The Vale of Atholl pipe band of the 1980s and ’90s were indeed true originals. Led by Pipe Major Ian Duncan and his famous brother Gordon, ‘The Vale’ pushed boundaries of form, style, content and structure from day one of their arrival in the premier grades. Arguably, the pinnacle of their artistic output was the 1995 concert at Motherwell Civic Centre, ‘Live n’ Well’. I was busy being seven. My…
We conclude our look at the history of the pipe band movement…. In 1947 the Association decided to take the World Championship away from Cowal. They had had a good offer from Edinburgh City Council who wanted it to be held there to coincide with the new international arts festival. Cowal refused to give up the championship or hand over the trophies. The dispute was long and bitter and involved…
One hundred and forty pipers and drummers converged on the German city of Bremen at the weekend for the Northern Winter Competition, writes the Editor. Organised by the Bagpipe Association of Germany, it was a triumph of efficiency and balance: camaraderie, fierce competition in equal measure. Piping judges were myself, Barry Donaldson, Peter Hunt and Allan MacDonald. There were solos at every level and quintets for bands. This last worked…
Thanks to reader David Moore for the above picture of Singer Pipe Band, Clydebank. David was mentioned in last week’s article along with two other ex-members, George McEwan and Murdo MacLean. David writes: I knew both George and Murdo well as we all lived in the same area along with many other Singer employees. George and myself played with Pipe Major Maurice Pert at Duthie Park, Aberdeen, in 1970 winning…
Neil Mulvie: ‘I find it difficult not to be impressed by the approach to judging and scrutiny that Norman [Matheson] describes in his letter to Andrew Wright. And I am certain that Andrew would have totally agreed with Norman’s views. ‘Andrew often quoted Andrew MacNeill, saying that he was more comfortable awarding a prize to the piper, ‘who went off the tune rather than one who was never on it…
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