The Run Rig Dance Band
by
B&F May 2008
Mention
the name Runrig, and most people immediately think of the Skye-based Scots
super-group, a rock band with sell-out concerts for tens of thousands on the
shores of Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. However many Highlanders’ and
Hebrideans’ musical memories take them back 35 years or more to the smoky Skye
village halls and the Gay Gordons, Eightsome Reels and Gaelic Waltzes that made
for a typical Friday or Saturday night’s entertainment. The music then would
invariably be provided by such local Skye bands as Peter MacSween, Ian
‘Cordovox’ MacDonald, The Roddy Urquhart Band, Alasdair Michie, The John Munro
Trio or The Skyevers. The latter band was slightly different in that they had
grown up with the sound of Bobby MacLeod in one ear, and Elvis in the other,
and the music they played reflected this eclectic mix.
It was these formative years that would inspire Rory Macdonald, then a member of the Skyevers, to broaden his musical horizons.
Then, as now, many young people left the islands to study or work in the cities.
Blair Douglas’s family had already moved to Glasgow, and his friends, brothers Rory and Calum Macdonald, eventually joined him there – Rory to attend Glasgow School of Art and Calum to study PE at Jordanhill College. Blair’s mother Ina took pity on the two Macdonald lads and fed them every Sunday night for months. She was the Secretary of the Highland Society’s North Uist and Bernera Association and in March 1973 she announced that she needed a band to play for a function taking place in the Kelvin Hall in a couple of weeks’ time. Blair was already making a name for himself as a talented accordionist, and Rory had played guitar in The Skyevers – so all that was needed was a drummer! Calum was forever keeping time with feet and hands while Blair and Rory were jamming together, so he seemed the obvious choice. However, not only did he not have a drum kit – he’d never even played one! Nothing daunted he headed off to Biggar’s in Sauchiehall Street and bought a yellow, second-hand, Ajax drum kit on hire purchase for £49 plus interest. Rory recounted the story to Tom Morton, author of ‘Going Home, The Runrig Story’. “He came home one Saturday afternoon with this drum kit in a taxi. The bedsit we were in was part of a bigger house, and there was a TV lounge. Calum asked the landlord if he could rehearse his drums in the basement. He didn’t even know how to set them up! I was sitting watching TV with this old man in his seventies and, half way through a film, we heard this incredibly loud banging from underneath us. It was an unearthly racket and the old man nearly jumped out of his skin, shouting, “What the hell was THAT?” There was complete uproar. The landlord told Calum to stop after five minutes, and that was the only time he played a kit until the dance.”
With the band line-up complete, the lads had to decide on a name. Early suggestions were ‘Rockall’ and ‘The Jacobites’, but the weekend before the first gig Rory was reading Blair’s Scottish history notes (that was what he was studying at Glasgow University) and came across a reference to the ‘run-rig’ system of crafting. (Run-rig was a system of land occupation commonly practiced in Scotland. The name refers to the ridge and furrow pattern, with alternating ‘runs’ (furrows) and ‘rigs’ (ridges). The system was still common in the 20th century in the Hebrides. In Ireland, a similar system was called rundale. The run-rig pattern can still be seen on part of Braid Hills Golf Course in Edinburgh.) And so they became the Run Rig Dance Band.
Outfits were organised by Blair’s mum and sister and consisted of purple shirts, black trousers and bow-ties: Rory was less than impressed!
The first gig went really well and The Run Rig Dance Band set out on the long road to fame. Calum booked The Waternish Hall on Skye and their first gig on home soil saw only Blair and Calum performing because Rory was stuck in Glasgow at work as a graphic artist. Music was all that Rory really wanted though, and he packed in his job and headed north. Throughout that summer of 1973 The Run Rig Dance Band were in great demand all over the island. According to The West Highland Free Press the three Portree boys were ‘about to broaden their horizons’ by going to play in Uist!
That same summer Donnie Munro was home on holiday from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. He told Tom Morton, “It was very funny. I came home from Art School during the summer. One night somebody said there was a dance on at the local village hall and a band called Rin-Rig was playing. I said, ‘Oh, who is it?’ They said it was Rory Macdonald and I remembered The Skyevers who were totally unreal, the original Skye pop group. ‘Oh yes’ I said, and that was fine. Then they said Blair Douglas, whom I knew, and I heard he’d become an accordion player. So again, that was fine, and I said, “so who else?” And someone said Calum Macdonald and I went ‘CALUM MACDONALD! Calum was in my class at school and I’ve never heard him sing a note or play an instrument or do anything musical whatsoever, ever! What the hell is he doing there?” Somebody said, “Och, he plays the drums.” So I went up to listen to them, and it was just a brilliant time. They were playing Scottish country dance tunes, but I’d never heard them played that was before.”
