Scots singer Fiona Kennedy on her new EP of loss, love and hope

It was intended as a tribute to a lost loved one, a heartfelt memorial for an important person in her life.

But Fiona Kennedy’s new EP, with its themes of loss, love, and finding hope in the darkest of days, could just as easily be the soundtrack to our times.

The popular singer and broadcaster, who releases The Maple Tree (I’ll Remember You) tomorrow, said: “It feels very right for this to come out just now, although obviously I had no way of knowing what was going to happen in the world.

“I wrote the title track about a very special family friend, who we called Uncle Brian, who passed away. He was the most engaging person, so I wanted to write about losing someone who was really dear without it being melancholic.

“I’ve also recorded two Burns’ songs, Ae Waukin’ O, about sleepless nights – and how many people are having those right now? – and John Anderson, My Jo which is about the journey of life, about toddling up the hill and toddling down it, but wondering what the heck you do in the middle.

“Given the challenging times we are living through today, there are many parallels.

“The fourth track is Farewell To Tarwathie, made famous in the ’60s by Judy Collins and Ewan MacColl. Ewan’s son, Calum, produced the EP, so it gave him reason to reminisce, too.”

Reminiscing has been a big part of lockdown for Fiona, who is trying to make the best of the situation.

Her husband Francis is in the fishing industry and has continued to work but two of the couple’s three children, actress Sophie and Francis Jr, who is also in fishing, have returned to the family home in Aberdeenshire to see out the isolation period together.

“To begin with, it felt like an unexpected gift, having our son and daughter back round the kitchen table, like when they were little,” explained Fiona, who followed her parents, singers Calum Kennedy and Anne Gillies, into the industry at an early age.

“It felt like coronavirus was in the distance, but then the horrible reality set in about how badly it’s affecting people, and you wonder what you can do to help.

“It’s vital to have hope and see a way through it. What’s really coming across is how everyone is so interdependent. Hopefully we can come through this stronger and more empathetic. We can only hope, but hope is vital.

“What we do know is having strong relationships with family and friends are not clichés, they are real, and people are doing things together they wouldn’t have done ordinarily, be that board games and jigsaws, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, as Sophie and I have been doing, or reminiscing.

“We’ve been going through all of the old family photographs that were stored away. A lady once remarked to me that her whole life was in a drawer and it’s true. We have all these old photos which bring back the memories and importance of previous generations. We’ve been chatting all about those times, and it’s also given me cause to reflect.

“I’ve been working since I was a child and, back then, you don’t realise your house isn’t normal. I thought it was normal to have Billy Connolly in my home, singing with my parents, to have to step over musicians on the way to school.

“It was only when I spoke to other people I realised this wasn’t anyone else’s normal.”

Fiona’s eldest daughter, Hannah, continues to live in England during lockdown with her husband and their three children. And keeping in touch with her grandchildren has sparked a new creative endeavour in Fiona which she launched last week.

“We have been keeping in touch through FaceTime,” continued Fiona. “My grandchildren are five, four and three, and when they come to stay I read them the stories I used to tell my own children.

“There’s a bookcase here with all the old books. I decided last week to get them out and record them. We set up a YouTube channel, Stories Aren’t Just For Bedtime, and I’ve begun to upload them.

“I tried them out on a friend’s children, so I knew my grandchildren weren’t just being biased, and I was told his kids sat still and listened for the full 10 minutes.

“I’m aiming at six years and under, and making sure they are humorous stories, things like The Wonky Donkey, We’re Going On A Bear Hunt and funny poems by Roald Dahl.

“I’m trying to keep my brain working creatively during this time and I’m certainly not twiddling my thumbs.

“The children’s stories are a bit of fun – and we certainly need fun right now, don’t we?”

Black-tie barbecues and sleepovers at 70: Singer’s tribute to her mischievous plus-one

Fiona Kennedy has paid tribute to Brian Ross, the friend who has inspired her latest collection of songs.

Fiona said: “Uncle Brian never married and was an unclaimed treasure. We ‘adopted’ each other and he would come with me to events if my husband couldn’t make it.

“One time we went to a barbecue, except I hadn’t noticed on the invite it was a barbecue. So we turned up in formal wear – everyone thought we were the entertainment and Brian was my pianist!” Brian was with Aberdeen Asset Management for more than 30 years before retiring to Blairgowrie.

Fiona continued: “He loved a dram or three, he was overweight and he smoked.

“He travelled with us on holidays – the last one was Marrakesh. Wherever he went, within a few minutes he became Uncle Brian to everyone.

“He would come to our house at the start of December and stay until after his birthday on January 6. He was in France when he had a heart attack.

“When I got to the hospital, they asked if I was family.

“I explained I was his adopted family, a very good friend.They thought I was his mistress! I sat with him, telling him stories and singing songs. I reminisced with him for a week and he knew I was there.

“Then doctors said he wasn’t going to make it. That was awful. In the village where he’d been staying, locals showed me a maple tree he would sit under with a bottle of wine, holding court. Such a vivid picture.

“He only lived to 70, but lived life the way he wanted.

“He was a great bon viveur and that’s what the song is about, living life to the max.”

The Maple Tree (I’ll Remember You) is available to download from tomorrow at fiona-kennedy.co.uk.