|
28 Nov 99 - 05:07 AM (#141654) Subject: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Robbobell@aol.com I have wondered what ever happened to one of my favorite singers on the planet, Mick Broderick, a founding member of Scotland's Whislebinkies. I know after he left the band he appeared on a compilation LP some years ago with a barely decipherable song about shipbuilding called "Make Way for the Actual Q4" or somthing like that (I would LOVE to find the lyrics to that!). If you have never heard the Whistlebinkies they are alive and well (sans Mick) and can be described as Scotlands version of the Chieftains and Mick has a voice as sweet as Ronny Drew of the Dubliners! Regard |
|
28 Nov 99 - 07:41 PM (#141871) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Susanne (skw) As far as I know Mick is alive and fairly well, living on the Isle of Arran with his wife. The last few times I saw him were at the 1992, 1993, 1994 Glasgow Folk Festivals. It is said that outside the Festival his wife keeps him on Arran and out of harm's (i.e. the bottle's) way. However, he not only has a voice like Ronnie Drew, he's also one of the greatest raconteurs alive. I remember him one night in the Victorian Bar of the Tron Theatre which was the main festival venue, telling a story that must have rambled on for an hour. I can't remember what it was about, but the sheer stamina was impressive. People were riveted - not everybody, perhaps, but certainly those who weren't used to him. On the other hand, the shout 'Broderick's abroad!' could lead to hurried relocations and hiding of available bodhrans (no good, he always brings his own ...). He's a real character! - Susanne |
|
14 Mar 07 - 05:31 AM (#1996129) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST,Big Mick Broderick Thank you for your kind complements. Just to let you know Iam alive and well. and still doing my bit for Scottish folk music, although in a renegade sense. I am always available for story telling gigs and foot stompin nights.If I can push past the trendy folk lot. May you always have joy and happiness in good music.This I do always strive for. Big Mick. Aye ready |
|
14 Mar 07 - 06:15 AM (#1996150) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Jack Campin Wasn't the Q4 song by Matt McGinn? I'm sure I've heard somebody do it at one of the Linlithgow Matt McGinn nights. |
|
14 Mar 07 - 08:21 AM (#1996245) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Jim McLean Hi Mick, Good to hear you on Mudcat. I'll get in touch the next time I'm in Scotland ... waiting for another funeral! Slainte, Jim PS I still have that pencil sketch of you done in the Scotia. |
|
14 Mar 07 - 08:22 AM (#1996249) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST,Scabby Douglas (working) Yeah "The Ballad Of The Q4" was one of Matt McGinn's. In "One Singer, One Song", Ewan McVicar firmly associates the singing of the song with Mick, and indeed also says that the "actual Q4" line is Mick's. Gaun yersel, Mick. |
|
02 Sep 08 - 10:59 AM (#2428776) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST,Whistlebinkies To bring the news of Mick up to date, we were chating to him yesterday (1/9/2008) on Byres Road, Glasgow. He's recovering well after a spell in hospital in July during which Mark Hayward, Eddie McGuire and Rab Wallace (who all play in the Whistlebinkies) visited him. Although he left the group in 1995, there was a reunion between Mick and the Whistlebinkies on September 26th, 2004. He appeared as a guest, featuring his singing of sea shanties (accompanied by some members of the group) at a Whistlebinkies' concert on The Tall Ship, berthed at Glasgow Harbour on the Clyde. He appears on 5 LPs and one CD compilation (Anniversary) that the Whistlebinkies recorded for Claddagh Records in the 1970s and 1980s. The group has now made 3 CDs for Greentrax. More information - including some photos and details of Mick during his time in the group - can be found on the group's website (www.whistlebinkies.net). In the near future we plan to create a compilation of some of Mick's stories and sea shanties. His most recent performance was on May 1st at the Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London, playing and singing with his new group Slip The Lead. The other musicians in the group were Jimmy Watret (guitar and voice) and Mark Hayward and Eddie McGuire (both in the Whistlebinkies, playing fiddle and flute respectively). This was a celebration, both of May Day and of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the CPB(ML). An account and photograph from this event can be found on www.workers.org.uk under "features". This group has also performed at Glasgow's West End Festival and at the Lismor Bar, for example. Mick was a founding member of The Whistlebinkies in the late 1960s, along with Jim Daily and Gordon Hotchkiss (who both left the group in 1975) shared great experiences with us all - including our amazing exchange tour of China in November, 1991. So we will be keeping in close touch with him! |
