Cirkus
Ronnie Davidson - vocals, guitar
Alex Fairley - guitar
Jim Potter - bass, vocals
Jake Brown - guitar, vocals
John McNaught - drums
In 1972 two school friends from Glasgow Jake Brown and Ronnie Davidson got together and began what was eventually to become ‘Cirkus’. The duo worked on and developed tight close harmonies playing acoustic guitars and doing covers from artists like Simon and Garfunkle, Gallagher and lyle and America. By 1973 they started to feel limited as a duo so they brought in Jim Potter on bass guitar who could also sing, this was the start of what was to almost become their trade mark three and four part harmonies. After rehearsing as a trio for a year they recruited drummer John McNaught and guitarist Alex Fairley who had already known Jake from a few years earlier. They rehearsed as a five piece working on a mixture of cover versions and some Brown and Davidson originals, they eventually amassed enough material to start playing live. Cirkus played their first gig in the Cumbernauld labour club in 1976 and played regularly in the Cathkin Hotel sometimes playing afternoon and night time double headers on a Sunday, eventually they were playing the Amphora, The Maggie and The Burns Howff in Glasgow building up a good reputation. The band concentrated on being able to hear the vocals and strived towards a more controlled sound deliberately opting out of the sometimes overly loud racket that some bands produced live. They also invested in a good PA system in 1978 with roadie George Dunnachie helping out on the mixing desk. The band entered the ‘Popscot 76’ competition run by the Sunday Mail newspaper mainly to get a bit of recognition and the chance to play at the Cooper Institute, this competition was connected to a London record company called ‘Thunderbird Records’ headed by Dick Rowe famous for his “Guitar bands are on the way out” statement when he turned down The Beatles in the early the sixties. Cirkus had signed a three month contract and received some correspondence from ‘Thunderbird Records’ including a letter signed by Dick Rowe himself but nothing came of it in the end. The Band carried on to play gigs all over Scotland and by 1980 had played over 370 gigs earning them the reputation as one of Glasgow’s best local bands. In later years Ronnie, John and Alex would go on to form ‘Shoot The Moon’ in the early 80s and later on, 60s cover band ‘Itchycoo Park’.
