Following an incredible response to their new fourth album ‘Glasgow Love Story’, Scotland’s Tide Lines have stormed in at No. 1 in the Scottish Albums Chart and No.11 in the UK Official Albums Chart – a major achievement for the fully independent band and win for Scottish music. Written, recorded and produced entirely by the band in their studio on the Isle of Mull, and released on their own label, the success is a testament to their tireless DIY approach and ever-expanding, organically built fanbase. The band celebrates their Scottish roots and believe in protecting the planet for future generations, as Rosalind Jones explains.
Tide Lines are Scotland’s foremost Folk Pop Group. Four multi-talented, down-to-earth young men in their 30s, they incorporate Gaelic tradition with lyrics featuring social and environmental themes.
Independent artists, Tide Lines’s first self-produced record and video, Far Side of the World, hit Scotland’s charts in 2016 and still makes a barn-storming impact today. Rising stars ever since, Tide Lines last two albums climbed rapidly to Scotland’s Number 1 spot.
The song’s romantic story and infectious tune was seized by The Royal Edinburgh Tattoo’s Creative Director, Michael Brathwaite, for the finale of his Stories themed ‘Tattoo 2023’. Whilst its memorable video features one young man on a desperate search to find ‘his’ Highland girl, and to ‘feel the breeze of the Hebrides on the far side of the world’, this hit song was piped and danced sensationally, by 800 global performers including 100 Highland girls! For thousands watching from Edinburgh Castle’s esplanade, on television at home, and millions more world-wide, Tide Lines’ Far Side of the World was the highlight of the show.
Inclusive appeal
Popular with teenagers to octogenarians Tide Lines’ friendly inclusive appeal was amplified when invited a second time to Murrayfield this March for Scotland-v-Wales. Hearing their songs before kick-off, Scotland supporters felt they were meeting familiar old friends. The score? Scotland 35-29 Wales. Described by The Scotsman as ‘Folk melodies with big-chorused contemporary indie-rock’ and by The Line of Best Fit as ‘…Warm, tender and utterly charming’, Robert Robertson (vocals, guitar), Alasdair Turner (guitar, bagpipes) Ross Wilson (keys, bass guitar) and Fergus Munro (drums), all from rural backgrounds, are passionate about protecting the environment. Today two live near the sea and two are based in Glasgow – where all four met at university. Mod gold medallist Robert who studied English, is their singer-song writer front man. Ross studied music and music technology. Fergus and Alasdair both followed music related studies.
Ceilidhs at Glasgow’s legendary music venue, The Park Bar, in Argyle Street – meeting place for Gaelic speaking Hebrideans since 1895, was a catalyst for Tide Lines’s formation. Intent on releasing Far Side of the World, they suddenly realised the group didn’t have a name! Searching the lyrics for inspiration, providentially two lines and two words clicked: ‘In my mind, I see her smile; where tide lines grace the isle’… Given their environmental empathy, they couldn’t have picked a better name. Their first big gig, Tiree Music Festival 2016, was followed by concerts around the Hebrides – Scotland’s westerly islands. Environmentally at risk, the Hebrides face higher tides and Atlantic storms ripping up swathes of kelp and undercutting precious machair.
Thanks to Ross’s technical capabilities, Tide Lines independently record and self-produce their albums in their recording studio overlooking Bunessan bay, near his home in Mull. Hosting the annual Feis Mhuile ceilidh for aspiring young musicians, Bunessan has a long musical tradition. The village famously ‘owns’ the mid-19th century Gaelic hymn Leanabh an aigh, ‘Child in a Manger’, composed by poet-crofter Mary MacDonald. Sung to its evocative folk tune ‘Bunessan’, rewritten in English as Morning has Broken – it became Cat Stevens’ international hit. Daughter of a Baptist minister, Mary MacDonald might approve Bunessan’s folk music’s renaissance as Celtic folk-pop, resounding inside Mull’s former Baptist chapel. Recording studios don’t usually enjoy heavenly sea views combined with excellent acoustics. Nor do pop stars usually spend so much time together in church singing! Have Tide Lines absorbed a spiritual element? They certainly feel energised by Mull’s beautiful west coast, crediting it for boosting their creative processes – perfecting lyrics, fine tuning their music and recording their songs. Famous for its ‘magic’ has Mull imbued Tide Lines’s songs with their ‘Joyous’ and ‘Uplifting’ elements? Not entirely. Much more is due to Tide Lines and the relaxed friendly way they communicate with their audiences.
Glasgow Love Story
Following their first recording success, in 2017 the innovative group produced their first album Dreams We Never Lost, but during Covid they couldn’t tour so they kept their fans updated with news on Facebook plus videos of them ‘together’ whilst isolated, playing from their homes. Ingenious in concept and execution, individual parts were incorporated into heartening videos for their fans, also in lockdown. Was this why their second album, Eye of the Storm in 2020 was so named? An Ocean Full of Islands in 2023, released post-pandemic, marked a leap forward, now in their converted church, reflecting and exploring various ideas, to a backdrop of islands.
January 2025 Tide Lines nailed their colours to the mast when they supported CAPE – Climate Adapted Pathways to Education. Verses from their songs featured in CAPE’s free to download publication ‘Implementing Climate Change Education in Schools: Constructive Hope in Action report – CAPE.’ They all signed its dedication, writing: ‘We are truly honoured that CAPE recognises the deep connection between our music and the natural world. It brings us great joy to know that the heartfelt lyrics, inspired by the stunning beauty of the Scottish Highlands will introduce each chapter of this report. As we grew up, the magnificent oceans, islands, mountains, and rivers that surrounded us had a profound impact on who we became. We are genuinely excited about this opportunity to inspire readers of this report to appreciate and protect our precious planet for future generations.’
Released in April Glasgow Love Story is a tribute to their adopted city. Touring June to November, Glasgow, Sunderland, Manchester, Bristol, London, Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dundee venues of 15,000 capacity, are selling out through their website tidelinesband.com. Their actions speak as loudly as their words. Tide Lines market environmentally, socially, and ethically responsible merchandise. Clothing is 100% ethically sourced and organic. They use recycled plastics and compostable shrink wrap. CD’s for Glasgow Love Story are recycled plastic wrapped in a compostable sleeve. In a world dominated by streaming, physical album sales are vital to an independent band like Tide Lines without any label or industry backing.
Although Glasgow Love Story features more social than environmental lyrics, Better Days hits out that ‘sometimes it feels as if the world is already broken’, inviting audiences to ‘drink with them to better days’, optimistically refraining, ‘we may not know the answers, but we’ll find them in the end’. Scotland’s favourite folk pop group infect fans and strangers with their song’s messages. Their name is like a wake-up call. Tidelines are getting higher. Every dawn, sunrise illuminates oceans full of islands threatened by sea level rise. Tide Lines’ enigmatic dedication must echo to the far side of the world – ‘protect our precious planet’.
Main photo: Nathan Dunphy.