I got hooked on Caithness FM

About this recording

Robin Young’s first experience of live music came at the age of 10 when he sneaked out of his bedroom window in Lybster to go and see his uncle Jimmy Young and his dance band, the Blue Rockets, playing in the Bayview Hotel.

Young Robin stood outside on two fish boxes and gazed through a window of the hotel ballroom at what was evidently a posh do. Jimmy spotted his nephew, waved him in, and asked if his father knew where he was. “Yes,” Robin replied, untruthfully.

He proceeded to sit on an accordion case to watch the rest of the concert, unaware of the panic that ensued at home when he was found to be missing.

In this interview Robin explains how his own career in local bands was influenced by two of the greatest musicians in the county: his uncle Jimmy and Bobby Coghill. "My father bought me a small piano accordion for my 10th birthday as I used to play a mouth organ every day and night," Robin recalls. "Bobby Coghill used to come to the village with the lemonade lorry and came in for a cup of tea, and we always got a couple of bottles of lemonade too. He was a great friend of my father and he would teach me some tunes on the accordion."

The family moved to Thurso when Robin was 12. After leaving school he worked at Johnston's the bakers. He became a Civil Defence volunteer and joined the Territorial Army. After a brief spell in Dounreay labs he worked for Donnie Reid's bakery business in Castletown. Then came a spell as an electrician's mate during the building of the Prototype Fast Reactor at Dounreay before taking on a similar role at neighbouring Vulcan. He went on to work for some 40 years on security at Vulcan before retiring.

Robin had started his first band, the Blue Notes, at the age of 18. The band changed its name to Fusion and Robin tells how he worked with drummer Geordie Anderson for almost 30 years. Robin can proudly claim to have performed in every village hall in Caithness, as well as town venues, notably the social clubs that were hugely popular at the time.

Robin had a long-held ambition to record a CD, and this came to fruition with By Request (Robin Young and Fusion), recorded at Pan Studios near Wick. It consists of 12 tracks with Robin on accordion and vocals, Davie Macleod on drums and John Newton on guitar. The song that features at the start and end of this interview, Let’s Turn Back the Years, is taken from the album and is used here with permission.

Robin presents two much-loved shows on the community radio station Caithness FM, on a Sunday evening and a Monday evening, with listeners from many parts of the world now that the station is available online. Caithness FM has a dedicated frequency on 106.5 FM and can be heard online at caithnessfm.co.uk

Robin, who is chairman of Caithness FM, rounds off the interview by talking about the Caithness FM Toy Appeal which has grown massively over the years, collecting and distributing gifts for underprivileged children across the county. Robin says: “It gets bigger and bigger every year. Everything we take in stays in the county. It’s a big thanks to everyone that donates and does things for us. Without them, the bairns would have nothing on Christmas morning.”