What was your favourite band.

Leading on from the latter posts in the BAND V SOLO CHANTER.

We were doing a bit of walking down memory lane, I just wondered what band 'n which piper influenced you in your early days.

Mine as you all probably know were the old Edinburgh Police and the Glasgow Police, the latter became the big band for me when ma good friend Harry McAleer left us to join them and latter serve as PM. To this day I still keep close contact wi a few friends there and follow them closely, but my first choice was the Edinburgh Police. Hrry Stevenson Snr ( my tutor ) had loadsa LP's from the old Muirheads ( flat as friars tuck ) up to Shotts. The first album I'd reach for after lessons were over was the Edinburgh Police albums..........just loved the tunes they played 'n the sound DSR 'n Iain MacLeod got. Pure class, a lot more musical 'n fresher compared to other bands from that era.

Solo wise there were John McFadyen ( sp ) wee Donald MacLeod was a class act too. Seamus McNeill another great. The Ulster Tartan Club used to run a solo night here in Belfast War Memorial buildings once a year, the for mentioned pipers along wi a few good local pipers would give recitals, and to see / hear these guys first hand was something else fer a kid of 12-13 yrs of age. Something I'll never forget.

Bandwise, it just has to be the Edinburgh Polis from the Iain Mcleod era.

Solo-wise, wee Donald McLeod, John D and big Angus.
As for Seamus...no thank you.

I just remembered. Another recording I had years ago (now lost) was of 277 Regt. Royal Artillery playing around the time that they won the Worlds....when the "silver fox" was P/M.

Although I had an LP of them playing, I think this was another recording, possibly on old reel-to-reel and it was excellent.

What ever happened to 277 RA? Anyone know?

P/M Weatherstone certainly moved on....

Probably yet another TA unit lost in one of many rounds of defence cuts????

Wyatt....you any idea?
Tommy Daniels used to be P/M of 71 RE(V), Alec Taylor was P/M of one of the Royal Signals TA bands...there used to be some good TA bands. At one time, either 152 or 153 RCT(V) were up there in the G1 as well....

Gonna upset a few people here?? But to my mind the Shotts of the late 50s early 60s, always did it for me, and without sounding totally biased, the old Glasgow Police of roughly the same era.

Glasgow Police.....with Iain Mclellan as The Pipe Major.....The Late PM..Angus Macdonald..(remember listening to
him playing in George Kilgours shop in Grove Street Edinburgh..sitting down playing...!! just amazing..!!),as for TA
bands..the best was The RCT...(..geeee a cannae remember..was it Dunfermline?)....and...True Blue...Seamus..
was a lovely person..a wealth of knowledge on the "big music"and not a bad player either,although I used to hate
his crushed velvet..leopard skin covers,,but I will always be grateful to my old Pipe Major...Robert (Paddy)Atkinson
is high "a" craw...was legendary.."and a wonderful player as well....aye happy days....

Maybe a shud change the name a this thread da memory lane.... , funny, a can remember things from way back clear as day............but that £10 Lorraine lent me last week????????????? wat £10?.

Well ye are 50 NOW?????

Good thread this, brings back a lot of memories.

In Northern Ireland, it had to be the RAMS, under Harry Stevenson, although, there were one or two dodgy characters in it at that time

It is to this day a proud boast that I played with that band, although never in competition, and in truth only at a couple of practises, but walking up and down that wee hall made the hair on the back of my neck stand up alright,

The other band was the Shotts under Tom McAllister. I heard them at the Shotts contest in 1981, and they blew me away, big big sound, even yet, I have little time for the girly virgin sound so many bands have today,

Memory lane indeed, made me feel better today, thanks Iain

Gordy88 wrote:Good thread this, brings back a lot of memories.

In Northern Ireland, it had to be the RAMS, under Harry Stevenson, although, there were one or two dodgy characters in it at that time

It is to this day a proud boast that I played with that band, although never in competition, and in truth only at a couple of practises, but walking up and down that wee hall made the hair on the back of my neck stand up alright,

The other band was the Shotts under Tom McAllister. I heard them at the Shotts contest in 1981, and they blew me away, big big sound, even yet, I have little time for the girly virgin sound so many bands have today,

Memory lane indeed, made me feel better today, thanks Iain

Comin' from you that means a lot m8, some outfit indeed. Harry had some pipe corps for those few years he was at the helm. Glad he never made Lorient.......that was my domain......lol. He'd a had a heart attack if he'd a seen the stuff Gordon Duncan 'n me got up too.....

We were the first to play Troy's Wedding too, not Shotts......they asked Harry fer a copy 'cause the cabbage couldn't transpose it.

Redneck wrote:
Comin' from you that means a lot m8, some outfit indeed. Harry had some pipe corps for those few years he was at the helm. Glad he never made Lorient.......that was my domain......lol. He'd a had a heart attack if he'd a seen the stuff Gordon Duncan 'n me got up too.....

We were the first to play Troy's Wedding too, not Shotts......they asked Harry fer a copy 'cause the cabbage couldn't transpose it.

Great tune that,

I still play it, but I change the third part to come down the chanter in the same way as the first 4 bars goes up it.

Train journey north, P/M George Allen, and Troys wedding

Thats how to end a set!!

Ahhhhhh, good oul RAMS tunes.......they did leave their mark on ya afterall......