Sleeve Notes
For three years now, I've been meandering through Scotland with one of the country's finest guitarists, Billy Davidson of the strong white teeth, Omar Sharif moustache, and bright intelligent green eyes. During that time, I have watched him develop as a performer and as a writer whose quick mind and fingers can make a guitar speak poetry and can transform a simple experience into a memorable composition.
His song, "Bonnie Drummore", is a fair example of what I mean. On an occasion when we were singing at the Ship Inn in that fair little town near the beautiful Mull of Galloway, we visited the nearby light-house, where the stocky, fresh-faced man in charge told us in a belligerent Belfast accent (every word of which dialect always strikes me as a declaration of war), "I am going to show you six Kingdoms." He proceeded from that unique position of vantage, to point out to us Wales, or a strip of it, The Isle of Man, Ireland, England and Scotland on which, of course, we were standing. "That's five", says Billy, just to prove he can count. The Belfast man pointed upwards. "And up there", says he, "is the Kingdom of Heaven", On the road back, Billy began to compose this haunting song, which I am sure will linger with the listener for life from the moment it is heard on this album.
Taxi-drivers of Glasgow, will laugh with Billy, taking a wee bit of the mickey out of the Kings of the Road; while Derby County and Leeds United supporters will find it difficult to refute Billy's contention in "Song of the Anglo-Scots", that their teams would be in great difficulty but for the Scotsmen in their ranks.
For seventeen weeks, Billy Davidson charmed Central Scottish T.V. viewers on the programme, "A Better Class of Folk". Robin Hall, Jimmie McGregor, John Cairney, Cliff Hanley and myself will endorse that a better class of musician, singer and composer would be difficult to find.
Listen to this album and you'll want to listen again and again and again.