FUNK musician Jesse Rae wants the Borders to strike up a tourism link with an American city.

The 69-year-old is an ambassador for the Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Centre in Dayton, Ohio.

When the coronavirus pandemic is over, Mr Rae would like to encourage more Borders residents to cross the Atlantic, while also inviting Americans – and music fans from across the world – to take part in a “Scottish Borders funk trail”.

Mr Rae, of St Boswells, said: “It’s really important for Borders tourism to bring the fans and families and the big community of music lovers in Dayton to come and visit places in the Borders where [funk musicians] performed live and filmed and I have a record of it.”

The late Roger Troutman – who sang on California Love by 2Pac and Dr Dre – is among the US artists who were shown around the Borders by Mr Rae.

In 1986, the pair appeared in a gig together at St Boswells green – a spectacle which “the whole village turned out to watch”, said Mr Rae.

He recalled: “This was Roger’s first trip to Scotland. After we had finished filming around Edinburgh, I took him down the A68 in the tractor, with the wind blowing, and he got a good experience of the Borders.”

Mr Rae’s funk tour would begin in the Highlands, stop in Edinburgh and then take in as many Borders towns as possible.

“We’ve always acknowledged, in the Scottish Borders, the impact of these funk artists,” said Mr Rae, whose other associates included the late Bernie Worrell, the keyboardist and producer, who worked with Talking Heads and was a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Mr Rae says he would like the trail to launch in 2021, but he is prepared for it to be pushed back to 2022.

“There will be a virtual one first, so at least they can see myself and the tractor going up to the Wallace statue,” he said.

Mr Rae is a trustee of the William Wallace Trust, which maintains the 206-year-old statue overlooking the River Tweed at the Bemersyde Estate.

Last month, Mr Rae toasted the completion of emergency repairs – and he is now raising more money to cover the cost of further work, with a dedicated website accepting donations.

He estimates the second phase of work will cost up to £12,000. It will address general wear and tear, said Mr Rae, but will also add detail to the claymore.

Once the funk trail gets off the ground, Mr Rae hopes the trust’s coffers will be given a boost by tourists.

“We want people who will visit the Wallace statue,” said Mr Rae, going on to describe his affection for Dayton residents, who he regards as “so much like the Borderers”.

“They’re hardworking, god-fearing, respectful people. They’re the kind of people we want visiting Scotland,” he said.

Mr Rae said he wanted to dedicate his interview with the Peeblesshire News to Glyn Taverner, one of the original Wallace trustees, who died in April.