(John) Leonard Scollay (8 May 1973 – 25 March 2014) was a fiddle player from the

Shetland Islands Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Uni ...

Musical career

Scollay was a founding member of Shetland bands

Bongshang Bongshang are a Scottish band from Shetland, who fuse traditional Shetland and folk styles with rock, funk, electronica and contemporary production techniques. They have been likened to Celtic fusion artists such as Shooglenifty and Martyn Bennet ...

and Rock Salt & Nails, was a former Shetland Young Fiddler of the Year and a BBC

Young Tradition Award The BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award is an annual competition for young folk musicians in the United Kingdom. It was first awarded in 1988 as the Young Tradition Award, taking its present name in 1998. Recent winners of the award include Maddie Mor ...

finalist. He was described by BBC Radio Scotland DJ Tom Morton as "one of the best fiddle players I've ever heard".

Accidental death

Scollay died in a fishing accident in the early hours of Tuesday 25 March 2014 when the fishing boat he was crewing hit rocks and sank off Shetland.

References

1973 births 2014 deaths Shetland fiddlers 20th-century Scottish male musicians 21st-century Scottish male musicians Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom 20th-century Scottish fiddlers 21st-century Scottish fiddlers {{Shetland-stub