11/10/2025
Sensational stuff – CM Radio presenter Hugh Taylor plays songs from the soon-forthcoming Dick Gaughan vinyl LP ‘Live at the BBC: 1972-79’ and interviews Dick at a vibrant pavement café in Edinburgh about his career.
Here’s the blurb (link to the show in comments):
He is folk music royalty and widely regarded as one of Scotland’s leading songwriters with many protest songs featuring in a distinguished career.
Dick Gaughan’s limited issue album, Live at the BBC 1972–79, contains ten songs from the box set R/evolution: 1969–83, which is due for release in January.
The songs have been drawn from archive performances at BBC Sessions and cover the ‘lost period’, where Dick’s historically and culturally significant early albums – No More Forever, Kist O’ Gold, and Songs of Ewan MacColl – are missing due to disputed rights.
Dick suffered a stroke in 2016 which forced him to retire.
Enter Colin Harper, a music biographer and journalist, who launched a Crowdfunder to raise enough money to produce the box set.
It was a huge success, breaching its initial target in less than a week and raised over £84,000. Colin was then able to expand the content and to make a substantial donation to Dick.
A second Crowdfunder has raised the legal fees to help Dick reclaim his music from decades of legal limbo.
Hugh Taylor caught up with Dick Gaughan, outside a busy café in Edinburgh.
They sat and blethered in the rain, under a wee canopy, with the sound of traffic, people walking past and the odd police siren in the background.
They talked about their first meeting nearly fifty years ago, Dick’s musical journey from his family’s Irish musical heritage, via Buddy Holly and The Beatles and onwards to becoming a full-time musician, and one of the most respected folk singers in the country.
As well as lots of interesting stories you can listen to nine of Dick’s songs from the record on our Album of the Week Show today at midday.
• ALBUM OF THE WEEK SHOW – Hugh Taylor in conversation with Dick Gaughan – Saturday, October 11, 2025 – midday.
Here’s the show – scroll down to the bottom right for the Mixcloud ‘play’ button:
https://www.celticmusicradio.net/album-of-the-week-dick-gaughan-live-at-the-bbc-1972-79/
No small irony that the radio station shares a name with the record company that is sitting on all his “lost” material. And that’d many others.
I remember visiting the Harrogate HQ of CM records, in about 1995, buying a few CDs from the fella in the house. It wasn’t easy to find, and didn’t seem used to having customers.
Indeed.
How’s the crowdfunded challenge going @Colin-H?
Awaiting reply to solicitor’s letter #1.
Hope you put itching powder in the envelope.
Thanks – I enjoyed Hugh Taylor’s interview with Dick in the Edinburgh café. Good stuff.
I know that there’ll be some copies of “Live at the BBC 1972-1979” available for purchase in November, but – for those of us foolish enough not to have submitted a pledge for the “R/Evolution” box set earlier in the year – is that completely sold out, or will there be more copies available?
Around 600 copies – aside from the 900 odd pre-sold via Kickstarter – will be on sale generally in January, via Last Night From Glasgow. It’s terrific stuff – having seen the film restoration and heard all the mastered audio. We’re currently 90% finished the two booklets (160 pages in total, perfect bound, c. 35,000 words of text and packed with rare / unpublished 70s and early 80s images). 🙂
I have just received an email with the programme for the 2026 Celtic Connections @Colin-H . I see that on Sunday 18/01/25, there will be ‘a Night for Dick Gaughan’ in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. It will feature a ‘stellar lineup’ details of which are still to be confirmed. Tickets to go on sale Thursday 16th October. I am sure that you know all about this Colin but I thought I would put it out there for any other interested parties. The whole event runs from 15/01/26 until 01/02/26 with the usual varied host of great musicians. I already have my tickets for Transatlantic Sessions which, as always, went on sale early. Full info on the Celtic Connections website.
Thank you, Cal – yes, I did indeed know about it, though wasn’t aware the listing was up now. Happily, the show’s curating is in the hands of others, but I do know two or three of the guests booked. It might be legendary!
@the-californian Thanks I may just pop up to that.
So, Col, you do know two or three of the guests booked but, presumably, you are ‘not at liberty to disclose the details at this time’. Go on, just a whisper……..
Nope!
Respect. You are, indeed, an honourable man.