This week”s Album Of The Week is from Scotland’s own national treasure Barbara Dickson’s  with her ‘b4 seventy-four’ double CD taken from the tapes of her folk club years up to 1974 when as she said her career took a different turn and she ‘went off and became a pop star for ten years’.  

Barbara had the tapes for several years and had been in conversation with her friend and fellow musician Rab Noakes who said she should ‘do something with them’ which she did along with the help and expertise of Rab. Barbara’s long and distinguished career took her from the folk clubs to not only her home country  but to international recognising and stardom.

From her stage career with acclaimed performance in John Paul,  George, Ringo & Bert; Blood Brothers, Chess, The 7 Ages of Women, Friends Like This; A Slice of Saturday Night; Spend Spend Spend and Fame. To her unforgettable TV rolls from Band of Gold and Taggart to mention but two, while all the time still singing and performing worldwide.

Barbara has received many awards in recognition of her significant contribution to the Arts over the years. In her most recent years an OBE and in 2012 an Honorary Doctor of Music from The Royal Conservatorie of Scotland (not forgetting her TMSA Lifetime Membership Award!)

This CD affords the older listening public some wonderful nostalgic days of the folk clubs and lets a newer generation hear her early years for the first time.  This double CD is packed with the ‘well kent’ songs of Scotland and the popular songs of the 1960’s and 70’s and is a complete treat to listen to.

You can catch Barbara’s in concert in Hamilton Town House on Saturday 23 March at  7.30pm as part of The Young At Heart Festival in South Lanarkshire  as well as here on Celtic Music Radio in conversation with Liz Clark 18:00 on Monday 18 March on Album of The Week programme.