Runrig reveals former singer will be special farewell guest

● Munro to perform at two shows in band’s final hoorah

Rock band Runrig have revealed that former frontman Donnie Munro will be performing at their farewell concerts in Scotland this summer.

Munro will be appearing at Stirling’s City Park 21 years after leaving the band, as they perform a series of farewell concerts.

Munro, who will be opening the band’s two concerts beneath the ramparts of Stirling Castle on 17 and 18 August, said “it feels so right to be there at the end”.

A statement from the band announcing Munro’s appearances said the two final concerts would be “a celebration of Runrig’s significant achievements over the last 45 years”.

Runrig sparked a worldwide scramble for tickets when they announced they would be bowing out after 45 years with a final show in Stirling, along with dates in Denmark and Germany this summer, with an extra City Park gig added to accommodate demand.

Munro joined Runrig in 1974, the year after the group was formed by brothers Calum and Rory Macdonald and Blair Douglas. He was with the band when they enjoyed huge success in the UK single and album charts after landing a major record company deal, and played a huge outdoor concert on the banks of Loch Lomond.

Munro left the group to pursue a career in politics but, unlike long-time bandmate Pete Wishart, who left in 2001, Munro failed in an attempt to win election to the House of Commons. Canadian singer Bruce Guthro has fronted the band since 1999.

Munro said: “Runrig has been a hugely significant part of my life, over many years and, having been there from the beginning, it feels so right to also be there at the end.

“To have the opportunity to share in and to celebrate the last 45 years of the band’s iconic music and the special relationship we have all enjoyed with an amazing audience, is a great honour and I am delighted to have been invited to play a part. Runrig has been such an important part of my life, I feel that I departed but never left. To be there as Runrig say their final goodbyes will be deeply moving.”

Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis has already been announced as a special guest for the Stirling gigs, which are expected to attract around 45,000 fans

0 Donnie Munro will be performing with Runrig this summer over the two dates. Tickets are still on sale for the first show.

After the gigs were announced last autumn, Munro revealed that “tentative discussions” had been initiated to determine “the most appropriate way in which to bring this incredible entity of Scottish musical and cultural history to a dignified and appropriately celebratory ending”.

Rory Macdonald, bass player with Runrig, said: “We’re delighted that Donnie and Julie Fowlis will join us in Stirling as our guests. These will be unique shows as we celebrate 45 years in the music industry, and to have them there with us, just makes our final farewell extra special.”

Fowlis said: “It is a huge honour to be invited to support Runrig for their big finale.

“My childhood heroes, I am immensely proud of the band and what they have done for Gaelic and Scottish music around the world.

“It is sure to be a poignant performance, a memorable weekend, that I wouldn’t miss for the world.”