What a surprise to see and read about Mull Highland Games last week in Piping Press. By 1965, I was living in Glasgow but had purposely not signed up with any pipe band.
The Games being in July meant I was on holiday in Campbeltown (it was the annual Glasgow Fair) and for several years I remained with the Ceannloch-Campbeltown Pipe Band to maintain competing numbers.
By Iain Duncan
Mull, being quite a trek, meant the band had to travel to Oban the day before. An overnight stay meant us billeting in the Oban Drill Hall on Albany Street, an early rise, a pre-organised breakfast, followed by the ferry to Tobermory.
I recall we had lunch in an extremely busy Mishnish Hotel and I’m certain we had the privilege of having Bobby MacLeod playing during the meal. A wee quick aside. Mention was made in last week’s article of P/M John MacKenzie, Queen Victoria School, and of Seumas MacNeill for whom Bobby named the popular 6/8. Well Bobby also composed a 6|8 march Pipe Major John MacKenzie*.
The uphill hike to the Games field above Tobermory made quite an impression, but apart from what I’ve related, I don’t really remember much else about the day – ferry back to Oban at the close of the Games, something to eat, no doubt followed by ‘a reasonable’ refreshment, then home to Campbeltown.
In charge of the band was Pipe Major Ronald McCallum, brother of William McCallum Snr. and of Hugh MacCallum, the famous Gold Medallist, and cousin of Pipe Major Ronald McCallum MBE, Inveraray. His Pipe Sergeant was his lifelong pal, Dugald McShannon, my uncle, and father of Ronald (Ronnie) McShannon.
The Leading Drummer was Campbell Maloney, a wonderful character who joined in 1953. He was leading tip for 58 years! The Drum Major was Ian Lang. Ian was a master at flourishing the mace and he would travel independently to many contests to consolidate his progress and in the process won the World Champion Drum Major title three times.
Ian was a shepherd and worked at Killocraw Farm, quite close to Paul McCartney’s High Park Farm. This association was the band’s first introduction to possible collaboration, with the band playing in a field for Paul McCartney and Jane Asher (actress and specialist cake maker), an early love interest of Paul’s. However the Paul McCartney – Pipe Major Tony Wilson liaison, and the worldwide hit ‘Mull of Kintyre’ would be in another era, much later on.
Those in the picture at the head of this article are, back row, left to right: Pipe Major Ronald McCallum, Hugh A. MacCallum, Hugh Colville, Murray McCallum, Peter Lang (bass drum), Drum Major Ian Lang, Dougie Lang, Colin Lang (tenor drum), Hamish Colville, Charlie McMillan, John McDougall (tenor drum) and Pipe Sergeant Dugald McShannon.
Kneeling, left to right: Leading Drummer Campbell Maloney, Jimmy McGeachy, John Wilson (drummers), Iain Duncan, Peter McCallum and Ian McKenzie.
- Read last week’s article here. The 6/8 John MacKenzie can be found in the writer’s ‘Kintyre Collection of Music’, a first class book published in 1994.
John MacKenzie’s Collection – digital book
First published in 1973, this outstanding collection is re-issued here in digital format with kind permission of the late Pipe Major’s family. The book runs to more than 50 pages. It is offered at a nominal price to cover overheads. It contains outstanding melodies such as the 6/8s Tug Argan Gap and MacNeills of Ugadale, the Wedding Waltz, Neuve Chappelle, Joe McGann’s Fiddle, the Saffron Kilt,…