Donnie went along to another of the dances later that same summer and ended up singing at the interval. So his first gig with Runrig was as a support act!
During their final year of studies in Glasgow (Rory had remained on Skye and Donnie was back in Aberdeen) Calum and Blair played a few gigs with friend Donnie ‘Large’ Macdonald and Noel Eadie (who also played bass with Andy MacColl’s SDB). But this time they were prepared for the summer and they booked a full summer dance programme on Skye – this time promoting themselves. Donnie joined them as their lead singer. They also “broadened their horizons” some more with gigs in Mallaig, Benbecula, Plockton and The Corran Halls in Oban.
Rory told Jim Wilkie (author of ‘Blue Suede Brogans’, a history of Scottish rock and pop music), “The pop stuff was nowhere, but between Calum, Blair and myself there was a tremendous vibe for the Scottish stuff. Basically we were a dance band, playing to excite people on the dance floor…..then reacting to the audience. I moved back to Skye, and the summer of 1974 was the first full one we played.”
On 21st June 1974 they played in The Skye Gathering Hall and Calum recorded it in his diary….
“First summer engagement for the school youth wing end-of-term dance. Crack was good, band played well but a few things need polishing up. Then, just as we were about to get paid, Donald the Hall enters with perfect timing. “Oh”, he says, “there will be £10 off the bill, you see, the b****rs ripped the cistern off the wall – we’ve not got a drop of water in the house, and the plumbers won’t be here until morning.” With that he clatters Irene Macleod (who was organising the dance) round the shoulders and staggers off with his broom.” By the end of 1974 Blair had left to pursue other musical interests, including another ceilidh/rock band called The Electric Ceilidh Band (with the aforementioned Jim Wilkie), playing the same circuit as his former colleagues.
His replacement was accordionist Robert Macdonald. Robert was a real purist when it came to strict tempo for Scottish dance music. If Calum was getting over enthusiastic on his drum kit, Robert would glare at him and shout, “Snare, SNARE!” Just before the band made their first nerve-wracking live appearance on BBC TV Robert came out with the immortal line, “Listen lads, I think we’re kidding ourselves on here.” He was the driving force behind the dance music on the first album ‘Play Gaelic’, which was released in 1977, but music was really a hobby for Robert and by 1978 he had left the band and Blair had returned. A fifth member had joined that year, young piper and guitarist Malcolm Jones, from Portree. Malcolm was a big fan of The Electric Ceilidh Band and had also seen The Run Rig Dance Band play many times. He viewed them as simply a good time dance band. He jammed with Runrig around Christmas time 1977 and got the bug for live performance. He locked himself away for the next six months or so practicing his guitar and by the time he joined the band full-time in the summer was still, in his words, merely ‘mediocre’!
By now the dance music was thoroughly interspersed with rock, pop and folk. Donnie recounted this story to Jim Wilkie. “We did the first big Plaza Ballroom and billed it ‘Celtic Rock Night’. We were flyposting at Bridgeton Cross (Rangers Territory) late at night when these guys came along and said, ‘Ho! What the **** is this Celtic music by the way?’ ‘K’, wa said, trying not to panic ‘It’s Keltic.’”
There have been several personnel changes over the years, Blair left once more and drummer Iain Bayne(from New Celeste and Billy Anderson’s Albany) joined. Keyboard players Richard Cherns was with them for a short spell, later to be replaced by Pete Wishart (now an SNP MP) and latterly by Brian Hurren. In 1997 lead singer Donnie Munro left and after a long (and far-flung) search, Canadian Bruce Guthro joined the line-up.
As a band they now play very rarely for dancing, although Malcolm Jones plays regularly in ceilidh bands (having taken up the accordion in addition to his other musical duties) and has an in-depth knowledge of dance tempos and tunes, and Iain Bayne has been known to cart his snare drum along to the odd event. Go along to a concert today (or watch their new DVD) and you might just recognize a few bits and pieces they manage to slip in from their former guise as a Ceilidh Dance Band – the influences are obviously still there.
After 35 years the Run Rig Dance Band is known world-wide as simply Runrig and their popularity is immense. They attract huge audience wherever they play and their music and the song-writing skills of Calum and Rory are admired throughout Scotland and beyond. Despite that, they remain completely down to earth and one sometimes has the impression that they still think that they’re ‘kidding themselves on here!’ From the village halls to the massive stadiums, Runrig have stayed true to their roots and their Gaelic culture. It’s been a long journey but, as any fan will tell you, the atmosphere at a Runrig concert is just as heady and exciting as those far off days in the smoky village halls. At heart, they’re still The Run Rig Dance Band.
