Following a huge show at The SSE Hydro on Friday night Liam Gallagher, plus The Incredible String Band, Tide Lines, Cuban Brothers and Jake Duncan are the next list of huge nominees revealed by Nordoff Robbins ahead of the Specsavers Scottish Music Awards 2019 next weekend.
Nordoff Robbins are also delighted to reveal Red Hot Chilli Pipers will perform with nominee Tom Walker at the awards following the huge success of their collaboration on ‘Leave The Light On’. Fat Cops will also open proceedings, performing alongside the already announced Simple Minds, Twin Atlantic, Be Charlotte and Joesef.
Liam Gallagher is nominated for the ‘Best UK Artist Award’ Sponsored by Raymond Weil,The Incredible String Band are nominated for the ‘Living Legend Award’ Sponsored by Sir Reo Stakis Foundation,Tide Lines are nominated for the ‘Rising Sound of Scotland Award’ Sponsored by Gael Signature Scottish Gin, Cuban Brothers ‘Best International’ Sponsored by ROX – Diamonds & Thrills and finally Jake Duncan is nominated for ‘Music Business Award’ Sponsored by the Sunday Mail.
Regarded as an unmissable night in Scottish music, The Specsavers Scottish Music Awards is in its 21st year of raising vital funds for Nordoff Robbins, a charity that uses the power of music to enrich the lives of people all over the UK affected by life limiting illness, isolation or disability. The ceremony takes place in the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow on Saturday 30th November 2019.
Liam Gallagher’s new album ‘Why Me? Why Not.’raced to the top of the charts in biblical fashion with over 68,000 first week sales, which is the third biggest weekly sales figure of 2019. It outsold the remainder of the Top 5 and also became the year’s fastest selling vinyl release with 17,000 sales. With two #1 solo albums in less than two years, Liam Gallagher’s star quality remains undeniable with a total of 10 chart-topping albums in a career that spans 25 years. Nordoff Robbins are delighted to reveal Liam Gallagher as a nominee of this year’s Specsavers Scottish Music Awards.
Liam Gallagher said: “I love Scotland – it’s a beautiful country and they are beautiful people. They’ve always made me feel super welcome from day one, back in Oasis days and right through to today. It’s an honour to be nominated for Best UK Artist. If I don’t win, I still love you”.
Craig Leach from award sponsor Raymond Weil comments ahead of this year’s awards: “It is with great honour to once again support the largest independent music therapy charity in the UK and the vital work that they do, as well as sponsor the highly coveted Best UK Artist Award. With our UK Head Office located in Manchester, we are especially proud of Liam’s nomination – our city has a vast and varied music history and Liam Gallagher and Oasis form huge part of that. Since 1976, Nordoff Robbins has been committed to changing the lives of vulnerable and isolated people and we are extremely proud to have witnessed the charity’s dedication first-hand.”
The Incredible String Band were formed in Edinburgh in 1966 and quickly built up a following on the U.K. folk music circuit. DJ John Peel championed their records on his programmes, The Perfumed Garden on the Radio London pirate station and Top Gear on the BBC. They achieved considerable chart success with albums such as 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion and The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter. Their famous fans include Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, David Bowie and Jackson Browne. The group toured the world selling out venues such as the Royal Albert Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York. In 1969, they became the ONLY Scottish act to appear at the historic Woodstock Festival … sharing a bill with Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Santana and Joe Cocker. This year – 2019 – is the 50th anniversary of that iconic music event and so Nordoff Robbins are thrilled to nominate the band for the coveted award.
