Shetland-Music.com

The Shetland Museum and Archives, in partnership with Shetland Arts, is to show an exclusive preview of a documentary on Shetland musician Thomas Fraser on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th December.

'Shetland Lone Star' is not scheduled to show on the BBC2 until 10pm on Friday 19th December but as the filmmakers had such a great time in Shetland they want to premiere the finished film in Shetland in advance of the transmission.

The producer, John Archer, explains more: "It's wonderful to premiere the documentary with everyone who helped us make it and we want to thank Shetland Museum and Archives for making their great venue available. We're also grateful for Shetland Arts support for the premiere, and for all the other help we had in the making of the documentary. Everyone has been very welcoming and supportive. We've felt all along it was a blessed production and that the spirit of Thomas Fraser has been with us every step of the way. "

Shetland fisherman Thomas Fraser fell in love with country music listening to US Forces radio in World War ll. When electricity came to Burra Isle in 1953 he bought himself a tape recorder and recorded hundreds of songs. When he died in 1978 he was virtually unknown outside Shetland. Thirty years later a clutch of posthumously released CD's have lead to him being acclaimed as 'the most important figure in British country music', he's celebrated in an annual festival on Burra, and he's been honoured at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame.

In this documentary, produced by Hopscotch Films, his friends, family and admirers tell his story. The premiere will include an introduction by the director, Brian Ross, who is returning to Shetland to thank everyone involved in its production: "I've been bowled over by the amount of goodwill shown to our project. The quality of the film has been greatly enhanced by the help and talent of the people we've collaborated with in Shetland."

The screening will start at 4pm on Saturday 13th and 3pm on Sunday 14th, and runs for 30 minutes.

Tickets are free but booking is essential. Tickets are available from the Shetland Museum and Archives on 01595 695057

For further information on the film contact Shetland Arts on 01595 743 843

Links

• Music to watch the gulls go by from the Times Online
• How a shy islander went down in history from the Press & Journal
• Shy Crofter Who Rocked History from the Daily Record
• Fraser film premiers on home turf from the Shetland News

(updated 19th Dec 2008)