McPeake Family

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Jan 21 - 11:26 AM

sounds more like Ballamory to me

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: GUEST,anonymous
Date: 07 Jan 21 - 04:31 AM

A question about their song the Ould Piper. In another (closed) thread the lyric is given as "He lived in the town of Ballaboreen" but I hear Aghamore. Which is correct? In the McPeake recording I heard it sounds definitely like Aghamore.

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 22 Dec 20 - 11:41 AM

James McPeake talking about playing in Moscow - he thought they had been asked to go to Glasgow! ;)


https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076ppm

> @ ~ 45:35

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 02:34 PM

Thanks Jim - I have no doubt you're right - my knowledge of the song screeches to a halt with Tannahill - just peeped at the old thread to confirm that I was right about that
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Jim McLean
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 02:05 PM

Jim Carroll, I think you'll find that Braes of Bowhether, by John Hamilton, published in Edinburgh in 1796 was a steal from Burns' "And I'll Kiss Thee Yet", published in 1788 (compare lyrics and melody). Tannahill's song was set to a different melody, "The Three Carles o' Buchanan" with different words but Robert A Smith set it to the same melody as Burns' song which, as already stated, was copied by John Hamilton.

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Thompson
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 12:42 PM

Incidentally, it's An Chualainn (The Coolin) that they're playing here.

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Vin2
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 06:16 AM

S'pose that's the thing about 'folk' song/music Jim, the longer a song/tune lasted and got passed down the cloudier the ownership got.

The styles and variations of songs/tunes past down makes it all the more fascinating and enjoyable to the researcher and listener/performer tho understandably, as p'raps in this case, upsets those claiming original ownership. Probably doesn't won't happen as much in the future with modern archiving, recording & copywriting technology etc ?

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 03:54 AM

Many thanks to all for your assistance - I found somebody with a cassette last night and managed to copy the notes.
Regarding the ownership dispute; not so long ago we had the McPeake family here as guest speakers/performers at the Willie Clancy Summer School and it was obvious that the affair still rankles with them.
Originally an art song or not, I still find both the Scots and Irish versions stunningly beautiful.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: GUEST,Ewan McVicar
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 03:30 AM

A few years ago a Northern Irish song collector sang me in Scotland a version he'd got long before from I think a pub landlady. The version was rather half-way between Balquidder and WMT, suggesting that the song was in transition before Middle Francie McPeake possibly worked on it.
Ewan

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Little Robyn
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 04:03 PM

According to old Francie McP, he heard his Uncle sing 'it' years before. Now, was the song his Uncle sang actually the Braes and then Francie misremembered it and thus WMT was born or was the Uncle responsible for the metamorphosis of an art song into a 'folk' song?
Has anyone sorted that out yet?
I guess it was someone in the McPeake family, whoever.
Robyn

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 10:30 AM

The Ossian cassettes were generally reissues, IIRC, so what was the original called, cat no etc?
Derek

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 09:22 AM

"Francis McPeake was the author...."
Weeeeelllll !!
Wild Mountain Thyme is a variant of the Scots song Braes of Balquidder (Robert Tannahill), which in its turn was a re-write of an earlier song - Braes of Bowhether, by John Hamilton, published in Edinburgh in 1796. .

From a previous thread
"This is Robert Tannahill's original from Graham's/Wood's 'Songs of Scotland'. Frank McPeake's Irish version of this, "Wild Mountain Thyme"

There was a legal wrangle involving Rod Stewart, in which the Mcpeake's came off somewhat the worse for wear.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 09:05 AM

It's not a rumour. He is.

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Vin2
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 09:02 AM

I still have this album, bought in the late 60's i think and the sleeve cover is a photagraph of he family sat around a living room fire. There was a rumour once that Francis McPeake was the author of Wild Mountain Tyme - or did i imagine that ??

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:39 AM

Thanks Paul
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: McPeake Family
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:25 AM

Not that, but there is this:

http://gonzo-archive.blogspot.com/2009/09/mcpeake-family-fontana-tl5214.html

Subject: McPeake Family
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:04 AM

Don't suppose anybody could let me have a copy of the notes and track listing of the Ossian cassette of The McPeake Family (Ossian 76) - seem to have lost mine.
Thanks in advance.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: The McPeakes
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 13 Feb 09 - 05:05 PM

For more of the McPeake Family, there's Folktrax 071. $18 from CAMSCO.
TRacklist:Maidrin Rua - My Singing Bird - Marches - Bonny Bunch Of Roses-O - Reel - Dord Faine - Blackbird - Erin The Tear - Lament For Aughrim - Verdant Braes Of Skreen - Coulin - Siuban Ni Ghiuibhir - Jigs - Carrick Down - Se Fa Mo Mhughrach - Road To Ballynure - Seothin Seo - Wild Mountain Thyme (Will You Go Lassie Go?)

Subject: The McPeakes
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 13 Feb 09 - 02:37 PM

A little something to warm the cockles on a cold February night!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlS1spbuSbo