|
02 Sep 08 - 12:19 PM (#2428856) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Jack Blandiver May I just say that The Whistlebinkies 4, featuring Mick Broderick, is among my favourite albums of all time. His rendering of I Hae a Wife o' my Ain raises the hairs on the back of my neck to this day! |
|
26 Oct 08 - 10:30 AM (#2476467) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST,Jimmy McGill I`ve got an album here which says that the original Whistlebinkies were Sean McGhee and Jim Daly followed by Mick Broderick and George McGovern. This is a fact that seems to be overlooked in all the history pages. They recorded the first album in 1971 and although there is a claim that there was 5 members, there were only 4 members. |
|
01 Nov 08 - 02:02 PM (#2481760) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST,Kate Can i just say that Mick was in particularly fine voice on May 1st 2008 in the Conway Hall London. The acoustics of that hall are excellent as it was originally designed for chamber singing. Anyone who heard the speeches that evening would not have been at all surprised by the current economic crisis and more recent stuff on the website mentioned above( www.workers.org)gives some very practical ideas about what's to be done. Maybe a modern sea shantie could be written ( or new words to a traditional tune?) about throwing Mandy, George Osborne and Russian oligarchs overboard and making things in the real economy rather than fantasy money in the banking system? |
|
01 Nov 08 - 04:49 PM (#2481846) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST,Ewan McVicar A small point. Fiddler Jim's name is Daily not Daly. I wrote the lyric All The Tunes In The World about him, we were in various short-lived bands together. |
|
17 Jul 09 - 08:06 PM (#2682555) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST Ewan Rab Wallace here. Just to let you know that Mick passed away today. We are all heartbroken but remember the good times. Rab Wallace |
|
17 Jul 09 - 08:08 PM (#2682556) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST Messages for Mick can be left at whistlebinkies.co.uk |
|
18 Jul 09 - 05:37 AM (#2682703) Subject: OBIT: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Mick Tems When I was with Swansea Jack, during the 1970s, I stayed at Mick Broderick's home following a successful night at the Star Club in Glasgow. His friendly generosity and lively conversation, always proffering the whisky, made it a night to remembered and cherished. In fact, I'll always remember Mick's forceful endorsement: "Swansea Jack? Aye, a great little f--kin' band!" - it was one recommendation that we felt we couldn't publish! Glasgow is a wild, celtic city and Mick had a magnetic personality that typifies a wild, celtic Glaswegian musician. I'm about to type "Obit" on this thread - can any Mudelf possibly help me? Thanks. Mick Tems |
|
18 Jul 09 - 06:59 AM (#2682721) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Jim McLean A great friend of mine. I sometimes stayed with him and his sister when visiting Glasgow. Another character gone. |
|
18 Jul 09 - 09:43 AM (#2682783) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: GUEST,Mick West He will now become the stuff of legend but then he always was! God Rest. |
|
18 Jul 09 - 10:02 AM (#2682790) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: akenaton Cheers Mick...."Remember the Alamo". |
|
18 Jul 09 - 06:49 PM (#2683049) Subject: RE: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies From: Zany Mouse Maybe a Joeclone could convert this to an obit thread. Blessings Rhiannon |
|
19 Jul 09 - 09:38 AM (#2683277) Subject: Obit: Mick Broderick From: GUEST,John in Hamilton Mick is gone oan an' awa' |
|
19 Jul 09 - 10:07 AM (#2683284) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick From: Lizzie Cornish 1 I'm listening to Mick, right now, John and he's bringing a big smile. Mick and his stories - Audio links With love to his family. |
|
19 Jul 09 - 07:23 PM (#2683565) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick From: Susanne (skw) RIP, Mick, wherever you are! Hope you've joined the (too many) pals gone before you for some great music. More posts relating to Mick here. |
|
20 Jul 09 - 07:03 AM (#2683772) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: GUEST,Sean P I'll never forget how I felt when Mick sang Donald McGillivray as a request for me at a Whistlebinkies gig in the old Four Acres trust hall (now Cottiers). It had me utterly thrilled and he was one of the main reasons that I got into traditional music. You'll be well missed Mick, and I'd love to know what you've got to say to St. Peter! ;-) |
