John, a singer/songwriter of considerable acclaim, is a highly respected figure on Scotland�s thriving folk scene.

Heroes was released in 2000 and contains seventeen tracks in all, most of them songs written by John in homage to his own personal icons. On the cover we find Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull in fine company with the likes of Joe Corrie, the Fife poet; John Thomson, a young goalkeeper who tragically died in 1931 as the result of an accidental clash with a forward during a football match between Rangers and Celtic; the Keltie Clippie; and John�s own father, Gordon Watt (1891-1983).

Towards the end of his father�s long and eventful life, John made a tape-recorded interview with him about his many and varied experiences. It was his recollections of Buffalo Bill�s visit to Dunfermline which brought the inspiration for the two compositions which provide the greatest focus of attention here. Among the extensive sleeve notes, we find the following pronouncements:

Bill Cody aka Buffalo Bill played Dunfermline, Fife on August 16th 1904 and paraded in Kelty, Fife on the 19th and Cowdenbeath, Fife on 23rd.�

Well, Buffalo Bill�s show certainly did appear in Dunfermline on the date stated and in Kirkcaldy on the 17^th for that matter. However, the bit about the parades in Kelty and Cowdenbeath is, sadly, apocryphal. The full story of how this confusion arose will be revealed in due course.

The two songs are mutually complementary in presenting a stark contrast with one another. The Wild West Show is strictly realist in tone, while The day that Billy Cody played the Auld Grey Toon offers a grand piece of poetic licence. The wild and fantastic lyrics of the latter composition adeptly underscore the fact that onlookers� perceptions of these colourful strangers in their midst would in a great many cases have been far more fanciful even than the admittedly sensational reality.

This fine recording is certainly highly recommended, and for anyone who is interested in acquiring a copy, further details can be obtained from [email protected].