Chris Kemp
Chris has always been the main driving musical force in the group and had already spent three years in a professional band ('A New Generation' with Iain and Gavin, later 'The Sutherland Brothers', and friends Peter MacLennan and John Wright) before the Whinchat college years. Chris took early retirement from his job as Head of Music at a special school in Kettering in mid 2003. He now devotes much of his time to managing the process of making these recordings. He’s still a music nut and believes that this is what he was put on the planet for - well at least one of them - and he loves every day of it!
It’s Chris, of course, who now does all the background programming and arranging with the digital kit. When you hear full orchestras, or the odd bass, or electric guitar or sax solo, with just a few exceptions it’s all Chris on keyboards. The studio at home is Chris’s pride and joy – the place where Whinchat music is made.
Still married to Mary – still in Kettering. They have two grown-up sons, both doing extremely well for themselves.
Bernie Catterall
Bernie runs his own consultancy company in Leicestershire – having left teaching in the mid-80s. Co-managing 20 or so consultants and careering around the world doesn’t leave much time for other things, but Whinchat remains a top priority and commitment.
Bernie has a bigger role in the reunited Whinchat, song-writing, arranging and playing keyboards on a good number of the tracks – as well as being the driving business force. Still, though, takes musical orders from Chris (mostly, sort of).
Still married to Anni – still living in Quorn. They have three sons – all now grown up and out in the big wide world, either as students or in work. The motorbike accidents that the youngest keeps having are a bit of a nightmare though!
Fairlie Ryan (nee Fairlie McDougall)
Fairlie, for many many years, was married to a terrific guy called Mick Ryan. Unfortunately, after a long illness, Mick died in the summer of 2007 - just as we had sent ‘Getting There’ to be printed. We dedicated that album to the memory of a truly grand bloke who’ll be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.
Fairlie lives in quiet, rural Essex. Not that she’s any quieter than before, of course. Still teaching and still totally involved with everything that relates to her young students. She’s an Advanced Skills Teacher whose role includes working as a mentor with trainees and new recruits to teaching. And, of course, like all committed teachers, she works too hard.
Fairlie was the last member of the group to come back on board after we’d all lost touch and we’re all chuffed to bits that she’s loved finding time to do this. Group stuff does give back a bit of sanity. We all hope she’ll want to continue to do this in the future.
Fairlie has 2 great kids (both adults now) so life still has a lot of purpose and focus. They’ve been a source of great support and deserve all the praise that can be mustered for helping their Mum through a really bad time.
Mary Kemp
Mary is the quiet one (or so you might think) who, in the end, drives the rest of us to do stuff just by being there with the encouraging word – and with food and drink, of course! She and Chris teamed up in 1970 and married two years later. They’ve been together so long now that it’s impossible to imagine a world without their two names being indelibly linked. A complete team in every respect.
Mary, like Chris, has now retired from teaching and so is now a lady of leisure. Not! She’s in a sense the backbone of the group who quietly and efficiently organises us all to be in the right places at the right time, then keeps the peace when things get hairy - as they do with all groups from time to time. Mary’s the solid one - the rest of us are flaky idiots by comparison. She’s the one that just gets on with doing those really important Whinchat backing vocals that hold it all together.
Still married to Chris – still living in Kettering, still very happy with life.