Graeme to hit the right note with musical Old Town tours

Published on Wednesday 12 March 2008 09:29

GUIDED tours through the dark, mysteries closes of Edinburgh are world famous for being atmospheric and thought-provoking.

They pull in thousands of tourists and locals every month, providing a balance of education and hair-raising yarns.

But now a light-hearted, all-singing all dancing tour is set to be launched by one of the city's best-known pub entertainers.

Graeme E Pearson, the South Queensferry-based musician who has amassed a cult following throughout Scotland for his unique style and range of Scottish songs and rhymes, will launch his Oor Tours brand this weekend.

It will involve him taking groups round various alleys and winds synonymous with the Capital's ancient history. Dressed in tartan trousers and armed with a guitar, harmonica and various props, he will perform a mixture of Scottish folk songs and tunes he has written himself, all of which will relate to a certain part of the tour the group is on at that point.

The 45-year-old, who stands at 6ft 6ins and can be seen playing at various pubs in and around Edinburgh city centre, said the project is one he has been looking at for some time.

He said: "There are comparisons between the tours that already run around the Royal Mile and this one, but I'm trying to make it all a bit more light-hearted, while providing some information at the same time.

"In pubs I like to try and do a bit of this, but sometimes people are there to watch the football or read the paper, and you don't get the attention needed (to tell historical stories]. It can also get a bit hairy as people get drunk, so this way you get people face to face and zeroed in on you."

Mr Pearson has worked hard to devise a suitable route and appropriate tales and songs to go with it. One example is him singing an old Sir Walter Scott song on Advocate's Close, a lane which provides one of the best views of the Scott monument.

He has also written a parody of Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel to include a brief summary of the lives and crimes of body snatchers Burke and Hare. "This was because they always targeted people who were lonely and vulnerable and didn't have friends in the city, befriended them then took them away to kill them," he explained.

The tour will start and finish at the three phone boxes outside the Fringe office on the Royal Mile, taking in numerous gloomy winds and dark staircases which Edinburgh's Old Town is famous for.

He added: "I'll be mixing historical facts with lesser known folklore which has been talked about in Edinburgh for years, but never necessarily been documented. One will be the story about Hitler refusing to bomb Edinburgh Castle because it was his intention for that to eventually become his headquarters.

"I'm quite nervous about it too, but I am confident I do what I do quite well and this will be of interest and that it will be a real alternative tour.

"I think there's more to Edinburgh than just a spooky past and there are some interesting stories to be told."