Edinburgh songwriting solicitor hopes to tempt Adele and Lewis Capaldi to sing his songs released for Ukraine

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An Edinburgh solicitor torn between his love of law and music has discovered it’s possible to enjoy the best of both worlds with the release of two songs, which will raise funds for charities associated with the Ukraine.

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Joe Boyd of Entertainment Edinburgh, an legal agency dedicated to representing and advising people working in the arts, may have been a practising court solicitor for more than a decade now but he has never lost the magic that music brought him as a pupil at Portobello High, where obtained band 1A passes in both Higher and Advanced Higher music, ranking among the top per cent of pupils in Scotland for the latter.

The 38-year-old, recalls, “At school, music was one of my strongest subjects. I was going to study at the Conservatoire in Glasgow after school but I did work experience with a guy, writing jingles for Real Radio, and he sort of put me off that.”

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Adele   Photo by Tolga AkmenAdele   Photo by Tolga Akmen
Adele Photo by Tolga Akmen

It was watching West End shows at The Playhouse where he worked as a steward while studying law that led to Mr Boyd to start writing his own songs, two of which he has now recorded and released in the hope that they might be picked up by a big name act.

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Mr Boyd, says, “I've played the piano since I was eight years old and started playing the saxophone at High School and have now written a number of songs over the years. I recorded two of those songs, Solace and Take Me Away, a few years ago myself but have now released them.

“Although I sang on them, what I'm really interested in is writing songs or music for artistes who are already established. It would be amazing if some big acts heard them and thought they had potential for them to record and release.

Joe BoydJoe Boyd
Joe Boyd

“The two I have released are both ballads but I have also written a number of other songs in different styles - big band/swing and pop. Solace ​is ideal from a strong female vocalist, someone like Adele, while Take Me Away, which builds to a crescendo with a thunderstorm effect, is an anthem I could imagine Lewis Capaldi or Hosier performing to thousands at a music festival.”

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Mr Boyd has released both songs across multiple platforms – just search under JGBoyd - to ensure maximum exposure, including Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music as well as YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

He adds, “I hope they do quite well as I'm planning to record and release some of my other songs in the coming months. I've had some really good feedback about them so far, but I know everyone has different tastes. I am also going to donate any proceeds I receive from the streaming and downloading of them in the first three months of their release initially to charities associated with Ukraine.”

​For the last two and a half years Mr Boyd has has also had his own practice, Joseph G Boyd & Company Court Lawyers.

Lewis Capaldi   Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesLewis Capaldi   Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Lewis Capaldi Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

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