|
20 Jul 09 - 04:22 PM (#2684048) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: GUEST,John C There was a lot more to Big MICK BRODERICK than most of you know. We all know the singer, drummer and story teller, but did you know the wanderer, adventurer and surrogate father to his wee sister's wains. To Mick a stranger was just a friend whose name you didna know. He loved life, he lived it to the full and he fought like a demon to hang on to it. The world will be a much poorer place with his loss. Here's Tae ye and awes like ye Mick dammed few xxxxxxx |
|
28 Jul 09 - 05:25 AM (#2688616) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: jgc59 To answer Jimmy McGill, (Oct 08). Mick was a founder member of the whistlebinkies along with Jim Daly I think you will find. I am sure however that Jim could set us straight on that. |
|
29 Jul 09 - 02:48 AM (#2689383) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: Diva He was a great character and wonderful singer and storyteller. I was chatting with Stuart when the binkies were in Hawick last October and trying to get him to "explain" Mick to one of my pals...... A sair miss Kathy Hobkirk |
|
30 Jul 09 - 08:50 AM (#2690265) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: GUEST,Whistlebinkies There is an obituary for Mick in today's Herald newspaper 30.7.2009 with a photo or online at www.theherald.co.uk under 'obituaries'. There was a great turnout for his funeral on July 24 in Glasgow after which he was buried in the cemetery in Lamlash over looking the bay. That afternoon and evening his tunes and songs were played in tribute into the evening. |
|
05 Aug 09 - 07:07 AM (#2694048) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: Big Tim This obituary, which appeared in the Herald newspaper on 30 July 2009, was written by Eddie McGuire. Mick Broderick, who has died age 68, was a folk music pioneer. Born in the safety of the evacuation, just a few weeks after the [Clydebank] Blitz had devastated his home town, Broderick often commented that he 'had been bombarding audiences ever since'. His songs and tales were imbued with the wartime accounts and experiences of his childhood. The ruins and slow post-war rebuilding left an indelible mark on his formative years. However, it while he was working, from his late teens onwards, as a boilermaker and plater in the shipyards of Clydeside that his true skills as a raconteur and storyteller were honed. Billy Connolly has acknowledged the inspiration he gained from Broderick's wit at the time and by the mid-sixties they had – together with Tam Harvey – formed a productive hive of folk revival activity around the Scotia Bar in Glasgow's east end. In 1967, he began performing with Jim Daily on fiddle, Mick Murphy on guitar and, later, Mick Hotchkiss on concertina and vocals. He gathered them into a group, and inspired by the great poet Freddy Anderson, adopted the name The Whistlebinkies after the title of the poetry and song book of the same name published in Glasgow in 1832. And when John, Sandy, Zoe and Geordie McGovern joined, quite a distinct branch of the folk revival began to blossom. Those years were a hive of radical activities too and my first encounter with Mick was on one of several coaches heading to Aldermaston in 1963 for one of the big anti-H bomb marches to London. As a 14-year-old, I was overawed by this larger than life character who kept the whole bus laughing through the night with his tales. It was not until 1973 that I got to know him well. With Rob Wallace on pipes and Rhona MacKay on clarsach, his songs explored the more traditional Scottish repertoire, but his stories were always on the menu. He had the power to silence and hold the attention of the rowdiest pub. He was not prolific as a songwriter, but when he did create, it was a gem for a special purpose. His 'Girl on the Island' was dedicated to his late wife Irene when they lived together on Arran. 'Farewell to Kaustinen' was inspired by a festival in Finland and 'March on Maggie' for composed for the 1983 Glasgow to London People's March for Jobs. He was proud for gaining the approval of his peers by winning the intensely contested Patter Competition at the 1981 Glasgow International Folk Festival. Many of his stories and songs have now been archived on the Raretunes website. With 'this damn band that keeps following me around' he performed in most European countries, including the German Democratic Republic, where, uniquely, he recorded an LP in 1976 on the Amiga label. Several recordings for Claddagh Records in Dublin followed, as well as radio and television appearances. He famously duetted with David Essex on the top 20single 'Are You Still My True Love?'