Documentary premiere

THE documentary on Shetland musician Thomas Fraser is to be shown at the Shetland Museum and Archives on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of December in advance of its transmission to the rest of the country.

Shetland Lone Star is not scheduled to by shown by BBC2 until 19th December but as the filmmakers had such a great time in Shetland they wanted to premiere the finished film here.

Producer John Archer said: “It’s wonderful to premiere the documentary with everyone who helped us make it and we want to thank Shetland Museum and Archives for making their great venue available.

“We’re also grateful for Shetland Arts’ support for the premiere, and for all the other help we had in the making of the documentary. Everyone has been very welcoming and supportive. We’ve felt all along it was a blessed production and that the spirit of Thomas Fraser has been with us every step of the way.” Fraser, a Burra Isle fisherman, fell in love with country music listening to US Forces radio during the Second World World. When electricity came to Burra in 1953 he bought himself a tape recorder and recorded hundreds of songs.

When Fraser died in 1978 he was virtually unknown outside Shetland, but 30 years later a clutch of posthumously released CDs have led to him being acclaimed as “the most important figure in British country music”. He is now celebrated in an annual festival in Burra, and he has been honoured at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. In this documentary, produced by Hopscotch Films, Fraser’s friends, family and admirers tell his story.

The screening will start at 4pm on Saturday 13th and 3pm on Sunday 14th, and runs for 30 minutes. Tickets are free but booking is essential. Tickets are available from the Shetland Museum.

For those not lucky enough to get tickets, the documentary Shetland Lone Star is scheduled to be broadcast on BBC2 on Friday, 19th December at 10pm.