He may be 72 but he can still rock with the best of them.
And while many of his contemporaries are long since retired from the music scene, Alan Gorrie is still touring the world as the bass player with The Average White Band.
Alan is back home in his native Perth for a break from his adopted home of the United States where AWB are still massive. New York, Hawaii and Seattle were just three of the places on their latest tour agenda.
They are booked up solidly until December with their plans including playing Perth Concert Hall in September.
They have sold millions of records and played thousands of gigs since their inception in 1972 and are regarded as one of the best soul and rhythm and blues bands the world has ever seen.
Original members Alan, Roger Ball, Malcolm Duncan and Robbie McIntosh are all from Tayside, Alan from Perth, Roger from Broughty Ferry, Malcolm from Montrose and Robbie from Dundee.
Alan, Roger and Malcolm all studied at Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, with Ball and Duncan forever known as The Dundee Horns due to their incredible saxophone playing.
Only Alan and Onnie McIntyre, from Lennoxtown, from the original line-up, are still with the band. Roger has retired, Malcolm is in Germany and Robbie died.
However, despite their fame, Alan is surprised they are not represented in an exhibition at Dundee’s V&A museum.
In fact, he is shocked there is nothing to highlight Dundee’s rich musical heritage.
He said: “I was surprised at no Tayside music representation. However, it would be nice if the V&A in Dundee would set up an exhibition of Tayside musical people who have taken their music to a bigger audience.
“There’s not just AWB but Michael Marra, Danny Wilson, Billy MacKenzie, The View, Deacon Blue and Jim Kelly the guitar player from Honeybus among them.
“The music put out by them and others has brought pleasure to many and it would be great to have an exhibition of their work.”
AWB are best known for their million-selling instrumental track Pick Up The Pieces and their albums AWB and Cut The Cake.
They may have been formed in London after moving there but Alan, Roger, Malcolm and Robbie knew each other from their time playing in Dundee and Perth.
Alan recalled: “I was in a Perth band called The Vikings whose members also included Doug Wightman on guitar and Graham Duncan on drums.
“We were later joined by singer Drew Larg from Dundee and fellow Dundonian, Donnie Coutts, replaced Graham Duncan on drums.
“Roger and Malcolm used to come to Perth’s County Hotel on Sundays for the Blues Workshop where we had terrific jam sessions. So our craft was born and honed in Tayside before we took it worldwide.”
