With a handful of new songs already penned for an abandoned Shakin’ Pyramids reunion, Davie Duncan and Kenny McLellan shelved the material and put any future plans aside, at least for the time being. Jim had already decided to pursue a solo career.

Two years later, an impromptu get together with Laurie Cuffe and Shug Jamieson (old friends from Glasgow’s music scene of the late 70s/early 80s) rekindled the fire.

It was a chance to catch up and play a few tunes. Out came the guitars and with them all the old songs. Hank Williams, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, The Everly Brothers, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio, the evening soiree would go rockin’ into the night and well into the next morning.

Davie	Laurie	Kenny	Shug
Vocals, Rhythm and Moothie	Electric Guitar, Lapsteel and Vocals	Acoustic ‘n’ Electric Guitars and Vocals	Big Bass and Vocals

It’s the height of summer 1980, Saturday lunchtime, World of Sport is on ITV. Here was a brief window into another world, Le Tour de France, the greatest race on the planet. Gruelling climbs with exotic names: Mont Ventoux, Col de la Galibiere, Alp D’huez. The cyclists: Bernard Hinault, Lauren Fignon, Sean Kelly, giants of the sport whose names would be forever written in Tour history. From those days onward the old bike would only mean one thing… escape.

In the intervening years people move on, lives change. Davie and Kenny found themselves in rural Perthshire with a new band The Fundogs. New friends, new songs, great fun but sadly short-lived. After a couple of years Kenny returned to mainstream industry and eventually China. Davie had joined up with Perthshire singer/songwriter Dougie Maclean as part of his band.

After The Cuban Heels, Laurie played and toured with cult Australian band The Saints before returning to Glasgow and forming The One O’Clock Gang. Despite an album release things would gradually come to a halt. Laurie’s brother Tony, already a well established traditional musician, had been a great influence on him when he was younger, but Laurie would stay on the rock ‘n’ roll path.

In the early nineties Shug would link up again with Davie and Kenny bringing his latest Rhythm and Blues band The Kingpins up to Perthshire to record some tracks at the small studio in Forneth. Shug can vividly remember looking at the lightweight road bike sitting by the door. The image would stay with him.

Fast forward a few years, Davie and Shug are well and truly seduced by the two wheels. The rock ‘n’ roll is somewhat sidelined but not forgotten. Shug would take to it big time racing all over the country and riding as an amateur for Scotland, Davie less seriously but taking to the road at any opportunity with the rest of the bunch. The books and stories about those giants of the road would be forever inspiring to both.

It’s 2014, full circle, the evening sing-song brings the boys together on a regular basis, Kenny decides to re-work the songs that had been shelved, Davie gets back to writing again, Laurie brings the twang, Shug the big bass and harmonies.

Inevitably, one of the songs with a crazy Franco/Spanish title and a salute to the race itself would give the group its name… these are… the Véloniños.