Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band was a

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

associated with the Invergordon Distillery. The band was characterised by the extremely high calibre of the individual players.

History

The idea of forming a band was put forward by a production manager at the distillery, Willie MacDonald, who played as a drummer at the time with the Dingwall British Legion Pipe Band. Frank Thomson, the owner of the distillery, decided to create the band with a view to winning the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and bringing considerable attention to the firm. The band had its first outing on 9 May 1964, when it marched down the High Street in

Invergordon Invergordon (; gd, Inbhir Ghòrdain or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen. History The town built up around the harbour which was established in 1828. The area beca ...

with twelve pipers, three snare drummers, two tenor drummers and a bass drummer, led by Drum major Sandy Macpherson. At the end of the 1964 competition season, the

Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) is an association aiming to oversee pipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the development of pipe band culture worldwidepipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the develo ...

placed the Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band straight into Grade 1, and

Donald Shaw Ramsay Donald Shaw Ramsay (4 August 1919– 14 July 1998) was a Scottish bagpiper. Qualified as a pipe major in the British Army, he led the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band to victory at the World Championships twice and was also leader of the all-st ...

was made

pipe major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

at the turn of the year.

Alex Duthart Alex Duthart (7 October 1925 – 27 November 1986) was a Scottish drummer. He is widely regarded as having revolutionised pipe band snare drum playing. Life Duthart was born on 7 October 1925 in Cambusnethan, near Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. H ...

was persuaded by Ramsay to leave Shotts and Dykehead to join the band in 1964, and was the leading drummer for four seasons until he left for Edinburgh City Police. The band members were employed by and worked in the distillery by day. Nine months after Ramsay was made pipe major, the band won the European Championships, and was placed in every major competition in 1965. In 1965, 1966 and 1967 it won every major competition except the

, which was at that time dominated by Muirhead & Sons, which won five consecutive times between 1965 and 1969. The drum corps, however, did win the title of Best Drum Corps at the Worlds in 1966 and 1967, before Alex Duthart moved to Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band to win the title of best drum corps with that band in 1968. The band's best overall result in the World Championships was a third place in 1967. John D. Burgess played with the band after settling in Invergordon in 1966. Burgess had taken over from Donald Shaw Ramsay as pipe major of Edinburgh Police in 1957. The band broke up after sponsorship ended in 1967, four years after its inception.

Recordings

The band was musically innovative, and made a famous recording of the

pibroch Pibroch, or is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, has for some f ...

''The Old Woman's Lullaby'', a style of music normally performed by a solo piper, with multiple harmonies and drums. *''Pipes in Concert'' (1966)

References

External links

Image of the bandPlaying "The Old Woman's Lullaby" (Youtube)
{{Authority control 1964 establishments in Scotland Grade 1 pipe bands 1967 disestablishments in Scotland Scottish pipe bands