Outspoken politician George Galloway is making himself heard in a new way: by learning the saxophone with a little help from an old Dundee school friend.
The 58-year-old Respect Party MP turned to veteran sax player Peter McGlone after receiving the instrument as a Christmas present from his wife Putri.
Mr Galloway told The Courier he had never forgotten Peter’s saxophone skills in bands such as Skeets Boliver and Mort Wriggle and the Panthers.
He said: “There is only one Dundee sax legend, that’s for sure. I’ve always remembered his style and brilliance up there on the stage.
“I told him that my wife was getting me a saxophone for Christmas and, in a real act of friendship, he agreed to listen on the telephone as I played my first few bars.”
The pair played together in the Harris Academy orchestra, but hadn’t spoken until recently for more than 30 years.
Mr McGlone has gone on to play with a generation of Dundee musicians, including the late Michael Marra, who immortalised him in his song Peter.
Now he is set to put his school chum through his musical paces by teaching him over the phone.
Mr Galloway said: “We got back in touch when I wrote an obituary of one of his dear friends, Michael Marra, and then started communicating by text.
“Now he is going to help me out. I always wanted to play the sax, but I drew what might have been thought of as the short straw and got double bass lessons instead.
“I’m never going to be a player like him, but I think I’ve got a pretty decent ear for music and when I’ve got some time, I’ll make progress.
“I’ve invited Peter down to London for a jam with some other musical friends.”
Mr Galloway said he was unsure which song should kick off his saxophone lessons.
He said: “I think I need Peter’s advice on that one. I’m a great admirer of the sax and all its applications in all sorts of music.
“The Average White Band were pretty far from average and hard to beat, so if I could play Pick Up the Pieces then I’d really be motoring.”
The Bradford West MP divides his time between London and his constituency, making a trip to his hometown for lessons unlikely.
Mr McGlone (58) said: “George got in touch just before Christmas and said that his sax was getting delivered and I said if he had any trouble putting it together just to get in touch and I would walk him through it.
“He was in the same year as me at school and I hadn’t heard from him in a long time, but he got back in touch just after Mick Marra died.
“We started texting and emailing and he asked if I was still playing, because he used to hear me play when we were young.
“I think he put the phone down and explained to his wife that he had been speaking to me, the sax player of old, and he said he wished he had picked it up and learned it.
“She must have taken it on board, kept quiet about it and bought him a sax.”
gogston@thecourier.co.uk