Special Up Helly Aa Beatcroft Social
Two hours of Zetlandic (and Zetland-approved) music, plus a meditation: Here Come The Pacifist Vikings, by Elvis Voe and His Fitful Head
And so, for another year…it begins! Up Helly Aa season has erupted via the Scalloway Fire Festival and of course the gigantic Lerwick affair, but there is so much more to go. Sunday will see me queuing up for tickets to the Hillswick Hall danceathon which follows the Northmavine Up Helly Aa later this month, and there are nine other fiery festivals to enjoy in Shetland if you’re in the mood for a bit of Norse conflagration.
Anyway, Tuesday saw the Shetland Webcams team experiment with an all-day webcast, leading up to the astonishing and I think rather wonderful show in the evening. Which you can watch, if you have a spare 90 minutes, here (start eight minutes in for the commentary)
Watch the procession and burning on YouTube
Earlier in the day, for premium ‘Red Eye’ subscribers to Shetland Webcams only, I hosted a two-hour version of the Beatcroft Social live from Lerwick. Music is focused on Shetland artists and music enjoyed by Shetlanders, or linked to the fire festival in some way. You can listen to a mildly edited version here:
https://www.mixcloud.com/tom-morton2/special-up-helly-aa-beatcroft-social-tuesday-30-january/
Here’s the playlist:
Catriona Macdonald — Shetland Reels
Kasabian — Fire
Arthur Nicholson — Sun Shine on Me
Sheila Henderson — Dancing in the Rain
Steve Earle — I Feel All right
North Country Fair — When the Circle Closes
Michael Marra — Hermless
Fiddler’s Bid — Zander the Sander
Crazy World of Arthur Brown — Fire
Bongshang — If and When
Adam Guest — Solitude and Grace
Pulp — Common People
Nic Jones — The Humpback Whale
Bruce Springsteen — Fire
Todd Rundgren — Song of the Viking
Chris Stout — Norwegian Hymn?Jeg Ser Deg Sote Lam
Pilot — Call Me Round
Paul Brady — Arthur McBride
Chris Stapleton — Fire Away
Kris Drever — I didn’t Try Hard Enough
Moving Hearts — Before the Deluge
Willie Hunter, Violet Tulloch — Leaving Lerwick Harbour
And, specially written for the occasion, Elvis Voe and His Fitful Head return to ruminate: Here come The Pacifist Vikings
The Norse have come to town today
Marching in warlike array
And with them is a silver band
Euphoniums sounding grand
They negotiate they don’t demand
The lovely vikings
Men and women, children too
Laughing and smiling the whole day through
They’re spreading, happiness and peace
They’ve made arrangements with the local police
Their days of pillaging have long since ceased
Adorable Vikings
Here come the lovely Vikings
Here come the adorable Vikings
They’re so enthralling
Valhalla’s calling
Lovely Vikings
They’ve built a bonfire in the play park now
The swings are carefully preserved somehow
A dragon galley has been torched
And not a single person has been scorched
No one is even slightly drunk or debauched
Completely sober Vikings
Copyright Elvis Voe And His Fitful Head, 2024