Tom Anderson

Tom Tammie Anderson 1910-1991 Affectionately Known To His Peers As 'Muckle Tammie' Was A Scottish Fiddler And Composer. Born On Eshaness In The Shetland Isles On The 29th Of August 1910 He Was The Oldest Child Of James Anderson And His Wife Harriet Margaret Johnson. He Married Barbara Morrison A Teacher On The 10th Of December 1929 At The United Free Church Ollaberry. They Had One Child James John Laurence Who Died While Still An Infant. Anderson Was Taught To Play The Fiddle By His Grandfather. Although He Worked As An Insurance Salesman Music Was His Passion. It's Said That When He Was Out On His Tours Collecting Premiums He Always Had His Fiddle In The Back Of The Car So That Whenever He Came To A House Where A Fiddler Lived Once The Business Was Out Of The Way Out Came The Fiddles. In This Way He Got To Know A Great Many Players And Learned Many Tunes. During The Post-War Years He Dedicated Much Time To Recording Tunes From Fiddlers Throughout Shetland. In 1960 He Was Instrumental In The Formation Of The Shetland Fiddlers' Society And In The Early 1960s He Brought Together The Best Local Fiddlers To Form The The Forty Fiddlers. During This Time He Gave Lessons To Many Young Fiddlers Including Aly Bain. When He Retired In The Early 1970s Tom Started Teaching Fiddle In Schools Passing On His Knowledge And Passion For Traditional Music To Hundreds Of Children Many Of Whom Have Gone On To Play In Local Bands Or Just To Play For Fun While A Few Have Taken The Music Further Afield. Either Way They Carried Forward Andersons Passion. In 1977 Anderson Was Awarded An MBE In Recognition Of His Contribution To Music And In 1981 He Was Awarded An Honorary Doctorate By Stirling University. In 1981 Anderson Formed Shetland's Young Heritage A Group Formed From His Pupils To Carry Forward The Music. From This Group Catriona Macdonald Has Gone On To Achieve International Acclaim. From An Early Age Anderson Wrote Music And Throughout His Life Wrote Roughly 500 Tunes Mostly Dedicated To Shetland Place And People. Perhaps One Of His Most Famous Tunes Was 'Da Slockit Light' Which Was Inspired By The Depopulation Of The Area Of Eshaness Where He Was Born. Each Time The Occupants Of Another Croft Moved Out Or Died Another Light Was 'slockit' Shetland For Extinguished . Anderson Left A Musical Legacy To Shetland Not Only In His Archive Of Recordings And Sheet Music But In The Skill And Passion Which He Brought Out In So Many Of His Pupils. He Was Also Author Of A Number Of Books Including The Seminal Da Mirrie Dancers Published By The Shetland Folk Society In 1970. Tom Anderson Died On The 20th Of September 1991 At The Montfield Hospital Lerwick. read less