|
Maureen
was born in Dundee, at 1 Little John Street, and moved to the Overgate
when she was three years old. Sadly, the Overgate has been replaced
by a shopping centre. Her singing was inherited from her mother,
who was a very good singer and would sing any song that took her
fancy from Scottish, Irish, Frank Sinatra and Carmen Miranda!! Maureen
would join in, even harmonising with her Mother from a very young
age. There was always company in the house most weekends, and there
would be a singsong where everyone would take a turn at singing
songs, which would include anything from Burns, popular ballads
and Dundee songs. Maureen was always asked to sing (even getting
out of bed to do so) but would only sing hiding behind her Mother
or sitting under the table! Most of her family worked in the jute
mills, so there would be many songs made up about them.
She moved to London at the age of
fifteen and gradually moved through the music scene, from rock and
roll, traditional jazz, blues and into folk clubs in the sixties.
Even though she loved to sing Maureen was very shy about singing
in front of anyone and thought that once she had mastered playing
the guitar, she would then be able to sing!
Having moved back to Scotland in 1970,
it was a few years before she was to discover the Scottish traditional
music scene; this was due to a friendship with fellow Dundonian
Christine Stewart who took her to her first Scottish folk festival,
which was in Kinross. For Maureen it was a revelation and a rediscovery
of her roots. She went on to compete in TMSA song competitions,
winning many, which not only gave her confidence but helped to rid
her of the shyness which had held her back for so many years. She
was forty years old when she entered and won her first competition.
Her love of harmony singing led her
to join other like-minded singers and perform with groups such as
Tapsalteerie, Palaver, the Dundee Rep's Women's Singing Group, and
as a duo with Sheena Wellington. In 1996 she went to work with a
professional theatre group, Northern Stage in Newcastle, to sing
as a traditional singer in a play by Spanish playwright Garcia Lorca
(directed by Alan Lydyard), and proved that traditional song can
be used as a medium in any setting. She has since taken part in
local theatre groups, the most recent being 'Yellow on the Broom'
by Betsy White. In 1991 she was one of the singers featured in the
television series for BBC2 'The Jean Redpath Song Masterclass'.
In the late 80s she also was one of the singers in a program, 'The
Working Year', about the fishing industry along with Archie Fisher.
She has also been involved in radio programs with Radio Scotland
and Radio Tay. In the last few years Maureen has also been involved
in teaching traditional songs in schools in Dundee and Fife, work
which she enjoys very much.
Maureen was very much influenced by
the late Belle Stewart and Mary Brooksbank and felt a close affinity
with their singing and their songs. Gordeanna McCulloch was another
influence and was one of the first singers Maureen heard at her
first Kinross Festival. With her obvious love of the songs, and
her great sense of fun, Maureen has proved to be a great favourite
at many festivals in Ireland and Britain as a solo artist, and as
part of the group Palaver, which includes Ailleen Carr and Chris
Miles. They have been joined recently by Pete Shepheard, Tom Spiers
and Arthur Watson, all great solo singers and instrumentalists in
their own right, to form the group Flash Company!
|
