Aly Bain Shetland Fiddler turns 80!

Aly Bain Shetland Fiddler turns 80,

Happy birthday Aly!......He is a leading voice on the Scottish folk scene – unassuming and supremely talented. He learned the Shetland fiddle style on the lap of his teacher. He’s a founder of the Transatlantic Sessions: begun in 2005 and in 2026 in its 31^st year. Along with master dubro player American Jerry Douglas, Bain is a musical director of this classy and accomplished TS band. 

Aly Bain & Nicola Benedetti

Aly performed with the renowned violinist Nicola Benedetti at the Celtic Connections opening concert 2012, along with Phil Cunningham. Benedetti was intrigued to learn the Shetland fiddle techniques. 

Aly Bain Transatlantic Sessions

My Review for The Transatlantic Sessions 2026

Aly Bain drives deep into the emotions, as he played his subtle and expressive Shetland fiddle with his expert ease on Hector the Hero set. 

The quality TS band are always tight and impressive, the glue for this concert. As we leave to brave the cold January night air, we are heartened by the jovial warmth and musical energy of this ever popular concert!

 

Like a musical river from Tennessee to Nashville to west Kerry, than to Shetland and to Pathhead Midlothian. As Mattea described, the colourful, one off collaborating at Celtic Connections lead to arteries “like the roots of a tree that lead to different accents – and make the collaborating more sweet.” Like a fascinating patchwork quilt with the variety and range of musical styles and genres that challenge and add musical colour to our lives.

 

The show's seasoned house band, guided as ever by Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas, features renowned Celtic and Americana roots musicians John Doyle, Michael McGoldrick, Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison de Groot, John McCusker, Donald Shaw, James Mackintosh, and Daniel Kimbro.

I’ve been taking photos at the Transatlantic Sessions since 2008! 

There’s a large archive of TS photos on my website – https://pkimage.co.uk/celticconnections

He continues to tour with accordion player and pianist and composer Phil Cunningham.

 

The Richest Songs

The money in music is in song royalties - cover versions, radio airplays, film rights, adverts, youtube hits (60p per 1,000 plays), Karoke and so on. The Beatles were the first artists to blaze this path by writing their own songs. 
 

Young artists be warned though over the small print if signing a contract to a music publisher. Van Morrison has lost out on all the royalty revenues for his song Brown Eyed Girl (10m radio airplays) - because of the deal he signed in New York at 21 in which he was given a royalty rate that was virtually nil. 
  

The most successful bands spilt any royalties equally between them - U2, Coldplay etc.

Interestingly the woman create the hits, wheras men create the cult hits - as seen in this top ten list as most of the songs are about love, loss, longing, regret, heartbreak...  

Happy Birthday is the number one richest songs, written by school teachers the Hill sisters. Christmas songs are always big money earners and oddly many are written by Jewish songwriters.     

Top Ten Richest Songs

Happy Birthday, 30m

White Christmas, 24m 

You've Lost That Loving Feeling, 20.5m

Yesterday, 19.5m 

Unchained Melody, 18m

Stand By Me, 17m

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, 16m

Every Breath You Take,13.5m

Pretty Woman, 13m
The Christmas Song 12.5m  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/The_Richest_Songs_in_the_World/