tony Cuffe. I still play many of the tunes I learned from his playing - here are a couple I’ve posted here in the past :

https://thesession.org/tunes/6521

https://thesession.org/tunes/9650

and still my favourite solo Scottish recording ever - no one today even comes close :

https://thesession.org/recordings/2302

There are quite a few recordings of Tony freely available to listen to on a website called “raretunes” - you should be able to “Google” it.
Those of you who knew or met him, please join me in raising a glass and / or playing a tune or singing a song in his memory.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

Well said, Kenny. George still ends every Friday session in The Tass with Sae Will We Yet. A fine singer; sad to say, I never met him.

m.d.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

A great musician and a great person, who was always kind and generous to learners and students.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

Here’s to a fine musician and kind friend, never to be forgotten.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

Forty-seven years was way too few.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

A sad loss, gone too soon, leaving proof of talent and passion and a wealth that remains for all…

“When First I Went To Caledonia”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5ssR3aF-0E


Having Cape Breton and Nova Scotia in our blood, and coal in the family too, I have to add this ~ with the lead-in of a bit of story telling and humour… The big ‘C’ was no stranger to the island…

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

I never had the opportunity to meet Tony, which is something I regret, but I spent many an evening listening to George and Adam sing his songs and tell stories about him. He sounded like a fabulous fellow, and I have spent a lot of time listening to his recordings.

I also love that a little tradition like singing “Sae Will We Yet” at the end of a session lives on, and I hope it continues.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

I bought a cassette of The Best of Ossian about 16 years ago, when I was just discovering Scottish and Irish traditional music. I learned all the tunes from the album, but unfortunately, it got lost shortly after, during a move. Just a few months ago, I decided I could bear the deprivation no longer and downloaded the whole album in MP3 format - and it sounded just as good as ever. I am not familiar with any of Tony Cuffe’s other work, but if it’s on a par with Ossian, it’s got to be worth seeking out. I’m not generally a big fan of arranged traditional songs, but they seemed to get it just right - and several of them are traditional texts set to Tony’s own tunes.

There is another poignant aspect to this for me: Not long after buying and losing that cassette, I went off on a journey that began with cycling from Edinburgh to John O’Groats. On a campsite in Fort Willam, I met a couple who were musicians - a mandolin/whistle player and a guitarist/fiddler - and we spent an evening playing tunes, as the midges devoured us. When I started one of the Ossian tunes, they joined straight in, and it turned out taht they had been listening to The Best of Ossian in the car on the way there, and it was an ld favourite of theirs too. So we played through the whole album together (they were fine singers as well). We swapped addresses and parted next morning. I always hoped our paths would cross again at some point. Some 10 years later, I had a week’s work in NE Scotland, near where the said couple came from (as it transpired, the same village). I asked around if anyone knew them. Eventually, I heard that they had moved to Ireland and, whilst there had been involved in a serious car accident, in which one of them was killed and the other badly injured. Somewhere, I still have a tape of the three of us playing that night on the campsite (marred, alas, by my own).

So, here’s to two fine musicians gone before their time - Tony Cuffe and Carol Lawrie.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

Unfortunately, Tony Cuffe had died before I came across his music… but I absolutely love Wendall’s Wedding, and I think of him every time I play it.

Why do all the good ones die young?

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

http://www.shmu.org.uk/fm/shows/wednesday-session

That sad time of the year again. Colin and myself played a few tracks by Tony and also Johnny Cunningham in their memory on the show above - it will be up to listen to until next Thursday.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

10 years ago today since I originally posted this. I’ve posted some recordings of Tony on “Youtube” since the above comment from last year. The recording quality is variable, but I don’t think this music should be lost :

https://youtu.be/HnsOSeFErjQ


https://youtu.be/gHmME8poWkk


https://youtu.be/fYM-Tk__Yb4

YouTube
play video


https://youtu.be/XEXZHjFniyU


https://youtu.be/I6YBgIhZOoI


https://youtu.be/Y_b1qHOB3Pw


https://youtu.be/moQ7aoNBUnk


I will now go and raise a decently sized measure of “Ardbeg” in memory of the musical times we had together, and with best wishes to Kath and Tony’s family. RIP.

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

We may have some people in common, kenny. Never met the man himself but have met his widow and children many times through mutual friends. Lovely family, and from what I hear he was as good a man as a musician. Thanks for the audio, always nice to hear something new (well, old, but new to me!).

Re: Sad anniversary…Tony Cuffe

I thought the name rang a bell, so I listened to the first clip in this thread and immediately recognized the voice - the singer from Ossian.

Thanks for reminding me.