Sir James ShandMBE (28 January 1908 – 23 December 2000) was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion.[1] His signature tune was "The Bluebell Polka".
James Shand was born in East Wemyss in Fife, Scotland, son of a farm ploughman turned coal miner and one of nine children.[1][2] The family soon moved to the burgh of Auchtermuchty. The town now boasts a larger than life-sized sculpture of Shand. His father was a skilled melodeon player. Jimmy started with the mouth organ and soon played the fiddle. At the age of 14 he had to leave school and go down the mines. He played at social events and competitions. His enthusiasm for motor-bikes turned into an advantage when he played for events all round Fife. In 1926, he did benefit gigs for striking miners and was consequently prevented from returning to colliery work. One day Shand and a friend were admiring the instruments in the window of a music shop in Dundee. His friend said: "It wouldn't cost you to try one," so Shand walked in and strapped on an accordion.[citation needed] The owner, Charles Forbes, heard Shand play and immediately offered him a job as travelling salesman and debt-collector.[1] He soon acquired a van and drove all over the north of Scotland. He switched to the British chromatic button accordion, an instrument he stuck with for the rest of his life.
Being a keen motorcyclist, Shand was also an enthusiastic supporter and spectator at the annual Isle of Man TT races. He also sponsored a motorcycle road racer from Errol, Perthshire called Jack Gow, a multiple Scottish Motorcycle Racing champion and later a motorcycle dealer in Dundee. Jack Gow was the son of Andy Gow who drove the bus which transported the Shand tour. Shand's interest in motorcycles began when a boyfriend of his sister had problems with his bike, which had broken down. Shand repaired it and was allowed to use it.[citation needed]
He failed an audition for the BBC because he kept time with his foot. At a time when gramophones were very much luxury items he made two records for the Regal Zonophone label in 1933. His career took off when he switched to making 78s for the Beltona label (1935–1940).[1] Most of the Beltona recordings were solo, but he experimented with small bands. This boosted sales. He appeared in a promo film shown in cinemas. While the image showed his fingers moving in a blur, Shand was disappointed to hear the sound track playing a slow air. He was prevented from joining the RAF by a digestive disorder, and spent the war years in the Fire Service. On New Year's Day morning in 1945 he made his first broadcast with "Jimmy Shand and his Band".[1] This was the first of many such BBC radio and television appearances.
Worksedit
Soon after the war he became a full-time musician,[1] and adopted a punishing life-style later adopted by rock bands.[citation needed] He would play Inverness one night, London the next night and still drive the van back to bed in Dundee.[citation needed] He took his trademark bald head, Buddy Holly spectacles and full kilted regalia, Scottish reels, jigs and strathspeys to Australia, New Zealand and North America, including Carnegie Hall in New York.[citation needed] Now on the EMI/ Parlophone label, he released one single per month in the mid 1950s, including his only top 20 hit in the UK Singles Chart – "The Bluebell Polka" (1955).[3] It was produced by George Martin. He was awarded an MBE in 1962.[1] This period is remembered affectionately by Richard Thompson, who played Shand tunes on his Henry the Human Fly and Strict Tempo! albums. Thompson's Scottish father had been a keen Shand collector.[citation needed] In 1991, Thompson paid tribute to Shand with an original song, "Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands", from his 1991 album Rumor and Sigh.
Call me precious I don't mind 78s are hard to find You just can't get the shellac since the war This one's the Beltona brand Finest label in the land They don't make them like that any more.
from "Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands"
In 1972, Shand went into semi-retirement.[1] From then he played only small venues in out-of-the-way places for a reduced fee. He was made a freeman of Auchtermuchty in 1974, North East Fife in 1980 and Fife in 1998. He became Sir Jimmy Shand in 1999.[1] His portrait is in the Scottish National Gallery, close to Niel Gow. In 1983, he released a retrospective album with the cheeky title The First 50 Years.[3] At the age of 88, he recorded an album and video with his son, Dancing with the Shands.[1]
More than 330 compositions are credited to Jimmy Shand. He recorded more tracks than the Beatles and Elvis Presley combined.[citation needed] In 1985, British Rail named a locomotive Jimmy Shand. He was dissatisfied with the chromatic button-key accordions available on the market in the 1940s so he designed his own one. The Hohner company manufactured the "Shand Morino" until the 1970s. He is the only artist worldwide to have his name used by the Hohner company as a model name for a musical instrument.[citation needed] There is a biography The Jimmy Shand Story: The King of Scottish Dance Music by Ian Cameron (2001). A number of his older recordings have been re-released by Beltona Records.
Since the 1950s the crowd at Dunfermline Athletic F.C. have left the ground after the game to the sound of Shand's "The Bluebell Polka".[4][5]
^"Today in Masonic History - James "Jimmy" Shand is Born".
