"Coisich a' ruin" - Capercaillie
Traditional, arranged Capercaillie
Or, how to give Bruno Brookes a nightmare.
Part of the UncoolTwo50 project, marking the best singles from 1977-99.
Pop music was at a low ebb in 1992. Demographics meant there weren't many teenagers around, and we were fracturing into a zillion tribes - the grebos, the crusties, the goths, the celts.
Music from the Celtic fringes had always had a place, usually mid-evenings on Radio 2, jostling for space on the Folk Show. Enya had shown that it was possible to take Celtic music from Ireland, add some New Age sparkle, and turn it into a very attractive commercial proposition. Runrig had had decent success for Celtic rock from Scotland.
Capercaillie were the stereotype fiddle-and-dram band, updated for the nineties with electric guitar and judicious use of synthesisers. Karen Matheson is the lead singer and focal point, Donald Shaw the other songwriter.
"Coisich a' ruin" is the oldest song in this list, first recorded in the late 1500s. It's also the first of three songs not in English.
When released on "The prince among islands" ep, a slow sales week and very careful targeting of the Gallup cells allowed them to get into the GB-wide top 40 and earn plays on Radio 1. Which is a remarkable achievement: a song even older than Fluff Freeman on the chart show!
The folk scene is loyal to its performers; perhaps to a fault, as many seem trapped in the same music they've always made. Capercaillie have continued to perform, they've innovated a little, and I reckon they've inspired a lot - the fiddle-based entertainment, as much show as tune, might have helped us get the young Lindsey Stirling.
