Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Pub landlord and ‘Aberdeen institution’ who championed live music dies aged 74

Sandy Brown has died aged 74.
Sandy Brown has died aged 74.

The owner of an Aberdeen pub has been remembered as a “true champion” of the city’s music scene following his death from cancer at the age of 74.

Sandy Brown became an “institution” as the owner of the Blue Lamp, a cosy venue which offered a platform for jazz, blues, folk and comedy performances.

Aberdeen’s Lord Provost, Barney Crockett, yesterday led tributes to the man who “loved” giving upstart bands the chance to perform at his Gallowgate bar.

He said: “It’s a real shock, because Sandy was one of those people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes and, although he was a man of few words unless none would do, he did an incredible amount of work to build up Aberdeen’s independent music scene and he became an institution.

“I met him last month at the Aberdeen Jazz Festival and, as usual, he was in his element.

“It’s not easy to create a place like the Blue Lamp, but Sandy loved music, he loved giving new bands opportunities to play there and it’s a very sad day.”

The “Lampie”, which celebrated its 70th birthday last November, was the recipient of a Landmark Award by the national organisation, Hands up for Trad, and commended for its “life-long services to folk music, folk musicians and folk audiences from across Scotland and the world.”

Neil Gibbons, a member of the Jazz at the Blue Lamp committee, said he and his colleagues were “heartbroken”.

He added: “We are all deeply saddened by Sandy’s passing and are thinking also of our own loss of this quiet, unassuming man who did so much for live music in Aberdeen.

“I first met Sandy nearly 20 years ago when we had this crazy idea to start a jazz club in Aberdeen. We thought of many places we could hold it but, in the end, it had to be in the Blue Lamp.

“Sandy gave us one of his looks and his famous ‘aye, well we’ll see’, but he provided everything we suggested, extended the stage, upgraded electric power, put up the lighting, and this was all done in the background without any fuss.

“That was Sandy’s way, quiet but supportive, especially if live music was involved.

“I often caught him watching a performance and truly appreciating it. I will miss him terribly and I know his staff and our audiences and musicians will miss him too.”

Councillor for the George Street and Harbour ward, Sandra Macdonald, said the Blue Lamp was “one of the few city centre independent pubs to keep its character and survive the ups and downs of the last 50 years”.

She added: “For my generation, and for many others since, the Blue Lamp will always mean one man: Sandy Broon.”

SNP MSP for Aberdeen Central, Kevin Stewart, said: “I am very sad to hear of his passing. He was a weel-kent face and supported many of Aberdeen’s local performers.”