Mary’s Meals gig at the Glasgow Fruitmarket with Ellis Cameron

Last week I was lucky enough to catch a gig night in aid of  Mary’s Meal’s at the Fruitmarket in Glasgow.

My parents were down for the night, especially for the event, so I headed off with my mum, dad and boyfriend Mark to catch the music.

Mary’s Meals is an organisation which has created school feeding projects in areas where poverty stops children from getting any form of schooling. By combining education with a way of feeding poorer children, it’s a very straightforward, yet hugely effective idea.

In order to raise money to help children in poverty, a one-off evening was set up where various singers and songwriters performed their work, the idea being that buying a ticket for the event would help feed two children for a year and generally raise the awareness of Mary’s Meals.

At this particular event six different performers played. I liked the variety of performers. I loved hearing snippets of their work, especially those I’d not come across before.

Washington Irving (above), a Glasgow based band, kicked off the night. This band is a personal favourite of mine, as some of the members are originally from Oban, so I know their work pretty well.

They have a really folksy, acoustic sound, which I find fantastic. Having played at this years T In The Park, they’re getting more and more well known. Check them out online and don’t forget to buy their album, Little Wanderer, Head Thee Home, while you’re there.

Washington Irving were followed by Roddy Hart (below left), a Glaswegian singer/song-writer. Hart’s voice resonates in your memory. He has a very powerful, unique sound – the perfect thing to follow the folksy drawls of Washington Irving. Hart played several songs, all of which held the audience quiet, waiting to hear the next words. You can check out the music yourself on Myspace.

Next up was Tommy Reilly, who’s also a Scottish singer/songwriter. He won Orange’s Unsigned Act TV show, and is currently promoting his album, Take Me Away For the Night.

He’s also a very powerful singer. His song, Jackets, is a favourite of mine – check the video on YouTube.

The highlight of my night however had to be Eddi Reader (above right). I’ve listened to her growing up (my mum is a massive fan!) so I was really excited about watching her perform live.

For those who haven’t heard of her, Eddi is a Scottish singer and songwriter, who is known for her work with the band, Fairground Attraction, as well as for her personal solo work.

She played my all-time favourite, Perfect, a song which she performed with Fairground Attraction that hit Number One in 1988. Check this one out on YouTube. You’ll not be disappointed.

She was one of the best received performers of the night – very chatty and fun on stage, making her part of the gig a great piece of the whole jigsaw.

After Eddi came Colin MacIntyre (left), who is a Scottish singer, song-writer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He’s recorded several albums under the pseudonym, Mull Historical Society, as well as a few albums under his real name. Colin has seen first hand the difference Mary’s Meals is making in children’s lives, as he visited Malawi to see how the children and the organisation were getting on.

His performance was emotive – he’s a hugely passionate performer and you could see how important this particular performance was to him. He helped to create a great night for everyone, I doubt there was a person there who didn’t enjoy his performance.

The head liner of the night was Jon Fratelli (top), a musician best known for his work with the band, The Fratellis. Jon is now pursuing a solo career, after finishing band work with The Fratellis (2005-2009) and Codeine Velvet Club (2009-2010).

He played catchy songs such as Chelsea Dagger, one of his biggest hits from when he was in The Fratellis. At this point the whole crowd was dancing – he’d really managed to capture the audience. I’ve seen him play before when he was still with The Fratellis live at Glastonbury, and he was as good at the Fruitmarket as he was then.

He has a raw enthusiasm for music which was clear to see in his performance at the gig. It was the perfect end to a great evening.

The Fruitmarket itself is a fantastic venue, very atmospheric – filled with fairy lights and stage smoke. It was fitting that such a gorgeous venue was the setting for this very important gig. The performers were all on top form, as they were all clearly really passionate about the gig and the organisation behind it.

I myself had a fantastic night, as did everyone who was with me. If they do another Mary’s Meals gig I’ll be there and maybe I’ll see you there.

Ellis Cameron, Young in Argyll Editor

Photographs accompanying this article are by copyright holder, Ellis Cameron.