Tide Lines’ sound has been described as a combination of Celtic soul, folk philosophy and big guitars with the voice of a Gaelic angel in singer and chief songwriter Robert Robertson. The band – Robert Robertson on guitar and vocals, Ross Wilson on keyboards, Ali Turner on guitar, and Gus Munro on drums – who all hail from rural Scotland apart from Glaswegian Gus, first emerged in the summer of 2016 with the release of their debut single, ‘Far Side Of The World’. The following year they self-released their debut album ‘Dreams We Never Lost’, which has become something of a runaway success north of Hadrian’s Wall and has led to the band selling out shows across the Highlands and Islands, from Glasgow to John O’Groats and all points in-between. The enthusiasm the band encountered when they took their show further south for a number of shows last year confirmed that the word of mouth on Tide Lines is unstoppable. Catch them now while you can still see the whites of their eyes.
Tide Lines said: “We’re totally delighted to get this nomination and for the chance to perform as part of such a prestigious line-up. It looks like it’s going to be a great night and, most importantly, it’s for a brilliant cause in Nordoff Robbins.”
From sold-out tours, festival spots and support slots for rock royalty to crazy club nights, film roles and fashion shows, The Cuban Brothers’ unparalleled act is ingrained in pop culture. Two decades since their inception, Miguel and his suspect sidekicks are renowned the world over for their party-starting skills, risqué sketches, B-boy moves and funk-fueled music. Everywhere from the Far East to South America, from Brisbane to Bahrain, from the Gumball rally to the F1 circuit has fallen for the Hawaiian suit-sporting crew and their outrageous, X-rated antics. The Cuban Brothers’ Scottish comedy act Bridge & Allan will also appear at this year’s Specsavers Scottish Music Awards.
Jake Duncan celebrates his 46th anniversary in the music industry in 2019. His first job was as an £8-a-week roadie for The Bay City Rollers in the 1970’s and he later became the band’s tour manager at the peak of Rollermania. Over the years, Jake has worked as a Tour Manager, Tour Accountant and Promoter’s Rep for a veritable Who’s Who of rock. In 1986, he tour managed Wham! on their historic visit to China … and later performed the same role for George Michael as a solo artist. He has also worked with The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Ozzy Osbourne, Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, JLS, Olly Murs, Westlife and Paul Potts. He is currently on the road with Little Mix on their latest sell out tour.
Set to perform on the evening, Fat Cops and Red Hot Chilli Pipers are also added to this year’s proceedings. Fat Cops specialise in what they describe as ‘hip-shakin’, garage-groovin’, punk-glam chaos’. Their self-titled debut album was released in March this year to rave reviews – it was described as having ‘the relentless, surreal thunder of The Fall’ coupled with ‘the melodic sensibilities of the Dave Clark Five’, and also as sounding like ‘200 little boys fighting under a blanket’. ‘If Black Grape had favoured Crunchies instead of crack they might have sounded this sweet’, said one reviewer. Fat Cops recently supported Happy Mondays on the Scottish leg of their greatest hits tour and lived to tell the tale. They enter the studio to record their second album early next year.
‘Bagpipes with Attitude’, ‘Drums with a Scottish accent’, a blazing rock band and a show so hot it should carry its own health warning. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers were voted Scotland’s ‘Live Act of the Year in 2007 and 2010 at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Since they walked away with the top prize on UK primetime TV talent show, ‘When Will I Be Famous’ in 2007, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers haven’t stopped for a breath, other than to inflate their bagpipes. Taking their signature ‘Bagrock’ sound to the masses, The Chillis have fast become a global phenomenon, rocking far-flung shores from Melbourne to Milwaukee and everywhere in between.
The Red Hot Chilli Pipers will perform with Tom Walker at this year’s Specsavers Scottish Music Awards following the huge success of the Nordoff Robbins fundraising single ‘Leave a Light On’ which has almost 1 million streams on Spotify.
Nordoff Robbins have revealed the legendary Simple Minds are set to take to the stage alongside one of the biggest breakthrough artists of the last year, Tom Walker plus Joesef, and Be Charlotte. Lewis Capaldi and Auntie Flo have also been revealed as nominees. New for 2019, the awards will be hosted by Scotland’s very own Edith Bowman.