Michael Marra
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Michael "Atlas" Marra is a Dundee-born (1952) musician.
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[edit] Influences
Although deriving all his musical influences from the rock and roll canon that includes Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Bob Dylan, Marra's subject matter remains eccentrically Scottish with a Dundee focus in particular.
[edit] Major project
His most recent major project was the opera Nan Garland. In September 2007 he released a new CD titled " Quintet" featuring 5 songs about 5 musicians -Peerie Willie Johnson, Peter McGlone,Thomas Fraser. Martin Carthy and Dr John. In November 2007 Michael is appearing in a new production of "The Demon Barber" at Perth Theatre in Scotland where he will be performing all his music live on stage.
[edit] Nick Name
Due to Marra's large stature and his ability to lift heavy objects, many of Marra's close friends dubbed him Atlas, named after the mighty titan who, according to greek mythology, holds the heavens on his shoulders.
[edit] Protest song
In April 2006, having his fingerprints routinely taken by Customs in Washington – where he was performing as part of the Tartan Week – Michael Marra was inspired to write a protest song about Shirley McKie. (Former police officer Ms McKie had been wrongly accused of leaving her thumbprint at a murder scene in 1997. When she denied the print was hers, she was arrested and charged with perjury but was acquitted in 1999. In February 2006, Ms McKie received an out-of-court settlement of £750,000 from the Scottish Executive which first minister Jack McConnell described as a result of an honest mistake.) In the song, Marra writes:
- "We lecture children if they're telling lies/They will not prosper and they will not thrive.../And even the First Minister must sometimes stand naked and have sex with his mum and dog at the same time."[1]
[edit] Football mad
Earlier, Marra wrote a song about his favourite footballer, ex-Dundee United Goalkeeper, Hamish McAlpine called Hamish the Goalie. He also somehow managed to get a song from an occasion when a fox ran onto the pitch at Parkhead during a Celtic versus Aberdeen game.
[edit] It runs in the family
Michael Marra's children, Alice Marra Clark and Matthew Marra are musicians and songwriters, as well. They are members of their own Dundee-based musical group, The Hazey Janes.
