Well, I don't know about you, but, I can't believe 1998 is all but over. How was it for you (pardon the expression!) Good, I hope.
I have not evaluated my year. Wait till I have a little look at my diary......

Okay.......here we go.

June 4th - A not very pleasant dental procedure. They'll assess its success on December 30th. I think it's o.k.

June 26th & 27th - Ashby de la Zouch festival. I managed to enjoy it very much despite the horrible weather. Lots of mud.

June 29th - As if the mud was not enough, I had a little go at SCUBA diving and really enjoyed it. So much so that I paid to go on a course. I've completed the written test and a couple of the pool sessions. Unfortunately, due to being away from home so much, I have been unable to find the time to do the rest. I still intend to complete the course.

July 6th & 7th - These days I don't get much chance to go to the North of Scotland. That's why these two days were so special to me. I played The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool and Balnain House, Inverness. The gigs went well, especially Balnain House.
The best part, though, was the motorbike ride up through the heart of Scotland in perfect weather. It was brill'.

Still in July, I paid my first visit to Italy. I could have had no idea just how well that was going to work out. I played a concert with Amazing Blondel and Dervish. A pretty big open air, and open hearted, audience. Thanks Spilembergo. ( By the way, David Crosby was on the previous evening. His music made me cry. He and his band were fantastic.)

Ely festival with Breezeband. We enjoyed playing there an awful lot. I wish more people were willing to pay for the whole band.

Still July - I had to order yet another batch of The Naked Truth CDs. It's still selling. Thanks a lot!

October - Played USA for the second time this year. The Murfreesboro Highland games, which is an outdoor event, as you would expect, encountered the first Tennessee rain for over 2 months. It all came down in one day.
The clans threw their hammers, tossed their cabers, played their pipes and, of course, walked around with multifarious travelling rugs wrapped around them, but, the music tent was rained off due to lack of interest and walls.
Also, my bekilted Nashville TV slot was a source of anguish and embarrassment.

I went straight from USA to Germany, Denmark, back to Germany, to Austria (second time this year) then England before I got back to Scotland. I spent 3 days here before going off again to South Wales for a week. I was away for three months. I've just got back......I'm absolutely knackered with a capital 'F'.

Hodden Grey continues to do well. Reviews are still coming out. They've all been glowing. I'm delighted.
Quite a few people who are just discovering me (where have I been all your life) have been asking me to list my backlog
of albums. At the risk of being a bore to the millions who have them all, here they are;-

Mrs. Bruce's Boys vol. 1 (1980) tape only
Veil of the Ages (1981) tape only
Mrs Bruce's Boys vol 2 (1985) tape only
Too Far From She (1988) L.P. and tape
Blodwen's Dream (1990) C.D. and tape
Out of Office (1992) C.D. and tape
Free Agent (1994) C.D. and tape
The Naked Truth (1995) C.D. and tape
A Kind and Gentle Nature (1996) C.D. and tape
Annie Laurie (1997) C.D. only
Hodden Grey (1998) C.D.Only

I'm going to spend Christmas helping my brother and sister-in-law in their pub. I'll be there 23rd and 24th December. It's The Mitre, 2 Mitre Road, Buckingham. I'll be working behind the bar, collecting glasses and being a general dog's body. And not getting paid for it - I must be mad.
If you happen to be in the area, it would be great to see you. Please drop in. Don't expect free booze, my brother is even tighter than me....and that's bad.


So, what of next year;-
In January I'm doing a German tour which will be essentially a Burns and Hodden Grey tour. My good friend, and fluent German speaker, Vic Besch will be doing the talking. If that works out, I'm hoping it will be a bit of a fixture for those bleak January days.

In April, I'm doing a German tour with Ian Lowthian ( he's got 'ian' in his name twice ). In case you don't know, he's one of the best accordion players in the country. The backings he's supplied me on The Burns series and Hodden Grey are, to my mind, nothing short of genius. I'm looking forward to working with him again.

A number of British festivals and clubs. I'm always glad to see that. More visits to USA (the news of the attack on Iraq has just this minute come on the telly. So, maybe not.), Austria and basically any where else that wants me.

I'd better sign off ( before you all develop rigor mortis ) with my gig list for the next while. We still expect more to come in although, I think you'll agree it's a pretty hectic schedule again.
Please remember to contact the venues before you leave the house. They, or I, may have vanished into thin air.

Also, as usual, any ideas for gigs in your area, please contact my various agents, to whom I am forever grateful.

Oscar Music 0141 634 1095 ( U.K., Italy and U.S.A.)
Heidi Stagge 0049 4792 2729 ( Germany and Denmark)
Doris Schimpl 0043 3162 53569 ( Austria )
Liesbeth Peters 0031 1724 30082 ( Holland )
A little friendly but serious note;

TO WHOM IT CONCERNS
Please restrict agent contact to business only. They are very busy and I don't want to burden them with personal stuff. I have instructed them not to give out accommodation or private details. It seems one doesn't have to be a superstar to encounter privacy invasion. Believe it or not, it happens quite regularly. Yes, even to an ugly auld bugger like me.
Having said that, I obviously encourage contact but, sometimes it can get a little personal. So please keep it light.

Having stepped down from my soap box.........Thanks again for all your support.

Hope to see you somewhere in the following places.

Happy Christmas an a' that.
Ian Bruce

p.s. Should you move on to e-mail, please let me know. NB from 1/3/00 it is Thesingingbruce@aol.com