A Paisley musician who was diagnosed with Parkinson's has helped raise funds for the charity which helped him find him love for performing again.
Ric Herrington fell into a deep depression when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after his condition prevented him from playing the guitar.
The 68-year-old, who has been a professional musician for most of his life, had lost all hope that he would ever be able to play again as his illness progressed.
Despite reaching out for help to a number of charities, he found he got nowhere - until he was put in touch with Help Musicians Scotland (HMS).
The national charity, which provides multiple avenues of support for those in the industry, helped Ric access psychotherapy and within three weeks he found he was able to play his beloved guitar again.
Ric, who is originally from Denver, Colorado, but has lived in Paisley for 25 years, told the Express: “When I was diagnosed, I had to quit my full time career in music.
“As a result of this I fell into a deep depression.
“I couldn’t get anyone to help me and felt like I was getting nowhere.
“It was in January that I finally spoke to someone at Help Musicians Scotland and they referred me to specialists which help performing artists.
“Since I was diagnosed I hadn’t been able to play my guitar at all but after three weeks working with them I was playing again.
“Not like I used to, but I was able to play again which I didn’t think I would be able to do.”
The support Ric received from HMS inspired the talented musician to give something back to those that helped him.
With his birthday coming up earlier this month, Ric decided to host a birthday party with a twist.
He reached out to fellow musicians and performers in Paisley and invited them to a live street gig in the town.
Around 25 of the areas talented artists joined Ric and his friends for the shindig outside Burger and Keg in Gilmour Street.
People stopped in the street to watch guitarists, drummers, singers, saxophonists and other talented performers give it their all to help raise cash for HMS.
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Paisley photographer and former musician Jonatan Schmidt attended the event and snapped a series of pictures capturing the magic of the large street performance,
Ric was delighted to raise almost £300 for the charity.
He added: “We were all local musicians who had not been together for the best part of 18 months.
“It was a really joyous occasion to have everyone come together like that.
“We even had some people who stopped on the street get up and sing so it became a bit of an open party which was fantastic.
“There was a real sense of community as all of the musicians all have a connection to Paisley."
Live music is now back on the cards in Paisley after more than a year of restrictions.
Usually bustling venues in the town - which is well known for it’s musical history - were forced to shut their doors during the pandemic, with many left fearing they would not reopen.
But Ric, who himself has performed in many of Paisley’s haunts, said he has high hopes for local artists who have used the time in lockdown to create music.
“It has been a really difficult time for people, but with all that time off to think and create I think the next six months will reveal a lot of special things from musicians,” said Ric.
“People are now coming out of their frustrations and I think they are going to be doing some really great things we have never seen before.”
Following the success of his musical street party, Ric hopes to stage something similar again in the future.
The Paisley dad is no stranger to fundraising for charity, having previously raised almost £800 for Cancer Research by busking in eight Scottish towns in seven days.
He added: “I would love to do more things for Help Musicians Scotland as they do such fantastic work to help so many musicians across the country, including myself.
“I hope there will be more events like this in Paisley and I am looking forward to getting back out there.”
For more information on Help Musicians Scotland, go to www.helpmusicians.org.uk
Photos courtesy of Jonatan Schmidt, of Schmidt Studios.
