The Dynamos History

The Dynamos Band are well known as a truly professional outfit in the British music scene. The Daily Record voting them “one of Scotland’s top ten bands” on March 15th 1968, brought them to the forefront of the live music scene and still are today with over 100 awards and trophies to their name. Their latest ‘Band of the Year’ voted by the people of Coldstream in the Scottish Borders for 2003. An energetic outfit able to adapt their music programme to many different styles equally at home playing in a theatre situation or a packed dance floor – Manson Grant and the Dynamos

Manson Grant

Manson started piano lessons at the age of eight. Three years later he won his first award at the Caithness Music Festival for singing. Leaving school, Manson joined a local band playing weekends while working maintaining the '9-to-5'.

Manson joined the Dynamos Showband at the age of 20 to go professional. At this time all the band members, six in total, were giving up their daily jobs to make a living out of music. During the next 7 years the band travelled all over Scotland and England. They recorded their first album ‘The Two Sides of the Dynamos Showband’ for Grampian Records in Wick.

Around 1980, now a 3-piece - "Manson Grant and the Dynamos", saw Manson playing trumpet. Recording albums became an annual event, 16 in total. The second album featuring the ‘Keys in the Mailbox’ became the most requested album on BBC Radio Scotland, the BBC recognised this with a trophy - this accolade repeated the following year. By now the band achieved recognition over the whole UK in country music clubs, theatres etc. winning many awards from various clubs and magazines.

Manson has supported acts such as Hank Locklin, Porter Wagoner, Les Dennis, Wendy Richards and others and in Nashville Manson has shared the stage with Charlie Daniels and Jordanaires to name but a few.

Robert Cameron

Robert took an interest in drums at school. Leaving school at 16 working a 9 to 5 job spent a lot of spare time listening to country music, learning drums playing them at every opportunity.

With a group of mates, Robert started practising and over the next 2 years and with a few line-up changes he formed the Dynamos Band who made their first appearance on the Caithness music scene playing clubs, country halls and support act to a number of chart topping acts visiting the county This gave the Dynamos a lot of experience. Robert did session work on a number of recordings for Grampian Records, including the Wick Scottish as well as a number of Radio Scotland broadcasts and ceilidhs with them. Robert also plays saxophone which still features in the band.