Artists:Hugh Morrison

Born in 1973 in the town of Wick, Caithness, in the far north of Scotland, Hugh Morrison moved to Tain, Ross-shire, when he was two years old. While in Tain, he learned to play the single row melodeon at the age of ten with help from Cam MacKay, a family friend and himself a fine melodeon player. A year or so later he moved onto the 3-row button accordion under the guidance of Willie Graham, another local box player from the Ross-shire area.

The biggest influence on his playing was Ali MacGregor of the Tain Scottish Dance Band, who introduced him to the finer and more technical aspects of box playing. At fourteen he joined Ali's band, where he started playing regularly at ceilidhs, concerts and country dance rallies all over the north of Scotland.

One of the highlights of his learning years was visits to Auchtermuchty in Fife to see Sir Jimmy Shand. Morrison says "his friendly approach & sound advice on 3-row playing was of great benefit to me & I'll never forget the experience of playing along with the master". He also played in a few Highland Music and Dance youth groups which allowed him the opportunity to tour Europe - to countries such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Italy & Russia.

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