A Diamond Waltz for Waverley
Folk musicians Callum Edwards and Ross Miller joined a host of Scottish talent to release a charity single - A Diamond Waltz for Waverley.
Released on Friday June 11, the single is raising money and awareness of the PS Waverley, the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world, to mark her 75th anniversary.
The much-loved Waverley is the sole survivor of a once-vast fleet of passenger steamships which plied the British coast.
Waverley is about to celebrate her diamond anniversary, with 2022 marking 75 years since her maiden voyage.
Ross Miller’s pipes and Callum Edwards’ drums are joined on A Diamond Waltz for Waverley by Charlie Stewart on fiddle, Rory Matheson on accordion, Craig Irving on guitar, Alistair Black on mandolin and David Edwards, Callum’s dad, on accordion.
The combined pipes and drums of the ports of call of Waverley also feature on the track, comprised of young pipers and drummers from towns visited by the ship.
Jane Gillies, Neil Gillies Junior, Alister Booth and Sophie McLachlan from Rothesay and District Pipe Band, Amaidh Stoddart from Dunoon Grammar School Pipe Band and Alasdair Huxtable and Drew Crockett from Helensburgh Clan Colquhoun Pipe Band took part in the charity single.
Members of Isle of Arran Pipe Band and Isle of Arran Music School Pipe Band, South Ayrshire Schools, Kintyre Schools, 1st Largs Boys’ Brigade and Inveraray and District pipe bands also took part.
The impact of Covid-19 meant that funding dropped to meet the cost of vital maintenance to keep Waverley sailing.
A recent appeal raised more than £350,000, but more funds are required to keep Waverley sailing.
Both living in Glasgow, Callum and Ross met at the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland and have collaborated on various projects over the years.
Ross is a bagpipe tutor on Arran while Callum works closely with the Boys Brigade Pipe Band in Largs.
A Diamond Waltz for Waverley is out now and available to download on all the usual platforms.