Lewis Musician Willie Campbell calls for islanders to ‘appreciate where they’re from’ as he tries to encourage fellow islanders to return home to stem the declining population across the Outer Hebrides.
In the early years of his music career, Willie himself moved away for a major recording deal with Indie band Astrid at just 15-years-old. After a few years of making music and touring internationally, Willie came back with a better appreciation for the island and now feels ‘protective’ of it.
Willie, who was recently inducted into the HebCelt Festival Hall of Fame for his contribution to music and the community, believes the island’s decline could be reversed if more people shared the same sense of ‘homecoming’.
His hope comes amid stark forecasts warning the population could fall sharply again within the next two years.
The most recent National Records of Scotland mid-year estimates from 2023 put the current population of the Western Isles at 26,030, compared with the 2011 National Census of 27,684, also impacted by post-Brexit declines and other social factors.
Now he and his band The Tumbling Souls are to release a new single – Nowhere in a Hurry – that they hope will act as a clarion call for island folk to consider whether now is a good time to stay put or even think about coming home.
He said: “Over Covid and afterwards, we had a surge of people coming on holiday and moving here, sometimes not for very long.
"The theme of the song’s chorus is really about people who are from the place staying here and protecting it. There’s something of immense value in the people who were born and brought up here. It’s really difficult to put your finger on exactly what it is, but there’s a personality, a spirit, that maybe we’re at risk of losing.
“I had in mind the abandoned houses that we still see on the island, broken windows, overgrown with weeds, the former pride and joy of a family, the hub and heart of a wider family that maybe lived away. People who’ve been forgotten but preserved, treasure in forgotten photo albums.”
Research published by NHS Western Isles projected the area to suffer a 6% population decrease by 2028, with the working-age population decreasing just as numbers of the over-75 community rises.
Last December, a study by Biggar Economics also highlighted how the Western Isles had the highest number of ‘inactive empty homes’ across the whole of Scotland, with more than 520 properties lying empty for six months or more.
Willie said: “With the new track, Nowhere In A Hurry, in the first verse, I think I just sound a little bit weary and sad. I go through little bouts here and there of feeling really deflated, and then suddenly feel excited again because I’m in the middle of writing a new song.
“The chorus definitely gets a bit more specific. Lewis has always played a huge part in making me feel better about my life, that is, of course, after my teenage years, when I had zero interest in the culture and just desperately wanted to get away.
“I feel protective over it now, in a weird way, although I did leave for nearly 10 years. In short, it is a call for islanders to appreciate where they’re from, and an invitation for others to return and settle here.”
