Thursday, March 15, 2012

Forming 'Echoes': RAF Changi Connection Pt III

The Arcadians:
Born in Dumfries, Scotland, in the 40s, Allan Thompson had a father who played violin, oboe and clarinet in various dance bands (notably The Arcadians) and the Dumfries Orchestra in the early 1930s.
Classical Or Rock:
According to Allan, "He tried to interest me in learning a classical instrument, but in 1956/57 I was only interested in learning guitar after seeing Chuck Berry in the film, Rock, Rock, Rock. Dad refused to finance guitar lessons and my first 'guitar' was a home-made solid with four violin strings and no pick-ups.
It was made from a single piece of softwood and was converted into firewood by my mother at some later stage. In 1959 I bought my first acoustic guitar and learned a few chords from a friend."
The Echoes:
In early 1961 he bought a Framus Tuxedo red solid electric bass-guitar and had a few lessons from Billy Stenhouse who played bass in a local band, The Cherokees.
"I formed a band called The Echoes in Stranraer but some of our members were reluctant to rehearse so we disbanded after only three awful gigs."
Original article/image: Allan Thompson Collection. Copyrights Reserved.

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