Duncan Ferguson MacDonald MBE (24 April 1937 – 23 April 2024) was a Scottish

accordionist Accordions (from 19th-century German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed in a frame). The es ...

who specialised in ceilidh music and played the

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...

. MacDonald is considered to be the man who popularised the West Highland style of traditional Scottish dance music, and has been referred to as the "Ceilidh King".

Life and career

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland on 24 April 1937, he was brought up in

Moidart Moidart ( ; ) is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the ...

he was descended from a direct line of Moidart MacDonald Clanranalds with the 1745 Jacobite rising, the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

and Culloden in the genetic mix. In his youth he played the

piano accordion A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deir ...

, but struggled with it and moved to the

. MacDonald topped the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

in 1966 with his tune "

Loch Maree Loch Maree () is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At long and with a maximum width of , it is the fourth-largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface area is . Loch Maree c ...

Islands". He was initially banned from appearing on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

due to the traditional audition process, but later became a regular feature on

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

and BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. MacDonald toured throughout the world and released 50 albums. He was well known through the tales told by fellow Scottish accordionist Phil Cunningham as part of his stage act. In 2003, he released his autobiography, ''Fergie: Memories of a Musical Legend''. In July 2021, he was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to Scottish traditional music. In May 2022 he became the oldest person to headline Inverness's Eden Court Theatre when he took part in a special concert to celebrate his MBE. MacDonald was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and was a clay pigeon shooter who won 14 caps for Scotland. MacDonald died on 23 April 2024 at the age of 86.

Selected discography

*''It's Scotland's Music'' – Fergie MacDonald and his Highland Band, Shona SH 7001 *''21st Album: Traditional Ceilidh Music'' – Fergie MacDonald (1997), Greentrax Recordings

References

External links

Fergie On-line
* * 1937 births 2024 deaths 21st-century British accordionists Scottish accordionists British physiotherapists People from Lochaber Members of the Order of the British Empire {{Scotland-musician-stub