ARIA and three-time Golden Guitar nominee Angus Gill has teamed up with 2NVR Nambucca Radio presenter Vickiree Melouney to write a touching song about Vickiree’s grandmother entitled ‘The Apron’.

The story is about Vickiree’s great grandmother Mabel, who was known for wearing an apron from dawn till dusk.

When Mabel passed away in 1976, the family found a panel on the apron with a timeline of family events.

The hand embroidered dates were a diary of family events she recorded through her lifetime such as the birth of a child, an engagement, a wedding or a death.

Port Macquarie based Angus Gill told News Of The Area that it was the depth of the story that convinced him to collaborate with Vickiree to write and produce the song.

“Vicki and I met over 10 years ago, on the streets of Tamworth when I was 12 and have been friends ever since.
“She’s a great supporter of country music in her role as a radio presenter and photographer, but I didn’t realise until quite recently that she also kept a book of song ideas.

“We spoke about getting together to write one of her ideas last year, but she called me up during lockdown and told me the story of her grandmother’s apron.

“People approach me with song ideas pretty regularly, but usually there’s not enough depth in the idea to warrant a whole song.

“When Vicki started telling me her story, I realised that there was a lot of scope in her idea.

“She sent me a bunch of notes and ideas she had for the song and I wrote the lyrics and music to ‘The Apron’ over a week.

“I called her back the following week and played the song to her over the phone.

“Safe to say there wasn’t a dry eye down the line,” said Angus.

Vickiree’s recollection of the apron from 45 years ago is etched in her memory and a story that needed to be told.

“The apron is such a strong memory I have from when we were packing her things away.

“When Angus performed in Macksville the conversation came up again and we decided it was definitely a story that needed to be told.

“In August 2021, with Angus in Victoria and me at home in Macksville and bored with COVID restrictions, Angus rang and we started the process of putting the song together.

“The song was created via text messages, FaceTime and numerous phone calls over the next couple of weeks and I can’t be more pleased with it.

“I took a photograph of my granddaughter who is very close in age to me when I actually found the apron and it brings back strong memories, the song is available online and on Spotify, tissues are recommended while listening,“ said Vickiree.

 

By David WIGLEY