James Hill spent most of his life living on Bottle Bank in Gateshead and produced some of the most popular fiddle tunes of the time. He was an exponent of the 'hornpipe' style, pioneered on Tyneside, and influential far beyond Tyneside.

His work remains popular. Now a 9ft (2.7m) sculpture of a fiddle by Peter Coates has been created to stand opposite the Hilton Hotel in Gateshead. Some of Hill's most popular tunes, including the 'The Hawk', 'The High Level Bridge', 'The Omnibus' and 'The Beeswing' are still played today.