Tribute to Hom Bru musician Ivor Pottinger
Alistair Munro
Tribute has been paid to former Hom Bru musician Ivor Pottinger, who died last month.
A funeral took place for the popular musician in Lerwick last week.
A tribute was posted by band member Steven Spence on the Hom Bru Appreciation Society’s Facebook page, which bandmembers were happy for The Shetland Times to share.
It said: “We sadly said farewell to the legendary Ivor Pottinger. A good friend and fellow band member in Hom Bru back in the day.
“Ivor had the most amazing voice and I have never heard anyone sing [Caledonia] song better.
“I have very fond memories of him from our many years in Hom Bru. We had many great laughs on or trips with Hom Bru and Ivor was no exception. His humorous witticisms and amusing antics kept us and many audiences entertained with much fun and laughter.
“His singing was so moving. I will never forget playing in Hom Bru when Ivor would sing songs like Rowin’ Foula Doon or Caledonia when the audience would be so quiet, and you would feel shivers going through your spine with all the feeling Ivor put into the song, along with harmony vocals from Davie Henry and Peter Miller.
“When Gary would set her away on the banjo with a fast and lively set of reels, then Davie on mandolin, myself on fiddle, followed by the powerful driving force of Ivor on guitar and Peter on bass, things would really take off.
“Sometimes the audience would go mad! I will never forget the time we were in Skagen in Denmark when the audience went completely berserk. The noise they were making after a “rip roarin’” set of tunes reminded me of the noise you would hear when Scotland scores a goal at the World Cup! It was incredible!”
He added: “We had countless great times in Hom Bru and Ivor contributed to everything including great singing, powerful, rhythmic guitar playing and a hell o’ a good spree!
“RIP Ivor, you will never be forgotten.”
As a tribute to Ivor, a slide show, including the song Caledonia sung by Ivor, was posted on the society’s Facebook page.
