Tony Cummings met up with Dundee songsmith GRANT MACASKILL.

Grant Macaskill

Tony: I understand that you began playing to an audience while you were at university studying theology.

Grant: While I was there I ran out of money and I needed to do something to make ends meet. I started singing in a coffee shop. I got paid £10 for singing, plus tips. I think if you can sing in a coffee house to 50 or 60 people who don't want to listen to you, you can sing to any number of people from a stage. Callum Macdonald from Runrig said to me one day, "How was it you could go on stage at the Albert Hall and not feel nervous?" The answer I gave was, "I used to sing in coffee houses!"

Tony: I believe the Grant Macaskill/Runrig connection came about when a friend encouraged you to send off a demo when the group were looking for a lead singer.

Grant: Yes, it didn't work out, of course: I was too young to fit naturally into a band which was formed in the year of my birth. But being selected as one of 10 out of nearly a thousand meant a lot. It meant I could sing. And when Runrig asked me to support them on their tour the following year, playing venues like Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall and London's Albert Hall, I discovered from the audience something else: people liked my songs.

Tony: How was the recording of 'Fragile Strength' different from doing 'Touching Rock'?

Grant: Through recording the first album I learnt a lot more about songwriting and leaving more space to develop the song. I've probably been quite influenced by the Psalms. The obvious thing that strikes you about the Psalms is that there is an incredible use of imagery - sometimes imagery that you can't quite put your finger on but there is something about it which emotes a response within you. I'm very conscious of trying to do that with my own music.