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BRYANSROOM HISTORY

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My recording interest started away back in the late 50s when I acquired an old Grundig TK20 tape recorder. My interest at that time was firstly in recording live music, primarily the band we had got together as youngsters to keep us off the streets. Then in editing the results of this recording as well as taking bits of records and editing applause and such like into my recordings! I was also very keen at that time in Broadcasting. Because the war had been not so long ago, ex Army transmitters were very easy to buy and I had one. A friend and I used to broadcast programmes to the local area ( highly illegally of course!!) by blotting out the BBC Light Programme ( later to become Radio1).
I was still at school then and the legalities never entered my head!
The interest in recording stayed with me but it wasn't until 1973 that I cut my first album - Saturday Night at Gowanbank by Just Three.
Gowanbank Hotel in Darvel Ayrshire was where I played with a middle of the road type band 'Just Three'. The hotel sponsored an album and I recorded it on an old mono Brenell reel to reel machine and got 1000 discs pressed.

We followed that with 'Gowanbank Cocktail', a mixture of Scottish Dance Music and middle of the road stuff. All the tracks for that were recorded on a Ferrograph Series 7 stereo machine. We then invited an audience in to the hotel and had a party night where we re-recorded everything as well as the audience participation so that it sounded live! Great fun!!

In 1978 a friend, George Fleming, had set up a custom built studio purely as a hobby but unfortunately the guy who did the recording was killed in a road accident. I volunteered to keep the place going and eventually the Ayrespin label was born.
 We recorded Kenny Thomson and the Wardlaw Scottish Dance Band's first album 'Double First'.
Colin Dewar recorded his first album there, 'The Wee Laddie Fae Fife'. He was only 13 at the time.
A Gaelic group called 'The Etives' did two albums there. They have now become 'Cappercaille', one of Scotland's prime bands.

Bryan's Room was set up in 1992. Why Bryan's Room? Simple! It's in my elder son's bedroom which he vacated when he got married and finally left home. His name is Bryan - seems natural to me!!

The rest, as they say, is history - or at least it appears on these pages.

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© Derek Hamilton 1997-2001 • Bryan'sRoom Recordings
22a Blair Street • Galston • Ayrshire • Scotland • KA4 8JE
Tel&Fax: +44 (0)1563 820635
www.bryansroom.co.uk