Howard, Rob (2003) An A to Z of the Accordion and related instruments Stockport:Robaccord Publications ISBN0-9546711-0-4, p. 98
External linksedit
The Beltona Record Company – Jimmy Shand unavailable 6 July 2022
Official website
December 15, 2023
jimmy, shand, footballer, footballer, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, schol. For the footballer see Jimmy Shand footballer This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jimmy Shand news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sir James Shand MBE 28 January 1908 23 December 2000 was a Scottish musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion 1 His signature tune was The Bluebell Polka Jimmy ShandShand statue in AuchtermuchtyBackground informationBorn 1908 01 28 28 January 1908East Wemyss in Fife ScotlandDied23 December 2000 2000 12 23 aged 92 GenresScottish country dance MusicWebsitewww wbr jimmyshand wbr com Contents 1 Life and career 2 Works 3 References 4 External linksLife and career editJames Shand was born in East Wemyss in Fife Scotland son of a farm ploughman turned coal miner and one of nine children 1 2 The family soon moved to the burgh of Auchtermuchty The town now boasts a larger than life sized sculpture of Shand His father was a skilled melodeon player Jimmy started with the mouth organ and soon played the fiddle At the age of 14 he had to leave school and go down the mines He played at social events and competitions His enthusiasm for motor bikes turned into an advantage when he played for events all round Fife In 1926 he did benefit gigs for striking miners and was consequently prevented from returning to colliery work One day Shand and a friend were admiring the instruments in the window of a music shop in Dundee His friend said It wouldn t cost you to try one so Shand walked in and strapped on an accordion citation needed The owner Charles Forbes heard Shand play and immediately offered him a job as travelling salesman and debt collector 1 He soon acquired a van and drove all over the north of Scotland He switched to the British chromatic button accordion an instrument he stuck with for the rest of his life Being a keen motorcyclist Shand was also an enthusiastic supporter and spectator at the annual Isle of Man TT races He also sponsored a motorcycle road racer from Errol Perthshire called Jack Gow a multiple Scottish Motorcycle Racing champion and later a motorcycle dealer in Dundee Jack Gow was the son of Andy Gow who drove the bus which transported the Shand tour Shand s interest in motorcycles began when a boyfriend of his sister had problems with his bike which had broken down Shand repaired it and was allowed to use it citation needed He failed an audition for the BBC because he kept time with his foot At a time when gramophones were very much luxury items he made two records for the Regal Zonophone label in 1933 His career took off when he switched to making 78s for the Beltona label 1935 1940 1 Most of the Beltona recordings were solo but he experimented with small bands This boosted sales He appeared in a promo film shown in cinemas While the image showed his fingers moving in a blur Shand was disappointed to hear the sound track playing a slow air He was prevented from joining the RAF by a digestive disorder and spent the war years in the Fire Service On New Year s Day morning in 1945 he made his first broadcast with Jimmy Shand and his Band 1 This was the first of many such BBC radio and television appearances Works editSoon after the war he became a full time musician 1 and adopted a punishing life style later adopted by rock bands citation needed He would play Inverness one night London the next night and still drive the van back to bed in Dundee citation needed He took his trademark bald head Buddy Holly spectacles and full kilted regalia Scottish reels jigs and strathspeys to Australia New Zealand and North America including Carnegie Hall in New York citation needed Now on the EMI Parlophone label he released one single per month in the mid 1950s including his only top 20 hit in the UK Singles Chart The Bluebell Polka 1955 3 It was produced by George Martin He was awarded an MBE in 1962 1 This period is remembered affectionately by Richard Thompson who played Shand tunes on his Henry the Human Fly and Strict Tempo albums Thompson s Scottish father had been a keen Shand collector citation needed In 1991 Thompson paid tribute to Shand with an original song Don t Sit on My Jimmy Shands from his 1991 album Rumor and Sigh Call me precious I don t mind 78s are hard to find You just can t get the shellac since the war This one s the Beltona brand Finest label in the land They don t make them like that any more from Don t Sit on My Jimmy Shands In 1972 Shand went into semi retirement 1 From then he played only small venues in out of the way places for a reduced fee He was made a freeman of Auchtermuchty in 1974 North East Fife in 1980 and Fife in 1998 He became Sir Jimmy Shand in 1999 1 His portrait is in the Scottish National Gallery close to Niel Gow In 1983 he released a retrospective album with the cheeky title The First 50 Years 3 At the age of 88 he recorded an album and video with his son Dancing with the Shands 1 More than 330 compositions are credited to Jimmy Shand He recorded more tracks than the Beatles and Elvis Presley combined citation needed In 1985 British Rail named a locomotive Jimmy Shand He was dissatisfied with the chromatic button key accordions available on the market in the 1940s so he designed his own one The Hohner company manufactured the Shand Morino until the 1970s He is the only artist worldwide to have his name used by the Hohner company as a model name for a musical instrument citation needed There is a biography The Jimmy Shand Story The King of Scottish Dance Music by Ian Cameron 2001 A number of his older recordings have been re released by Beltona Records Since the 1950s the crowd at Dunfermline Athletic F C have left the ground after the game to the sound of Shand s The Bluebell Polka 4 5 References edit a b c d e f g h i j Colin Larkin ed 2002 The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music Third ed Virgin Books p 387 ISBN 1 85227 937 0 Obituary Sir Jimmy Shand the Guardian 27 December 2000 a b Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 493 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Former voice of East End Park dies at 88 Today in Masonic History James Jimmy Shand is Born Howard Rob 2003 An A to Z of the Accordion and related instruments Stockport Robaccord Publications ISBN 0 9546711 0 4 p 98External links editThe Beltona Record Company Jimmy Shand unavailable 6 July 2022 Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jimmy Shand amp oldid 1183413752, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
