Alan has been an ever-present member of Battlefield Band since 1969, just
a few months after it's inception. The 'Batties' have been pre-eminent
in Scottish traditional music for over 30 years. They have toured all over
the world, made over 20 recordings and worked with such diverse artists
as Garrison Keillor, Van Morrison and Mike Oldfield. Their albums have
won awards in Germany, Britain and the U.S. Throughout this time, Alan has
been at the 'engine room' of the band, his keyboards underpinning the
bagpipes and the fiddle. Alan was the first to use keyboards as an integral
part of a traditional folk band and the depth of his melodic playing and punctuated rhythms have so defined Celtic music that his, and Battlefield Band's influence
can be heard in many of today's younger generation of Celtic musicians.
Alan is also a gifted singer and songwriter. His solo and harmony singing have
been to the fore throughout Battlefield Band's history. His songs have been
a feature of the band's repertoire since the early 80's and have been noted
for their story telling element, lyricism and their strong melody. In 1998 his
first solo album 'The Sunlit Eye' featuring new songs, original tunes and two
of his favourite Burns' songs was released. His song and tune
book 'Martyrs, Rogues and Worthies' was released early in 2001.
Alan has also been working, more recently, on smaller scale tours with Dutch guitarist and singer-songwriter Rob Van Sante, who when not recording or performing, finds a full time role as Battlefield Band's live sound engineer. Rob and Alan released their own album 'Under The Blue' in 2002, which also features the talents of Alasdair White: Fiddle and Whistles, Tom Napper: Tenor Banjo, Octave Mandolin and Tenor Guitar, Mike Katz: Whistles , Roy Whyke: Drums & Alistair Russell: Backing Vocals
