I keep getting ‘upkilted’ by female fans
ONE of Scotland’s top bagpipers says he is a victim of “upskirting” and is groped and photographed by women.
Red Hot Chilli Pipers mu s i c i a n Wi l l i e Armstrong, 55, says being groped or “upskirted” is a weekly occurrence when the kilt-wearing band perform.
Upskirting was banned in Scotland in 2009, with the rest of the UK following suit last year.
Willie said that asking, “Are you a true Scotsman?” would not be acceptable if a man was asking a woman if she was wearing knickers.
On BBC Radio Scotland Drivetime, dad- of- two Willie said: “It’s been a constant thing since I was a wee laddie. Women used to put their hands up your kilt. I used to tell my mum and dad – they would say, ‘ It’s just one of those things’. But is it really? That was 1976 behaviour, it’s not acceptable.
“It’s the constant, ‘Are you a true Scotsman?’ – basically asking you if you’re wearing underwear or not. If you reversed that behav i our and I was to s ay to a woman, ‘Can I ask what you ’re wearing underneath your dress?’, it would be a wh o l e different ball game.”
Retired f irefighter Wi l lie, who lives in Cumbernauld, said a woman snapped a photo under his kilt and passed it around to her friends at a corporate event.
He said: “I actually had to stop playing. I keep
I don’t know how many times there were hands up my kilt WILLIE ARMSTRONG ON BEING GROPED BY WOMEN
thinking, imagine I’d done that to her – I would be arrested and rightly so.” Wi l l i e added: “I remember playing at Ayr Town Hall. I came off the stage and the crowd were going crazy. I was trying to get back to the stage and I don’t know how many times there were hands up my kilt. I was trying to play my pipes and also protect my own dignity.
“It’s not just me, it would happen to every member of the band and it’s not just guys in the Chilli Pipers.
“If you’re going to say something to someone or touch somebody, you need to have their permission first. There’s a boundary there you cannot cross. And too many times it has been crossed.”