‘T e Polis are the only Grade 1 band I have played in...........’ PIPE MAJORS

Mallaig every second Saturday until we eventually moved to Fort William. Evan was an outstanding teacher and gained the utmost respect of all his pupils in Lochaber High School. His knowledge and love of piobaireachd was tremendous. He used to have two big suitcases full of audiotapes, one containing Bob Nicol singing canntaireachd, the other of Bob Brown. Evan used to run the Lochaber Schools Pipe Band along with Alec MacDonald who was an ex-Gordon Highlander. T is was my fi rst experience playing in a pipe band. In my time in the band we never competed but during the summer months were busy playing at the

Duncan and his father, Donald

local games and shows. Duncan MacDonald

took over from Evan as schools instructor in my last year in the band. I thereaſt er started playing with folk bands and eventually, aſt er a year at music college, joined the group the Tannahill Weavers where music was a full time occupation for fi ve years. I used to play with the Lochaber Pipe Band under P/M Sandy MacKenzie when I was home from touring.

Talk us through the bands you played with and some of the outstanding bandsmen, drummers and pipers you encountered. At 28 I took the path of getting a real job, as they say, and joined Strathclyde Police. T e ‘Polis are the only grade 1 one and competing band I have played in. Ian Plunkett was the Pipe Major in my fi rst year followed by Jimmy Wark. Jimmy is one of the big characters in the pipe band world and had his own way of trying to get the best out of the band. He liked to put his subtleties into the performance at the competitions and we won the British

10 APRIL 2014 Pipe Band Magazine