Old Blind Dogs is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 musical group

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 which plays traditional Scottish folk music and Celtic music

Celtic music

Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

, with influences from rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

, jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 and Middle Eastern music

Middle Eastern music

The music of Western Asia and North Africa spans across a vast region, from Morocco to Afghanistan, and its influences can be felt even further afield. Middle Eastern music influenced the music of India, as well as Central Asia, Spain, Southern Italy, the Caucasus and the Balkans, as in chalga...

 rhythms. The three founding members of the band (Ian F Benzie, Buzzby McMillan and Jonny Hardie) first met during a so-called "buskers' holiday" in the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

 in 1990, and after playing together for the summer decided to call themselves "Old Blind Dogs". Dave Francis and Carmen Higgins joined the band soon afterwards, but left in 1992 before the recording of the first album, New Tricks. Since that time, the lineup of the band has changed frequently, with only Jonny Hardie remaining from the original group.

The Old Blind Dogs were named "Folk Band of the Year" at the Scots Trad Music Awards

Scots Trad Music Awards

The Scots Trad Music Awards celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and public attention.-2010:...

 in 2004 and 2007. Also in 2004, Jim Malcolm was named Songwriter of the Year. In 2001, the UK’s Association of Independent Music

Association of Independent Music

The Association of Independent Music is a non-profit trade body established in 1998 by UK independent record labels to represent the independent record sector, which constitutes approximately 25% of the UK market....

 selected their album Fit? as a finalist for the Celtic Album of the Year award.

The band was, until the departure of Jim Malcolm, unusual amongst Scottish folk groups in that it represented the folk tradition of the North-East of Scotland, having a repertoire that included many ballads from this particular area, often sung in the distinctive 'Doric

Doric dialect (Scotland)

Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the dialects of Scots spoken in the northeast of Scotland.-Nomenclature:...

' dialect of Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

 and the surrounding area.

The band have toured extensively, performing in Britain, the USA, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, and Russia.

Discography

1. New Tricks (1992)
2. Close To The Bone (1993)
3. Tall Tails (1994)
4. Legacy (1995)
5. Five (1997)
6. Live (1999)
7. The World’s Room (1999)
8. Fit? (2001)
9. The Gab o Mey (2003)
10. Play Live (2004)
11. Four On The Floor (2007)
12. Wherever Yet May Be (2010)

Band members

1990–92

• Ian F. Benzie (guitar, vocals)
• Jonny Hardie (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, backing vocals)
• Buzzby McMillan (cittern, bass)
• Carmen Higgins (fiddle)
• Dave Francis (percussion)
• Davy Cattanach (percussion) [joined 1991]

1992–96

• Ian F. Benzie
• Jonny Hardie
• Buzzby McMillan
• Davy Cattanach

1996–97

• Ian F. Benzie
• Jonny Hardie
• Buzzby McMillan
• Fraser Fifield (small pipes, saxophone)
• Davy Cattanach

1997–99

• Ian F. Benzie
• Fraser Fifield
• Graham Youngson (percussion)
• Jonny Hardie
• Buzzby McMillan

1999–2003

• Jim Malcolm (guitar, harmonica, lead vocals)
• Jonny Hardie (fiddle
  Fiddle
  The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , backing vocals)
• Buzzby McMillan
• Rory Campbell (whistle, border pipes, guitar, harmonica, backing vocals)
• Paul Jennings
  Paul Jennings
  Paul Jennings may refer to:* Paul Jennings , Australian children's author* Paul Jennings , UK humorist...
  
   (percussion) [left 2002]

2003–2006

• Jim Malcolm
• Jonny Hardie
• Rory Campbell
• Fraser Stone (drums, percussion)
• Aaron Jones (bouzouki
  Bouzouki
  The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
  
  , bass, backing vocals)

2007-2008

• Jonny Hardie (fiddle
  Fiddle
  The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals)
• Rory Campbell (border pipes, whistles
  Whistles
  Whistles is a clothing brand with 40 stores across Britain. It was founded in the early 1980s by Lucille and Richard Lewin.In January 2008, Jane Shepherdson, former Topshop director, signed a deal to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Whistles and was appointed the job of chief executive.-Style:In the...
  
  , vocals)
• Fraser Stone (percussion)
• Aaron Jones (bouzouki
  Bouzouki
  The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals)

2008-

• Jonny Hardie (fiddle
  Fiddle
  The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals)
• Ali Hutton (border pipes, whistles
  Whistles
  Whistles is a clothing brand with 40 stores across Britain. It was founded in the early 1980s by Lucille and Richard Lewin.In January 2008, Jane Shepherdson, former Topshop director, signed a deal to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Whistles and was appointed the job of chief executive.-Style:In the...
  
  )
• Fraser Stone (percussion)
• Aaron Jones (bouzouki
  Bouzouki
  The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals)

Old Blind Dogs member timeline, 1990 – present
Name	1990s										2000s										now
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Releases			New Tricks	Close to the Bone	Tall Tails	Legacy		Five		Live, The World's Room		Fit?		The Gab o Mey	Play Live			Four on the Floor
Ian F. Benzie	guitar, vocals
Jonny Hardie	fiddle, mandolin, guitar, backing vocals									fiddle, guitar, backing vocals								fiddle, guitar, vocals
Buzzby McMillan	cittern, bass
Carmen Higgins	fiddle
Dave Francis	percussion
Davy Cattanach		percussion
Fraser Fifield							small pipes, saxophone
Graham Youngson								percussion
Jim Malcolm										guitar, harmonica, lead vocals
Rory Campbell										border pipes, whistles, vocals
Paul Jennings Paul Jennings (musician) Paul Jennings is a Scottish drummer and percussionist. Born in Hull, he moved to the Shetland Islands aged 5 years old. Since 1998, Jennings has played with Scottish folk–world bands, including: Croft No. Five, Old Blind Dogs, Wolfstone, Treacherous Orchestra, and Fred Morrison...										percussion
Fraser Stone														drums, percussion				percussion
Aaron Jones															bouzouki, bass, backing vocals			bouzouki, guitar, vocals
Ali Hutton																			border pipes, whistles

External links

• Official website
• Green Linnet, the record label to which Old Blind Dogs is currently signed