MUSIC legends Texas and Wet Wet Wet are among the stars who have been honoured in a special charity event broadcast to celebrate St Andrew’s Day.
For the first time in 22 years, the Specsavers Scottish Music Awards have gone virtual with a glittering line-up including Lewis Capaldi, Biffy Clyro, Amy Macdonald and Dougie MacLean.
Hosted by Edith Bowman, the online broadcast sees them join forces to raise funds for music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, with exclusive footage from Biffy Clyro, a special at-home acoustic performance from Lewis Capaldi and new, socially distanced performances from Macdonald, Texas, Wet Wet Wet, MacLean, Luke La Volpe and HYYTS.
Award winners include Capaldi who scoops the Best UK Award, Biffy Clyro with the Best Album Award, Texas who gain the Icons Award, MacLean who receives the Special Recognition Award and Wet Wet Wet who garner the Outstanding Contribution Award.
Luke La Volpe and kitti pick up the Best Breakthrough Awards (male and female) while alt-pop duo HYYTS win the Best Pop Award, Graeme Park’s Hacienda Classical Orchestra win the Innovation Award and Young Fathers gain the coveted King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut Songwriting Award. DJ George Bowie takes the Nordoff Robbins Legend Award.
The final performance of the broadcast is from Wet Wet Wet who have supported Nordoff Robbins for over 30 years, from donating proceeds of over £200,000 from a 1992 one off concert to performing at the Scottish Music Awards
in 2007.
Janet McLachlan is one of the music therapists working for the charity and supports children helped by CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland), including seven-year-old Thomas who is paralysed from the neck down because of a spinal cord injury. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the little boy has been stuck in his hospital room with only his nurses and mum visiting.
“When we started the Zoom sessions with Thomas, he would come on and wouldn’t be in the mood for anybody and then as soon as the session started his face would just relax and he would really get involved, which was amazing,” said Eilidh Grant, CHAS activities
co-ordinator.
“It’s a huge experience for children. They’re able to communicate in their own way and through the sessions they start to become more confident.
“I’m quite tough, I can hold it together, but music therapy is so powerful – I am just sitting there in tears.”
To see the broadcast subscribe to Nordoff Robbins’ YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc_0DO_NDjlXGLZ8yB83Xiw.
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