From the church to the public sphere

While some gospel singers have remained firmly within the margins of the church in terms of performance context, others have made the move into the secular world. This chapter tracks two men from the gospel singing tradition who successfully made the transition from singing in a church context to singing in pubs, lounges and similar venues along the North-East Scottish coast. Ken Cowe, from Peterhead performed regularly throughout the region in the 1960s and 1970s with all-male Christian group the Messengers. Sandy Watt, from Gardenstown, performed for a number of years during the 1980s and 1990s in bars along the Moray coast.