“Is the opinion of Barbara Dickson on the quality of the instrumental playing, of any consequence?”
She is a very accomplished musician herself, both on guitar and piano, as well as being a stunning singer, so is very well qualified to express an opinion, having worked pretty consistently in both folk music and musical theatre for around 50 years. She has been given two Olivier Awards for her stage work, and an OBE for her contributions to music and drama.
She returned to live in Scotland in 2015, and has since gone back to her folk roots, with some fabulous concerts, but has just been doing a farewell tour prior to retiring. She has some equally talented musicians in her band.
There was a TV documentary about her in 2012, in which she is filmed singing with Archie Fisher accompanying her on guitar. Sandy Bell’s is mentioned in the discussion.
She was our headline guest at Linlithgow Folk Festival a few years back, and was both polite and charming, no big diva airs and graces. She kindly gave me one of her CDs for having looked after her merchandise table.
As Johnny Jay says, her remarks may have been taken out of context, and as meself says, she may just be “another old person grumbling about how things have changed”.