Scotland's Twa Tenors

Two lads 'fae the schemes' with operatic dreams

For 28 years, Scottish cabbie Wayne Douglas O'Hare laughed off his wife's advice.

Despite constant pressing from Shirley O'Hare to do something great with his voice, his perfectly tuned humming stayed within the walls of their home.

There was his family to look after, bills to pay - work to be done each day to meet the rent.

"I'm no skilled at anything, I cannae even paint or decorate," he would say. "We've got kids to feed - I've no time to go off and do that university stuff to learn how to do things like music."

The years went by and the songs remained, whirling inside his head, dormant and unsung.

When the kids were older, O'Hare took up rugby. There he met Paul Sullivan, a meter reader for an electricity company, and a friendship soon blossomed off the field.

Both were working men with families to support. Both came from the housing schemes of Dundee; from Kirkton and Fintry in the north of the city, marked by a reputation for their crowded 'closey' tenement living.

Neither, however, knew of the other's ability to sing. For 20 years they played rugby together but never sang a note.

And then, after hitting his mid 40s, O'Hare gave in. Deciding to dabble a toe in the online musical waters, he released a few tracks on iTunes - what he got back was a tidal wave of support.

"I just got all these sales in America and stuff," he said, still managing to sound disbelieving. "I always knew I had an ability to sing a wee bit, but I couldnae believe it - I sold thousands."

The tracks included Nessun Dorma (None shall sleep) an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot, one of the best-known tenor arias in opera.

But the real surprise came when his friend Paul heard the news.

"The things an old taxi driver gets pulled into, I don't know," grumbles O'Hare, 47, jokingly.

"It turns out we were both just a couple of gadgies from the schemes who happen to just love a bit of opera. It turned out he could sing too so he suggested we team up and hae a bit of a sing-song."

About a year ago, they got together and performed what was meant to be a one-off local opera concert.

That was two albums and 70 performances ago.

"We've got a bit of a following now, life has a funny way of turning doesn't it?" said O'Hare.

"I didn't even know I was spinto tenor until someone told me I was one. For our first performance we had absolutely nothing - we managed to borrow a microphone though, which helped.

"It's caught us completely off guard. People now phone Paul all the time asking for us and I just toddle along to where he tells me to show up."

Their second album, released late December, has already been selling fast. On Spotify, their tracks have reached 100,000 plays.

Not bad for two men whose last music video clip was shot by O'Hare's 11-year-old son on a camera phone.

"I've no idea why anybody buys it," admits O'Hare with complete honesty. "It’s humbling for us, we just like singing a bit of opera.

"It’s made a huge difference to us in our lives now, and nothing is ever boring any more."

Together the duo, who have named themselves 'The Twa Tenors', have performed all over the city's social clubs and regularly choose to sing for those who they feel deserve an extra special bit of their time.

Over the year, they have brought a fond smile to fans in local sheltered housing and nursing homes for people with Alzheimer’s.

Now, the unlikely pair have set their eyes on a music packed Christmas concert for their home city.

"We've hired the Whitehall Theatre for Christmas so we’re going to try and fill it and have an amazing night," said O'Hare.

And the ultimate performing venue for these two musicians? The Hydro? Wembley?

"I'd love to maybe do a wee tour somewhere, though it would be a dream come true to perform at the Scottish Parliament wouldn't it?" said O'Hare.

"Do you think you could maybe ask for us to see if that would be possible?"

While waiting for a potential parliamentary gig to arise, the duo are happy to keep ramping things up a bit around the town.

And, of course, to perform proudly for their longest supporting fan.

"My wife Shirley loves a bit of Elvis, so I had on a £3 onesie last week at a performance singing some of his hits," said O'Hare.

"She loved it."

-First published on STV Saturday 21 February 2015