TALENT IS TIMELESS - ANDREW EBORN is joined by SASKIA GRIFFITHS-MOORE to announce THE 2021 WINNER with LIVE PERFORMANCE
The inaugural ‘Talent is Timeless’ acoustic songwriting competition has been won by 53-year-old Glasgow-based singer-songwriter, Fergus McNeill, with his song ‘Bloodrush’. The UK national competition, set up by folk musician Saskia Griffiths-Moore, attracted over 1300 entries which were reviewed by an expert panel of music industry judges. Many of the competition entrants have become part of a vibrant online community, sharing their songs and stories with one another.
As part of his prize, Fergus gets to record the winning song this summer at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios in London, following in the footsteps of the Beatles and countless others.
It’s a remarkable honour for someone who started writing songs only 8 years ago and in quite unusual circumstances.
Fergus is a Professor of Criminology. Recognising the potential of creative practices to unlock vicious cycles of both crime and punishment, he helped Scottish social entrepreneur, Alison Urie, to found a new charity, Vox Liminis (‘voices from the threshold’) in 2013. Since then, Vox has used song writing and other art-forms to spark change, to encourage dialogue, and to build bridges between people.
Fergus said: ‘Vox has always been about making and sharing not just art but also community. From the beginning, it was obvious that there could be no passengers in those processes. We all had to be prepared to offer something of ourselves. That’s what got me started with song writing.
Though I’ve been playing guitar and singing since I was a teenager, at first, I found it pretty terrifying to put my own thoughts and feelings into a song and to share it with other people. It made me feel quite vulnerable. But I’ve found that people typically recognise and respond to that openness with kindness and generosity – and with a willingness to share something of themselves in return.
I think that’s what creates such a powerful sense of connection and community between the people involved. We’re always looking for new ways to challenge ourselves and support one another. That became more important than ever during the pandemic.’
The winning song, Bloodrush, was written by Fergus a couple of years ago – and was first shared with his friends at Vox.
@fergus_mc_music
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