Lone piper at the festival enjoys his ‘moment’
CORPORAL Charles MacLean of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, has been playing the pipes since he was 12.
He was influenced to take up an instrument by his grandfather, a drummer with the 8th Battalion Argylls, while growing up in Lochgilphead.
Initially he was taught at school, but he was quickly taken under the wing of renowned piper, Arthur Gillies.
Charles joined the Army at 16, which has given him the opportunity to travel around the world playing the pipes.
He did a three-month tour of America, which was like a mini Tattoo, and has also performed in Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Israel, to name a few.
Now 32, Charles has been part of previous Edinburgh Military Tattoos over the years and is taking part again this month.
As one of the most prestigious and revered in the world, it’s always a thrill to be involved.
Charles, who now lives in Campbeltown with wife Morven, is taking part in the mass pipe and drums act at the beginning of the show, as well as a dancing item and slow music piece.
When the Tattoo’s director, Major Gordon Rowan, approached him with some news recently, Charles thought he was having a laugh at first.
Major Rowan was Charles’ first pipe major, so they go a long way back, but this was no joke.
He wanted Charles to be The Lone Piper – the iconic final performance at the end of the Tattoo each night.
The first evening that Charles went up on the castle’s ramparts, he couldn’t believe just how far he could see all around.
He was fixed on to the safety harness (it can become quite blowy up there) as the nerves built. It was nerve-racking, but he was determined to enjoy the moment.
As the spotlight fell on him and the sold-out crowd waited in anticipation, Charles fixated on a point in the distance, gathered himself together and made sure he enjoyed the moment.
Twenty years after Charles first lifted the pipes, the strains of Lochaber No More filled the Edinburgh air as he stood proudly above the packed esplanade. It’s a moment he’ll never forget.
Read about The Broons’ visit to the Tattoo on page 53.