History

The Club was started by Ian ("Cordovox") MacDonald in June 1983 following a meeting in Edinbane. Prior to that, competitions were held at a Music Festival in Dunvegan Hall which, one year, were judged by the late Bobby MacLeod. One of the winners from these competitions was Alasdair Henderson, Portree.

In the early days the guest artistes included:

David Bowen
Angus Fitchet
Bobby Crowe
Ian Powrie
Bill Black
Jennifer Forrest
Lex Keith

Our Club, in its present format was established in 1994 following a chance meeting between Ross MacPherson, our ex-Chairman and well-known accordionist, and Ian Morrison, the then local Registrar and lover of traditional music. Through their contacts in the world of Scottish Dance Music and accurate assessment of the extent of local interest in accordion and fiddle music, the Club was re-started following a break of over 10 years. The Isle of Skye Accordion and Fiddle Club has continued to grow in stature and popularity ever since, with a present membership of approximately 100, fifteen of whom regularly play at our Club nights. The Club is run by an enthusiastic Committee comprising:-

Jim Campbell, Chairman
John Cameron, Vice-Chairman
John MacKinnon, Treasurer
Anna Bethune, Secretary

Members

Donald Macrae
Donald John Campbell
Donald Beaton
Fiona MacKinnon
Marie MacPhee
Morag Palmer

An entertaining addition to our Club is a radio slot at 9pm every Saturday night on Cuillin FM - Baileach nam Poirt, which can be picked up in Portree and the surrounding area. The programme is hosted by Club Members Duncan Martin, Iain MacAskill, D A MacLeod and John Grundy.

In a move to further promote traditional accordion and fiddle music in the northwest Highlands and Islands, the Isle of Skye Accordion and Fiddle Club have chosen to sponsor the popular Scottish dance music programme Balaich nam Port on Portree based local radio station, Cuillin F.M., broadcasting on 106.2 and 102.7. The programme is also broadcast simultaneously on the air waves of Gairloch based station, Two Lochs Radio on 106 and 106.6 which means that it can be heard over a wide area including most of Skye and Lochalsh, Wester Ross and the Western Isles from Lewis down to Barra. Balaich nam Port is a two hour programme of Scottish dance music from bands old and new interspersed with dedications, new release features and occasional competitions. The show goes out from 9 p.m. until 11 p.m. every Saturday evening, being produced and presented by members of the Isle of Skye Accordion and Fiddle Club who add their own craic to the musical content. An already large and regular listener base is set to expand during April 2008 when Cuillin F.M. start webstreaming their programmes further afield, access to this service being via the station’s home page of www.cuillinfm.co.uk. The Club hope that their enterprising move will benefit not only themselves, but the local community, the local radio station and Scottish dance music in general.