Shetland-Music.com

This was Shetland's foremost band through the 1960s, although it played very little in public.

The Hamefarers Dance Band was formed in the mid 1960's when some of Shetland's best known musicians came together to make the first Thule record, a four track EP entitled "St Ninian's Isle". The line-up was Willie Hunter (fiddle), Ronald Cooper and Jim Halcrow (accordions), Eric Cooper (piano), Willie Johnson (double bass) and Drew Robertson (drums). Ronnie Cooper composed the title tune for the recording.

A second E.P. "Dance to the Hamefarers" soon followed and contained three of Ronnie's most popular compositions: Da Tushkar, Ronas Voe and Sunset Over Foula. Some years later the two E.P.'s were reissued on the L.P. "Dance to the Hamefarers" which also included four fiddle solos by Willie Hunter from the E.P. "Shetland and the Fiddle".

With these recordings and a broadcast on the BBC's "Scottish Dance Music" the band became known all over Scotland although, throughout its life, the members played together on only a few occasions each year.

In 1975 The Hamefarers went on tour to the Scottish mainland and made a second L.P. This was "A Breath o' Shetland", recorded in Edinburgh for Polydor. The Shetlanders involved were Willie Hunter (fiddle), Jim Halcrow (1st accordion), Ronnie Cooper (piano) and Jack Robertson (double bass). Scottish musicians Jim Johnstone (2nd accordion) and Bobby Colgan (drums) joined the band for the recording session. This record again featured tunes by Ronnie Cooper along with six other Shetland composers.

It was 1981 before a second tour of Scotland could be organized. The band by this time was Willie Hunter (fiddle), Jim Halcrow (accordion), Ronnie Cooper (piano), Ronnie Hunter (bass guitar) and Douglas Johnstone (drums). During the tour the band broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland's "Take the Floor" and also on Radio Forth's "The Folks Around Robin", a programme hosted by bass player and accordionist Robin Brock.

In the early summer of 1981, after returning home from their successful tour, the band decided to make a third LP. Some experimental tracks had been recorded when pianist Ronnie Cooper fell ill. He did not recover sufficiently to complete the project and died a year later. It was felt that, though not perfect, these studio rehearsal tapes deserved a wider audience and they were issued by Thule Records on a cassette tape with the title "A Tribute to Ronnie Cooper".

Two youngsters gave the band a new lease of life during its final five years. Hazel Halcrow, Jim's daughter, took over the piano and Ian Nicolson became 2nd accordionist. There were two more "Take the Floor" broadcasts. The first, in May 1985, was recorded on the stage of the Garrison Theatre. The second, the band's last performance, was recorded at a special dance in Sound Hall on 7th May 1987.