A music artist has adapted a poem inspired by a famous Ayrshire mining story to create a powerful debut single.
Coylton's Seán Gray has taken inspiration from the poem ‘The Great Stariski’ by fellow local man and Scots poet Rab Wilson, of New Cumnock, which tells the story of a miner doing a handstand on the top girder of the Barony Colliery near Auchinleck.
After launching his solo career, Seán collaborated with poet Rab who has a shared passion for Ayrshire’s mining history.
Seán’s debut solo single – The Great Stariski – is a follow-on from this creative partnership and sees him adapt Rab’s poem of the same name to create a moving song, underpinned by his rich vocals and intricate guitar playing.
Seán’s vocals document the incredible story of local man Johnny Stariski, a miner with Polish origins, who was based at the Barony Colliery for much of his working life, and who Rab worked alongside in the 1970s and early 80s.
Johnny was born in Scotland in 1928 and went on to marry a local Ochiltree girl.
A champion high board diver and bodybuilder, Johnny famously performed a handstand on the top girder of the Barony Colliery A Frame.
The local landmark is a massive steel structure that is now preserved as an important piece of Scotland’s industrial heritage – and which still commands the landscape at the site of the Barony Colliery.
The A Frame holds the ‘Horrals’ – the mighty wheels over which the winding ropes would be spun by the winding engines to raise and lower the miners almost 2,000ft to and from their place of work.
Seán said: “The story of Johnny Stariski is legend where I come from and Rab’s fantastic poem captures the incredible feat beautifully so I really wanted to pay homage to the great endeavour and to Rab’s fantastic words with this debut release.
“Most of the poems I have used in my music are on the subject of Ayrshire mining and are all written in Lallans Scots.
“My Ayrshire upbringing is an incredibly important part of who I am as a person.
“I grew up in the village of Coylton speaking Lallans Scots and I have a long history of coal mining in my family.
“I also served an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer in a 100-year-old manufacturing factory that created equipment for mines, so the story and poem really spoke to me and I hope it will resonate with others too.”
A sought-after guitarist, flute player and singer, Seán has spent most of the past decade playing with the award-winning Paul McKenna Band who were cited by New York Times as, “the best folk band to have come out of Scotland in the last 20 years”.
With The Great Stariski beginning and ending with the echoing sounds of the pit’s winding engine, Seán’s vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and wooden flute are accompanied by Joe Rattray (Admiral Fallow) on bass guitar and Stuart Brown (Blue Rose Code) on drums.
The debut single was recorded by Joe Rattray with additional recording by Seàn and mixed by Joe at Seán’s shared studio space in Shawlands, Glasgow. The track was mastered by Chris Waite.
The Great Stariski will be available to download and stream on Friday, May 14.
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