Rick’s Spoke Farewell: The End of an Era
You may think that the Mustang, or even the Goose, is the perfect star to represent Western. However, many would argue that one man with an acoustic guitar outshines both of them; Rick Mcghie. Rick’s Wednesdays at the Spoke – and Thursdays at The Grad Club – have been described as “a rite of passage” or “a tradition” by the Western community.
Rick McGhie, now 73 years old, arrived at Western in 1970 to pursue a science degree. However, before starting his own academic journey here at Western, Rick often frequented campus to listen to some acoustic tunes. When he stepped foot on campus; this time as a student, he knew that he and his guitar had to play the Western stage. Within a week of being a Western student, Rick and a few other Mustangs had already managed to put a band together, called “Every One of Us”, later renamed to “Homespun”. Homespun played at The Spoke on Fridays and Saturdays, which led to more London gigs, eventually leading to full-time traveling gigs.
Fame and life on the road is a dream for some, that was not the case for Rick. In 1975, Rick decided to leave Homespun and try his hand at a solo career. What happens next… is history.
While we would argue that Rick’s Wednesdays at The Spoke were his most iconic shows, he did much more than just that. For a while Rick had regular Sunday and Monday slots at Ceeps, played Thursdays at The Grad Club, performed at special events for faculties, and even played the wedding of two Western grads who first met at one of his Spoke shows.
