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The Strangers
in 1961:
(left to right)
Doug Halliday (rhythm)
Ally Cattanach (bass)
George Phillip (drums)
Stuart Mitchell (vocals)
Alan Ramsay (lead) |
1961 was a great year. Guitar music was everywhere and The Strangers wanted to be part of it. Alan Ramsay traded his flat top Spanish model for a new Burns Vibra Artist and a Watkins amp. Doug Halliday also bought his first guitar, a New England sunburst cutaway cello, and I decided to buy a Burns Artist bass.
Armed with their Play In A Day and Shirley Douglas Bass books, we were on the road to stardom, (or so they thought!)
Alan was the lead guitarist, simply because he had being playing longest. I played bass, because Alan thought I would be good at it! That's all I needed. I was off and running. Doug learned as many chords as he could, and eventually managed to do the changes without duffing the strings.
Shadows music was the program and we managed to knock off tunes like Apache, The Stranger (hence the group's name) and Kon-Tiki. Alan became pretty good with that Burns, and later, Doug added a pick up to his hollow body guitar, and a Watkins amp similar to Alan's, while I, who had been playing my bass through a 5 watt Truvoice amp (what did they know?), traded up to a larger off brand bass amp. I immediately took it home and added a set of castors to it!
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Strangers on Stage 1961
(l to r) Doug Halliday, George Phillip, Stuart Mitchell, Ally Cattanach (ME), Alan Ramsay |
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After the addition of George Phillip on drums and Stuart Mitchell, a pal of Alan's from work, and an Elvis fan, the guys became a 'group'. Now, Stuart needed a little persuasion, but he finally compromised his beliefs and started singing some Cliff numbers.
The group was hired eventually for local gigs, mainly youth group dances, for which they were paid 'expenses'. That usually meant they would have a good time and be out of pocket at the end of it. Looking ahead, Doug bought his first solid body guitar, a 3 pickup Hofner V3, complete with whammy bar, even though he was the rhythm guitarist, but in the privacy of his own bedroom he KNEW he was really Hank.
The group stayed together for about a year, and then split up. Alan became lead guitarist for Clint and the Tornadoes, while I went on to play for various local bands, carving out a reputation for myself as a pretty good and reliable bassist. George and Stuart quit showbiz all together, while Doug continued on being Hank in his bedroom! |
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Left: Re-union in Rochester, New York, 1997: (l to r) Doug, Ally and Alan.
Right: Doug and me also teamed up to play for us at Shadowmania North America 2001. |
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Through the years, Alan played in a local lounge and then eventually emigrated to the USA. Doug followed suit and he and Alan now reside in Rochester NY. Doug plays mostly as 12 string rhythm guitarist on his church worship team but still loves to be part of the Celtic Strings at the Toronto Shadows Club.
Alan is now a bass player for a working band, Joey T and the Formula in the Rochester area, and although I gave up playing for a while I managed to come from Scotland in 1997 to re-unite and play a bit with my old pals.
I also was on stage at Shadowmania NA with Doug performing Dakota. I came 3,000 miles to hear a moothie!! I have probably played more than any of the group. I was also with the band "Telstar", supporting "Shane Fenton & The Fentones" with that well known bassman Mr Bill Bonney. That was at Bridge of Allen 1961-62. My claim to fame was having Dusty Springfield hug me and kiss me on the cheek on the last night of her tour. I have not washed my face since! |
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The picture above shows me (far left) playing Bass
in 1961-1962 in Dundee playing in the Band "Telstar". |
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In the above movie clip above you can see me (middle) playing with Doug Halliday and Colin McGuffin at Shadowmania North America in Toronto 2001 |
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