With thanks to Rory Macdonald, Malcolm Jones and Norman MacLeod (Runrig Archives). Additional sources : ‘Going home. The Runrig Story’, by Tom Morton – Mainstream Publishing. ‘Blue Suede Brogans. Scenes from the Secret Life of Scottish Rock Music, by Jim Wilkie – Mainstream publishing.
It was these formative years that would inspire Rory Macdonald, then a member of the Skyevers, to broaden his musical horizons.
Then, as now, many young people left the islands to study or work in the cities.
Blair Douglas’s family had already moved to Glasgow, and his friends, brothers Rory and Calum Macdonald, eventually joined him there – Rory to attend Glasgow School of Art and Calum to study PE at Jordanhill College. Blair’s mother Ina took pity on the two Macdonald lads and fed them every Sunday night for months. She was the Secretary of the Highland Society’s North Uist and Bernera Association and in March 1973 she announced that she needed a band to play for a function taking place in the Kelvin Hall in a couple of weeks’ time. Blair was already making a name for himself as a talented accordionist, and Rory had played guitar in The Skyevers – so all that was needed was a drummer! Calum was forever keeping time with feet and hands while Blair and Rory were jamming together, so he seemed the obvious choice. However, not only did he not have a drum kit – he’d never even played one! Nothing daunted he headed off to Biggar’s in Sauchiehall Street and bought a yellow, second-hand, Ajax drum kit on hire purchase for £49 plus interest. Rory recounted the story to Tom Morton, author of ‘Going Home, The Runrig Story’. “He came home one Saturday afternoon with this drum kit in a taxi. The bedsit we were in was part of a bigger house, and there was a TV lounge. Calum asked the landlord if he could rehearse his drums in the basement. He didn’t even know how to set them up! I was sitting watching TV with this old man in his seventies and, half way through a film, we heard this incredibly loud banging from underneath us. It was an unearthly racket and the old man nearly jumped out of his skin, shouting, “What the hell was THAT?” There was complete uproar. The landlord told Calum to stop after five minutes, and that was the only time he played a kit until the dance.”
With the band line-up complete, the lads had to decide on a name. Early suggestions were ‘Rockall’ and ‘The Jacobites’, but the weekend before the first gig Rory was reading Blair’s Scottish history notes (that was what he was studying at Glasgow University) and came across a reference to the ‘run-rig’ system of crafting. (Run-rig was a system of land occupation commonly practiced in Scotland. The name refers to the ridge and furrow pattern, with alternating ‘runs’ (furrows) and ‘rigs’ (ridges). The system was still common in the 20th century in the Hebrides. In Ireland, a similar system was called rundale. The run-rig pattern can still be seen on part of Braid Hills Golf Course in Edinburgh.) And so they became the Run Rig Dance Band.
Outfits were organised by Blair’s mum and sister and consisted of purple shirts, black trousers and bow-ties: Rory was less than impressed!
The first gig went really well and The Run Rig Dance Band set out on the long road to fame. Calum booked The Waternish Hall on Skye and their first gig on home soil saw only Blair and Calum performing because Rory was stuck in Glasgow at work as a graphic artist. Music was all that Rory really wanted though, and he packed in his job and headed north. Throughout that summer of 1973 The Run Rig Dance Band were in great demand all over the island. According to The West Highland Free Press the three Portree boys were ‘about to broaden their horizons’ by going to play in Uist!
That same summer Donnie Munro was home on holiday from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. He told Tom Morton, “It was very funny. I came home from Art School during the summer. One night somebody said there was a dance on at the local village hall and a band called Rin-Rig was playing. I said, ‘Oh, who is it?’ They said it was Rory Macdonald and I remembered The Skyevers who were totally unreal, the original Skye pop group. ‘Oh yes’ I said, and that was fine. Then they said Blair Douglas, whom I knew, and I heard he’d become an accordion player. So again, that was fine, and I said, “so who else?” And someone said Calum Macdonald and I went ‘CALUM MACDONALD! Calum was in my class at school and I’ve never heard him sing a note or play an instrument or do anything musical whatsoever, ever! What the hell is he doing there?” Somebody said, “Och, he plays the drums.” So I went up to listen to them, and it was just a brilliant time. They were playing Scottish country dance tunes, but I’d never heard them played that was before.”
Donnie went along to another of the dances later that same summer and ended up singing at the interval. So his first gig with Runrig was as a support act!
