Dick Gaughan | Artist

Dick Gaughan is a Scottish guitarist, singer and songwriter born 1948 in Glasgow. He is particularly known for traditional folk and social protest songs, and is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Gaughan grew up surrounded by the music of both Scotland and Ireland. His mother, a Highland Scot from Lochaber who spoke Gaelic, had as a child won a silver medal for singing at a Gaelic Mòd. His father, a native of Leith, played guitar. His Irish-born paternal grandfather played the fiddle and his paternal grandmother, a Glaswegian born to Irish parents, played button accordion and sang. The family experienced considerable poverty, but the area they lived in possessed a strong community spirit and many of Gaughan's songs celebrate his working-class roots. Gaughan's first album release in 1972 was the superb No More Forever, with Aly Bain supporting on Fiddle. The following year Gaughan and Bain joined Cathal McConnell and Robin Morton from Edinburgh to form the group The Boys of The Lough. He stayed for one self-titled album then left to form the Celtic Rock band Five Hand Reel. Gaughan recorded three albums with Five Hand Reel before leaving to focus on solo work. In 1978 he recorded the superb Gaughan album and in 1981 delivered his masterpiece Handful of Earth, which was lauded by folk publications as the "album of the decade". Gaughan stepped up his political activism both in song and in action during the Thatcher years and was fully involved in the UK miner's strike between 1984-85. To-date Gaughan has released 17 studio albums including collaborations, standouts include No More Forever (1972), Kist o' Gold (1976), Gaughan (1078), Handful of Earth (1981), A Different Kind of Love Song (1983), Sail On (1996), and Outlaws & Dreamers (2001). Gaughan was also a member of the short lived band Clan Alba which released one excellent self-titled album in 1995. Dick Gaughan's artistry and passion have made him one of the UK's greatest folk artists of his period. Gaughan's live performances are noted for their passion and intensity. According to The Rough Guide to World Music "his passionate artistry towers like a colossus above three decades."

Artist Website: dickgaughan.co.uk

Featured Albums: Dick Gaughan

Related Artists: The Boys of The Lough, Five Hand Reel, The High Level Ranters, Andy Irvine, Clan Alba