Fife guitarist T Bone Duffy unveils delightful new acoustic album

I was the lab tech and Tony was teaching English back then before I would leave to manage youth training at Fife Council, and he became depute at Kirkcaldy High School. We always seemed to meet in musical circles though with his range of fine bands such as Monolug and The Rolling Sappolas, and more recently as guest guitarist with Gaels Blue.

He is a gifted guitarist and those who know him would relish his lockdown live streams where he would play a range of songs with a variety of guitars live from his spare room. Recently I found his debut album released on CD and online with ten original songs under the title If Not Now… The title suggests that this has been a long time in consideration and finally it has been recorded and with many songs in his head could easily have been a box set.

Thinking of a DIY job he relented towards a professional approach at Loopmaniac Studios run By Liam Saunders and mastered by Pete Maher. Two of the songs were written in the 1980s and one of which, Happyland, was written with fellow teacher and musician, Willie Hershaw, in Roger Crook’s music room at Viewforth High School in Loughborough Road.

This song along with Lassodie and Broad Street - the best love song ever written about Cowdenbeath - are all about life in Fife and these form the core of this delightful acoustic album. His finger picking style and harmonica has shades of Neil Young or James Taylor and a style like Michael Marra or Rab Noakes. Fellow musicians include Chic Clark, George Falconer, Peter Little and Erik Knussen on bass and cello.

Highlights include Country Of The Blind about the 2014 Scottish Referendum, and Dicky Ticker Rag, a ragtime blues instrumental pick which has developed in various keys a given that title by Pete Rabjohns about Tony’s heart condition. The album is credited to T Bone Duffy which was his adopted name when he played in a blues band and this stuck to now be his social media handle thereafter.