“Part of the joy of being independent performers,” Jamie comments, “is the ability to experiment in this way.” But Germany was particularly gratifying for another reason. “We took a couple of Scottish songs which had particular emotions — patriotism, lost love — and searched for German equivalents,” Alan goes on. “People were crying at the end of the show because Germans have had a problem with showing love for their country since the Second World War. They’ve always loved folk music but have been too embarrassed to have German folk songs sung. That’s begun to change since the World Cup but we like to think we helped start that process of acceptance.”

As trained opera singers singing in German was no problem. They even hosted the show in the language. And the training paid off in another way. Despite giving 51 performances in 58 days, their voices were still good enough to record live on day 41. However, the story also neatly highlights why Caledon have chosen to focus on Scottish material. Perhaps the Germans aren’t the only ones in need of having their culture refreshed. “People will hear great Scottish songs on the programme but not exclusively,” Jamie points. “In Houston, Texas, we sang, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Moon River” We don’t do the kind of stuff that tenors routinely do. After all, all that has already been recorded by the best singers.” “We just want to perform great songs but in a way that breathes fresh life into them,” Alan adds. “So when we sing traditional songs it’s in arrangements that are up to date. ‘Will Ye No Come Back Again?’, for example, you might not even recognise as a Scottish song. Our intention is that people will say to their friends, ‘This is a great album and, by the way, these are Scottish songs’.”

So what of the future? “Well, we’re hoping to produce another DVD to be aired on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) in America,” Alan says. “The last one was shown on 150 channels and we had e-mails from Albuquerque to Nova Scotia from people telling us how much they enjoyed it.”

The enthusiastic response is all the more reason for Caledon to be baffled by the lack of interest from television companies in their native Scotland. “People ask us after every show, ‘Why are you not on television here?’ Or ‘will you be on the Hogmanay show?’” Jamie says. “The audience is clearly there — it doubles and sometimes triples every time we do a concert, yet young producers only seem to put on what they want to hear.”

The words “prophet” and “own country” spring to mind but perhaps it’s the Germans rather than the Americans who will point the way as the group are also about to make an album of German folksongs. Of course, there will be more tours in the States and a UK tour starting in Dumfries on 31st May — see the website below for details.

So, no stereotypes, please, they’re Caledon, far from dour and the tartan has a definite twist. As for mean? Havers! They paid for my tea.

Esther Read

copyright 2006 The Scots Magazine