Obituary | Musicians pay tribute to ‘Hong Kong’s Eric Clapton’, guitarist Davie Colquhoun
- Davie Colquhoun, who had been a major part of Hong Kong’s music scene since the 1980s, died on New Year’s Day
- Musicians and friends remember a great player and generous man who had no ego
In August last year, shortly before Hong Kong live music bar The Wanch closed its doors, Davie Colquhoun wrote an ode to the venue. The owners stuck it on the wall.
It read: Strange days indeed / Strange times at hand / That forced the music to disband / No chance for reason or to reason why / And no chance to play goodbye.
Those lines now have an additional poignancy. Davie Colquhoun, who was The Wanch’s most regular performer and the host of its acoustic jam sessions, died suddenly on New Year’s Day. The cause has yet to be confirmed, but is thought to be an asthma attack. His friends aren’t sure of his exact age, but he was in his late 60s or early 70s.
Wanch co-owner John Prymmer said: “When we suspended operations, Colquhoun said ‘You have to let me play the first song when you reopen’. I promised him we would.”
Perhaps they can play a song from one of his CDs instead. Colquhoun was best known as an interpreter of other people’s music, but leaves a recorded legacy which includes two albums of his own songs. Strapped, from 1998, and 2010’s Short and Sweet feature many of the city’s most prominent musicians.
“When I hired him to play I told him I wanted to hear at least 50 per cent his own stuff, because it was just as good as the other songs he was playing,” recalls Foreign Correspondents Club music director and jazz pianist Allen Youngblood.
“I toured and recorded with him, and we used to hang out. My nickname for him was ‘Hong Kong’s Eric Clapton’. I knew him for 27 years, and he was always the same – a gentleman and a very good musician and composer.”
A proud Scot who never lost his accent, Colquhoun moved to Hong Kong in the mid 1980s, having previously played solo and in bands in the UK. He repeated the combination in Hong Kong, where his first steady gig was at the original Mad Dogs pub in Wyndham Street, Central. There he performed both alone with an acoustic guitar, and with the band Thieves Like Us.
He soon built a reputation as a performer, with favourites that stayed in his sets for many years, including Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street and The Beatles’ A Day in The Life.
“It didn’t matter how many people were in the room. There might only have been three people there, but he always put his heart and soul into it,” recalls drummer Colin Tillyer who often performed with Colquhoun.
“He was unflappable. Always unflustered, Colquhoun could take to the stage either with his band or solo and engage any audience with his unique vocals and his take on so many songs.”
Perhaps his highest-profile ensemble was Soul Commotion, formed in the 1990s to capitalise on a revival of interest in vintage soul music, sparked by Alan Parker’s 1991 film The Commitments. For several years it was Hong Kong’s most in-demand functions band.
He did so much for the whole music community in Hong Kong. He had a real passion for the music, and he had no ego. If anybody wanted advice he was always happy to give it, and he always had a kind word for everybody
“What an uplifting character Colquhoun was,” recalls saxophonist Ric Halstead, who played with Soul Commotion and also booked the band at The Jazz Club in Lan Kwai Fong where he was music director.
“Always laughing and joking and a pleasure to be with. Particularly memorable was a trip to Manila for a gig supporting The Pointer Sisters. After the show Colquhoun decided it would be a good idea for the whole of the band – 10 of us – to jump into the front fountain of the hotel which was hosting the gig. Fond memories.”
As a singer, Colquhoun’s gravel-in-the-throat timbre invited comparison with fellow Scots Rod Stewart and Frankie Miller – both of whose repertoires he drew on. But his vocal style was distinctively his own.
Although modest about his own talents as a guitarist, he was a flawless rhythm player and an accomplished soloist, particularly when playing slide, which he did with subtlety and impeccable taste.
He will be remembered equally as a musician and mentor. Many players got their first live exposure in Hong Kong jamming at The Wanch with Colquhoun.
“He did so much for the whole music community in Hong Kong,” says Prymmer, who often sang and played guitar with Colquhoun. “He had a real passion for the music, and he had no ego. If anybody wanted advice he was always happy to give it, and he always had a kind word for everybody.”
“He’d do anything to help,” adds Keith Goodman, Prymmer’s partner in The Wanch. “When anyone was organising a festival, he wanted to be part of that. His name was always the first on the sheet.”
Colquhoun was also a witty and thoughtful lyricist. Perhaps, since he didn’t get to play a farewell gig, we should let him sign out with a few lines from one of his songs, The Trip of a Lifetime.
It closes with the lyrics: I’m moving on my dears / I’d stay longer if I could / Feels like I’m young again / It’s all different, it’s all good.
Colquhoun leaves a widow, Irene, and two adult children, both living in the UK.
