Alba Tudashi
A Rocking Christmas Ceilidh
THIS
IS
ALBA
TUDASHI
Our Story
The Beginning
Corky worked offshore on drilling rigs in the 1980’s – pre satellite TV and even pre VHS – films came out to the rig on reels in those days!
Corky’s supervisor Rab, a Crane Operator, played guitar and sang a bit which inspired Corky to get a guitar himself and they would get together after shift to jam which led them to write a few songs together.
One particular song, Tears of Rage, was written around the time of the East African Famine when the original Band Aid single came out. Rab included the song in his set list when gigging locally but nothing else was done with it. They ended up going different career routes.
Fast Forward Over 30 Years
After a chance discussion while playing tennis outdoors one evening in January 2023, Corky (bass) and Craig (drums) realised they were both learning instruments and agreed it would be great to jam sometime.
One jam in and Corky decided it was time fulfil a decades old dream to record a Christmas single using the structure from Tears of Rage as its basis.
They both have music teachers (Graham and Barry) who were happy to get involved and Corky knew the perfect person to add vocals – local lass Anna who just happens to be a music graduate from Aberdeen University.
After bouncing things around between the five of them via phone recordings for a few months, Captain Toms Studio in Aberdeen was booked in early August the five finally got together for the first time and the song was laid down.
Rab sadly passed away several years ago but he gets an equal writing credit with the rest of the group for the song.
Next Step, Getting this Song on the Radio as the Sound of Christmas 2024
Meet the Team
Corky
In addition to learning the bass Corky is also one of the junior coaching team for a local cricket club in Aberdeen running the six to ten year old group which he likens to herding cats on occasion. He plays tennis (well turns up on court with a racquet in his hand) and once drove a Land Rover from Inverness in Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa.
Anna
After growing up learning classical piano, percussion and singing, Anna studied music at University of Aberdeen. However, she has had a slight change in genres and now sings in a heavy rock band.
She is currently studying Visual Communication at NESCoL and in her spare time loves to climb, cycle and work on her juggling skills.
Craig
As well as playing drums and strumming a few chords on the guitar, Craig enjoys playing tennis (where he first met Corky) and is the junior convenor in the local tennis club. He rates his musical ability along with his sporting prowess very much in the enthusiastic amateur camp but he has just about managed to keep Alba Tudashi in time for at least one song! For Christmas this year all he wants is to hear A Rocking Christmas Ceilidh played on the radio (and more drums obviously!)
Graham
Graham is the guitarist and singer for the Aberdeen based band Empty Maps. He is also a guitar and bass tutor at the Chalmers Mackay Music School. When he isn’t transcribing basslines for Alba Tudashi’s very own Corky, he can be found browsing Ebay for guitars, watching music documentaries and pandering to his cat Luna.
Barry
Born and raised in Ireland, Barry has always been passionate about music. With over 15 years of experience in performing and teaching, he has honed his skills as a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, bass, drums, footdrums, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, and harmonica. In addition, Barry also hosts the Music Career Show podcast, where he speaks with people who have made a career out of music in one way or another. His aim is to inspire others to pursue their dreams of making a career in music.