In the summer of 1985, my sister Robyn, a terrific Highland
dancer, was asked to participate on a tour of Scotland with our
local pipe band.
She went.
In fact, we all went; Mom, Dad, my sister and I, and my Grandma
Helen. It was a great 3 week trip 'round Alba that August - 25 years
ago. I was young, and the memories fade over time, but two
significant things happened on that trip, that will forever be a part
of my life.
One thing that I'll never forget, and that would ultimately shape
my personality as I grew up, was the atmosphere of the bus.
"Flyin 'cross the land, trying to get a hand, playin' in a Traveling Band"
Yeah!
No doubt, I enjoyed seeing the band perform, and seeing the country,
the Highlands, the funny looking cows, and the castles... but I loved
the bus! That's what it was all about! The country was nice... the
history I could appreciate, but get me back on the bus! The
camaraderie, the music, the singing, the laughs... that was the life
for me!
We got home and I started drumming lesson immediately.
The other significant memory from that trip to Scotland was
August 17, 1985. We rode the bus to Hamilton for the World Pipe
Band Championships! The band we were travelling with competed
in the grade 4 event, and, Robyn competed in the Highland Dancing.
Mostly my Dad and I walked around listening to the grade 1 bands,
and it was easy to see who owned the park - The Strathclyde Police.
Everyone was there to hear the Cops. They seemed like celebrities
to me. Every grade one band would have a handful of people around,
having a listen, but the Cops had hundreds. I even recall the few
days in Glasgow prior to the Worlds, and always hearing the same
from the locals: "Aye, ye're here fer the World Pipin' are ye? Well ye
shuldnae bother. It'll be the Polis again!". The people in Glasgow
were proud of "their band", and I knew the importance of the
Strathclyde Police Pipe Band before I knew what a paraddidle was.
By 1989, I was making regular trips to Scotland with Alberta
Caledonia (Edmonton Caledonia in those days...) for the World
Championships. I was 13 years old in 1989 and a bit blown away by
the whole thing. It was interesting to have watched the games in '85,
but now, 4 years later, I was there competing with a grade one band!
I couldn't believe it. All the bands that I'd been listening to on the
record player at home were there, and, who does our bus park
beside? The Strathclyde Police! What a great experience! I was
mesmerized watching the band, and boy did I watch! I watched how
they walked off the bus, how they set their drums down, how they
stood, how they tied their brogues... lol, it was amazing to me. I
remember how hard my band worked to get set up, and try to find
a sound, get organized and stay calm, but they just seemed to be
perfect out of the box. Not surprisingly, they won it all that year (as
they did nearly every year from '79 to '91) and I consider myself
lucky to have watched 3 of those Championship performances in
'85, '89 and, their last win, in 1991.
I have dozens and dozens of piping and pipe band recordings on LP,
cassette, cd, VHS, dvd, mp3, even a few old 78's! The first album I
ever bought was The Strathclyde Police "Champion of Champions -
Champions of the World"! What an album! I also have "6 in a Row"
and "Strathclyde Police Pipers"... even a couple from the Glasgow
Police era. The Polis, to me, were never breaking any new ground
with their arrangements; I listened to the Vale and the Frasers for
that. However, those Strathclyde albums from the '80s were my
text book, and they continue to be today. When I wanted to
understand how to properly play a polka or a 6/8 march or a
9/8 march... I studied the Polis. I still use those album all the time
with my students. They are definitive.
Now that I think back over the years, I remember attending
seminars with Scott MacAulay in the early '90s - the topic being
ensemble and medley construction - and his examples were always
the Strathclyde Police. I remember another seminar on "idiom"
(by Colin MacLellan, I think) and the examples we listened to were...
yep you guessed it! I also have memories of John Fisher transcribing
the Polis MSR from '91 and us playing it together: Miss Elspeth
Campbell, Cameronian Rant & Pretty Marion. Singles from hell! John
called that MSR the epitome of pipe band ensemble! It just seemed
like there was the Strathclyde Police, and then there was everyone else.
Sadly, there's now just everyone else.
God Bless the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band!
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