Using BBC engineering wizardry, the tracks have been arranged and presented to create a continuous performance and a great atmosphere. Recordings from the popular BBC Radio Scotland programme hosted by Robbie Shepherd.

 25 tracks (78mins)

"Take the Floor Host Robbie Shepherd writes:

"Who's on the wireless, tonight? Going back to the days of the old wireless with the wet and dry batteries, it used to be that practically every household tuned in to the usual Saturday evening broadcasts of The McFlannels', Scottish Dance Music, and Scottish Music Hall. That was certainly true in my case and I recall the line of batteries being recharged in the local garage with the names of all the families in our village of Dunecht and beyond, Saturday evening being the time to 'swap ower’' for we daren't miss the foot-tapping music.

I remember the late Bobby MacLeod reminiscing on that too, saying that when walking along the streets of Tobermory with the dance music blaring out from every window, you didn't even miss a note. Little did I realise as a wee lad sitting on the mat glued to that music that I was to be the voice in later years to bring the programme to the listener.

The programme starting under the title of 'Scottish Dance Music' goes back to 1936 and it has been my privilege, under the present title of 'Take The Floor'  to present it for a third of its lifetime.
   
This collection brought out as part of BBC Radio Scotland’s 25th Anniversary celebrations contains outstanding examples of the healthy state of our music scene today with 25 tracks taken mainly from the last ten years of outside broadcasts.

In acknowledging the great debt we owe to the legendary bands of the past led by such as Sir Jimmy Shand, Bobby MacLeod, Adam Rennie, Jim Cameron and Ian Powrie, we pay tribute with the chosen tracks to the fine music being created today upholding the standards set by them.

Again the content is designed to show the dedication of the Take The Floor team  travelling all over, at home and abroad, presenting the dance music to a world-wide dancing public. For example, we recall visits to the Algarve, to Toronto and a memorable visit aboard RMS Queen Mary berthed at Long Beach California.  'Have band, will travel' - no matter the size of the venue.  From the village halls at Cullivoe in Yell and Tobermory in Mull to the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh where we had our biggest-ever audience of some 1600, you can savour the atmosphere at each location and the enjoyment of musician and dancer alike. 
 
Why not have a first-time-through listen without looking at the names and see how many bands you can identify. Who said they all sound the same nowadays?  After that play and play again. You will!   

Yes, Scottish Country Dancing, Ceilidh and Old Time provide a vibrant scene, the popularity as strong as ever and with this collection I must pay tribute to my producer, Ken Mutch and to our BBC engineers led by Doug Maskew for all their work on the outside broadcasts.    
May you continue to enjoy the dance and the music for many years to come.

Take The Floor!!  I’ll be looking for ye and aa the best till then."...ROBBIE SHEPHERD