Glasgow born singer-songwriter Becci Wallace talks about Christmas single Ghost

Whether it is motherhood, the music industry or, most recently, Christmas, the Glaswegian singer-songwriter is an expert at

Becci has released a Christmas single called Ghost, inspired by her time working at the George Square ice rink in Glasgow in her 20s.

Reflecting on what she calls the “chaos and detachment” of the time, she adds: “It was a hub of festivities, the ice rink, throughout the day and night.

“Watching people come and go, we worked long hours and had this sense of being a staple of the city, but not the celebrations.”

Becci Wallace

Becci, who is now 35 and married with two young children, spent 12 Christmas seasons working 14-hour shifts in the freezing cold, initially in costume as a ‘welcome elf’ greeting children attending the Santa’s grotto, then as skating supervisor and latterly as staff manager.

The song and accompanying video touches on the festive atmosphere but also tackles the sense of loneliness and isolation experienced by many at Christmas time – those for whom, for whatever reason, find it a difficult time of year.

She adds: “Ghost is a call back to the people I met, the ‘lost boys’, and those affected by Christmas due to adversity or painful memories - the expectations of happiness and the anchor of family.”

It has been a busy 18 months for Becci, who is originally from Cardonald and now lives in East Kilbride.

In addition to writing and recording her own music, she is a lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland, and founder of That’s What She Said, a series of podcasts featuring panels and performances from women in the music industry.

She is also co-creator with Rosie Bans of Song Seeds Songwriting Retreats, which provide inclusive, affordable retreats for songwriters and a safe space for creative development and recently, she wrote for Karine Polwart’s Enough is Enough COP26 project, with hip-hop collective This is It. Played across national radio and the video streamed globally during the global climate change summit hosted by Glasgow in November, Becci also worked with the COP26 Climate justice cabaret, sharing a stage with Greta Thunberg, Jeremy Corbyn and activists from across the globe to share the message through creativity.

Just before Christmas, she took part in a much anticipated Songwriter Circle gig at Cottier’s Theatre.

Over lockdown, Becci started a Songs from Lockdown/Sunday Songwriting Facebook group to digitally introduce her friends in the Scottish music scene to Fresh Tracks, a Europe-wide collective devoted to “songwriting for writing’s sake.”

At Cottier’s 10 musicians from the Songs from Lockdown took to the stage to play an immersive concert of original works, led by Scottish songwriting hero David Scott of The Pearlfishers, finished off with a live, stripped back Pearlfishers set.

David Scott

“By April 2020, the group had grown to more than 100 members,” she explains, “including Scottish acts such as Colonel Mustard, The Girl Who Cried Wolf, Josephine Sillars, Yvonne Lyon, DopeSickFly, the Twistettes and many more.

“Members wrote songs every week with a Zoom listening party on a Saturday, a live playlist and media attention across the UK.”

She adds: “It was a lifeline for many of the artists to maintain their creativity throughout the corrosion of the arts during lockdown.”

Ghost by Becci Wallace is out now and available to buy on becciwallace.bandcamp.com/track/ghost