Fife man raises £1500 for charity with Scottish dance music CDs recorded in lockdown

Bill Ewan (80), decided to put them together when he couldn’t meet up with his bandmates due to restrictions in the pandemic.

Bill made the discs, called Bill Ewan’s Lockdown Sessions, which are a mix of popular Scottish dance songs, ragtime, and piano pieces, with the help of his bandmate and Radio GH host, Ewan Galloway.

Bill said: “I’m absolutely overwhelmed by the response that I’ve had.

"We made 300 of them and they sold out within three weeks!

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/people/kirkcaldy-ymca-community-project-stays-afloat-as-drainage-issue-solved-3344526

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/business/fife-signature-on-rare-hong-kong-bank-note-set-to-sell-for-up-to-ps50000-at-auction-3345022

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/business/burger-king-30-new-jobs-as-fast-food-restaurant-opens-in-fife-town-3345418

"It all started in lockdown as I was missing playing with the bands that I’m in, so I started putting some videos up on Facebook.

"My friend Ewan had suggested that I should make some CDs, and he would help me do it as he has all of the connections with being a radio host.”

Although being 80-years-young, Bill plays in three Scottish dance music bands in his spare time.

He said: “I used to be the young guy in the band, but know I’m the old guy.

"I started playing the piano when I was five-years-old and never stopped – I started in bands when I was 15 , and even auditioned with the BBC for the East Neuk Band when I was 19.”

Selling his CDs on Facebook, and his friend Ewan’s website, Bill raised the cash in record time.

"We managed to raise a total of £1500, with the money going towards the British Heart Foundation as I suffered quite a bad heart attack 19 years ago so I wanted all of the proceeds to go to them.

"I’m really lucky to still be here.

"There are still a couple of dozen discs left, but they are all booked, so the money that I make from them will be going to local charities.

"I want to thank Ewan for helping me to make this possible and for all of his hard work getting the CDs made.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.