. In 1979, he played on the rock title track 'The Scattering' with the Cutting Crew (1988). He was part of the pioneering effort that helped create John Cage's Scottish Circus, premiered at the Musica Nova festival in Glasgow in 1990. He remembered his most exciting foray abroad as being the Whistlebinkies' 1991 exchange tour of China – starting in Beijing's Haidian Hall and ending up at the Hong Kong Folk Festival. He recounted that in Shanghai; children in the street would point and shout 'Karl Marx', no doubt confused by the large, greying beard. To celebrate his visit to China, Lynn Gray Ross on Arran created a special hand-spun 'blue bonnet' which, she recounts, Mick wore most of the time – a bit like Tam O'Shanter who wildly rode 'whiles holding fast his good grey bunnet'! Many more anecdotes will be recounted in the years ahead. To the end, he kept up his solidarity with the trades union movement, signing up while in shipbuilding and joining both Equity and the Musicians' Union as a performer. His last concert was on May Day last year at the 40th anniversary of Workers magazine in the Conway Hall, London. He made a great effort to get there, where I was privileged to perform with him and the new folk group he had formed with the guitarist and singer Jimmy Watret. Although he parted from the Whistlebinkies in 1995, he had a reunion in 2004, when he sung with the group on the Tall Ship berthed at Glasgow Harbour. His chosen songs that evening were perhaps his greatest legacy – the old sea shanties he had learned from his seafaring father. He had great hopes for touring again with his new group that he had titled Slip in the Lead. His last venture out was to join in the audience warming up at Oran Mor in Glasgow's west end in April for the chantey-singing RSAMD cast of 'A Play, a Pie and a Pint'. His old friend Joe O'Brien escorted him there and back and I greatly enjoyed some convivial music making with him in the company of Jimmie MacGregor and Sean McGhee. He is survived by his sister Anne, his stepchildren Mandy and Robin, by his companion Bertha, and his nephew John, who was with him at the end. Two notes by Big Tim. 1.700 people died in the Clydebank Blitz of 13/14 March 1941 and it was said that only two houses in the whole town escaped undamaged. 2. RSAMD = Royal Scottish Academy for Music and Drama. |
|
05 Oct 09 - 10:10 PM (#2739293) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: GUEST,GUEST, Whistlebinkies Another obituary for Mick has been published, in Workers magazine in its October 2009 issue. See on http://workers.org.uk/features/ |
|
14 Nov 09 - 06:51 AM (#2765838) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: bruceCMR This coming Wednesday, from 7pm-10pm (UK time) on Celtic Music Radio, Gordon Hotchkiss hosts a tribute and celebration of the life of the late Mick Broderick. In the studio with Gordon will be fellow friends Arthur Johnstone, Eddie McGuire, Sean McGhee & Jim Daly, and the programme will feature many anecdotes about his life, and many of Mick's songs and great tales. It goes out live at 7pm on Wednesday 18 November, repeated at 1am and noon on Thursday. 1530 kHz around Glasgow and at http://www.celticmusicradio.net |
|
18 Nov 09 - 01:54 PM (#2768563) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: bruceCMR Bump. |
|
28 Jun 11 - 09:59 AM (#3177758) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: GUEST,Whistlebinkies A great tribute to the memory of Mick is the inclusion of Alasdair Gray's portrait of him in the current 'Great British Art Show' in Glasgow. It's the first artwork you see on the left as you enter GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art)in Royal Exchange Square (G1 3AH). Alasdair created it in 2008 using pencil, watercolour, acrylic and oils. We were alerted to it when an old friend of the group spotted Mick hanging in a London gallery at the start of this touring exhibition! (For details of the galleries in the rest of the tour see www.britishartshow.co.uk). GOMA has it until August 21, 2011. |
|
11 Apr 21 - 06:51 PM (#4101915) Subject: RE: Obit: Mick Broderick of the Whistlebinkies (2009) From: GUEST I was, along with jim daly the original whistlebinkie mick broderick joined jim and myself then george mc goveran we played to gether for a number of years.mick and me shared a flat in the west end for10 years i also was micks best man at his wedding on arran. I with george mc goveran seem to have been rubed out of the real story of the binkies as the group was called at that time .beware of imitaions,, that is the abslute truth of the story |