A vintage music group have been able to enjoy some belated festive cheer after finding a new band of fans in the USA – following the release of their Christmas track.
The Vintage Girls will be known to many across Tayside for their unique harmonies – with a setlist that stretches from the 1940s right up to the present day.
Group members Rebecca Gibbon, Susan Colgan and Mary McDougall have now caught the attention of Seattle listeners some 4,000 miles away with their own track.
© Supplied by The Vintage Girls su
Speaking today, Susan from the Law area of the city explained that the new band of listeners had been drawn in after Seattle station, Racketeer Radio picked up their festive track, Christmas is Here.
“We did a lot of publicity for the Christmas track which we released in November and the interest from a radio station in Seattle has come from there,” Susan said.
“Racketeer Radio approached us via Instagram and said they ‘loved our track’ and asked if they could play it on their station and we were obviously like go-ahead.
“The Christmas tune was played and then they asked if we had anymore material and we passed them on the track.
“This was a song I’d wrote a long time ago whilst I was living in London, I had my own band around 10 years ago in Dundee and we did a version of it.
“I thought it would really suit a vintage style and so we changed it up for The Vintage Girls. We have a limited edition CD which the track was on but we’d never released the song before on its own.”
© Supplied by The Vintage Girls su
The ladies now find themselves sitting pretty at number two on Racketeer’s January chart which is voted for by the listeners.
Susan added: “We were actually unaware of just how well it was doing, we know the station allow their listeners to vote on favourite tracks.
“Then Rebecca messaged me to tell me we were sitting in second which was a nice surprise.
“The Satin Dollz are currently sitting in the number one position and they are pretty successful in the states so it’s an honour to be up alongside them.”
And Susan said their success in the birthplace of Starbucks was written in the stars, given her favourite film is Sleepless in Seattle.
The group is now considering whether they should make a trip across the pond to capitalise on their success, once the pandemic is over.
She added: “When the Christmas track came out we did get a lot of recognition around Scotland but this is the first stretch to America.
“I know some stations picked it up in Canada as well, so it has been a bit of breakthrough getting recognition in the states.
“Obviously the current climate within the music industry has been challenging but we would certainly like to go across to perform there at some point.”
While revelling in their new fan base in the United States the group say the current lockdown situation has given them a new found “love and appreciation” for Scotland.
She added: “We are planning on releasing a Scottish album this summer, it’s going to be a mix of original material and traditional Scottish songs.
“Given the lockdown situation part of the inspiration for our new album was our home city and Scotland.
“We’ve been stuck at home for a year we’ve found a new love and appreciation for our country
“We are currently applying for funding to get that off the ground, the new material will hopefully get attention both in Scotland and further afield.
“It has been a challenging time for everyone, we did a lot of lockdown videos to keep everything ticking over.
“The Christmas track took up a considerable amount of time in the run-up to the festivities and then we got to January, we thought start of the year ‘what are we going to do?’
“So to get that chart success in Seattle this month has been a massive boost.”
