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Welcome
to our 'History' Pages.
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The Dynamos
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 with Daniel McPhee. |
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Manson Grant - Vocals, Keyboards
and Trumpet
 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 ageof
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 Scotlandand 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.
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Daniel McPhee - Vocals, Guitar and
Accordian
 At
the age of 10 Daniel received his first accordion from his
father, a well-known accordionist on the Caithness scene.
Tuition followed from Addie
Harper Snr., one of Scotland’s top music teachers.
Daniel was soon to become a regular performer in his own right
as well as taking part in ‘Taste
of Tartan’ ceilidhs in Thurso and performing regularly
with the Addie Harper Trio. At the age of 14 he became a proud
owner of his present accordion a ‘Shand Marino’.
Over the next ten years Daniel went from strength to strength
on the Scottish Music scene having won the Golspie Mod in
1987 both Lairg Mod and Glasgow Mod the following year. Also
3 recordings to date and still appears regularly at accordion
clubs and other venues all over Scotland. ‘Star
of the North’, one of Daniel’s recordings
has sleeve notes recognising his great musical talents by
Andy
Ross, Scots on Record Fame, Moray
Firth Radio.
Approximately six years ago Daniel started playing guitar.
Having a great singing voice, an interest in American Country
Music he very quickly built a repertoire of songs by artistes
such as – Marty
Robbins, Hank
Williams, etc. Rock ‘n’ Roll and 60’s
doing excellent renderings of Elvis
and Jerry
Lee Lewis hits to name but a few.
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Robert Cameron - Drums, Saxophone
and Clarinet
 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 started practising. Over the next 2
years a few line-up changes he formed the Dynamos Band making
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 them 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. Also took
up saxophone which still features in the band.
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