During their final year of studies in Glasgow (Rory had remained on Skye and Donnie was back in Aberdeen) Calum and Blair played a few gigs with friend Donnie ‘Large’ Macdonald and Noel Eadie (who also played bass with Andy MacColl’s SDB). But this time they were prepared for the summer and they booked a full summer dance programme on Skye – this time promoting themselves. Donnie joined them as their lead singer. They also “broadened their horizons” some more with gigs in Mallaig, Benbecula, Plockton and The Corran Halls in Oban.
Rory told Jim Wilkie (author of ‘Blue Suede Brogans’, a history of Scottish rock and pop music), “The pop stuff was nowhere, but between Calum, Blair and myself there was a tremendous vibe for the Scottish stuff. Basically we were a dance band, playing to excite people on the dance floor…..then reacting to the audience. I moved back to Skye, and the summer of 1974 was the first full one we played.”
On 21st June 1974 they played in The Skye Gathering Hall and Calum recorded it in his diary….
“First summer engagement for the school youth wing end-of-term dance. Crack was good, band played well but a few things need polishing up. Then, just as we were about to get paid, Donald the Hall enters with perfect timing. “Oh”, he says, “there will be £10 off the bill, you see, the b****rs ripped the cistern off the wall – we’ve not got a drop of water in the house, and the plumbers won’t be here until morning.” With that he clatters Irene Macleod (who was organising the dance) round the shoulders and staggers off with his broom.” By the end of 1974 Blair had left to pursue other musical interests, including another ceilidh/rock band called The Electric Ceilidh Band (with the aforementioned Jim Wilkie), playing the same circuit as his former colleagues.
His replacement was accordionist Robert Macdonald. Robert was a real purist when it came to strict tempo for Scottish dance music. If Calum was getting over enthusiastic on his drum kit, Robert would glare at him and shout, “Snare, SNARE!” Just before the band made their first nerve-wracking live appearance on BBC TV Robert came out with the immortal line, “Listen lads, I think we’re kidding ourselves on here.” He was the driving force behind the dance music on the first album ‘Play Gaelic’, which was released in 1977, but music was really a hobby for Robert and by 1978 he had left the band and Blair had returned. A fifth member had joined that year, young piper and guitarist Malcolm Jones, from Portree. Malcolm was a big fan of The Electric Ceilidh Band and had also seen The Run Rig Dance Band play many times. He viewed them as simply a good time dance band. He jammed with Runrig around Christmas time 1977 and got the bug for live performance. He locked himself away for the next six months or so practicing his guitar and by the time he joined the band full-time in the summer was still, in his words, merely ‘mediocre’!
By now the dance music was thoroughly interspersed with rock, pop and folk. Donnie recounted this story to Jim Wilkie. “We did the first big Plaza Ballroom and billed it ‘Celtic Rock Night’. We were flyposting at Bridgeton Cross (Rangers Territory) late at night when these guys came along and said, ‘Ho! What the **** is this Celtic music by the way?’ ‘K’, wa said, trying not to panic ‘It’s Keltic.’”
There have been several personnel changes over the years, Blair left once more and drummer Iain Bayne(from New Celeste and Billy Anderson’s Albany) joined. Keyboard players Richard Cherns was with them for a short spell, later to be replaced by Pete Wishart (now an SNP MP) and latterly by Brian Hurren. In 1997 lead singer Donnie Munro left and after a long (and far-flung) search, Canadian Bruce Guthro joined the line-up.
As a band they now play very rarely for dancing, although Malcolm Jones plays regularly in ceilidh bands (having taken up the accordion in addition to his other musical duties) and has an in-depth knowledge of dance tempos and tunes, and Iain Bayne has been known to cart his snare drum along to the odd event. Go along to a concert today (or watch their new DVD) and you might just recognize a few bits and pieces they manage to slip in from their former guise as a Ceilidh Dance Band – the influences are obviously still there.
After 35 years the Run Rig Dance Band is known world-wide as simply Runrig and their popularity is immense. They attract huge audience wherever they play and their music and the song-writing skills of Calum and Rory are admired throughout Scotland and beyond. Despite that, they remain completely down to earth and one sometimes has the impression that they still think that they’re ‘kidding themselves on here!’ From the village halls to the massive stadiums, Runrig have stayed true to their roots and their Gaelic culture. It’s been a long journey but, as any fan will tell you, the atmosphere at a Runrig concert is just as heady and exciting as those far off days in the smoky village halls. At heart, they’re still The Run Rig Dance Band.
With thanks to Rory Macdonald, Malcolm Jones and Norman MacLeod (Runrig Archives). Additional sources : ‘Going home. The Runrig Story’, by Tom Morton – Mainstream Publishing. ‘Blue Suede Brogans. Scenes from the Secret Life of Scottish Rock Music, by Jim Wilkie – Mainstream publishing.