Runrig

For the cultivation method see Run rig.

Runrig

Runrig is a Scottish folk rock band founded by brothers Rory and Calum MacDonald and their friend Blair Douglas in 1973 in the Hebrides of Scotland. They played their first concert in Glasgow's Kelvin Hall.

History

Membership

Donnie Munro joined the following year and they started to expand outside their native Skye. Douglas left the band in late-1974 and was replaced by Robert MacDonald. This line-up continued until 1978, when Douglas re-joined and Malcolm Jones became guitarist, both displacing Robert MacDonald. This lasted until the following year when Douglas left again to pursue a solo career. 1981 saw the arrival of drummer Iain Bayne (ex-New Celeste) and keyboard player Richard Chearns. Chearns left in February 1986 and was replaced by ex-Big Country member Pete Wishart. This formed what became known as the classic line-up for the next 11 years.

In 1997, lead singer Donnie Munro left the band for a career in politics. The remaining members contemplated splitting up, but after a long search they replaced Donnie with Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Guthro.

In 2001, Peter Wishart, the band's keyboard player, left after being elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of Tayside North for the Scottish National Party. In the 2005 election he was again elected, this time for the new constituency of Perth and North Perthshire again for the SNP. Brian Hurren stepped in to take Wishart's place in the band.

Music

Runrig's first album was released in 1978. Called Play Gaelic, it was a groundbreaking effort, as all the songs were in the named language. The music is light, warm and acoustic-based. It was re-released in 1990 as "Play Gaelic, the first legendary recording". The second album, The Highland Connection, was released a year later on the band's own label, Ridge Records. A somewhat transitional album, it features wailing electric guitars strewn among pretty ballads. Here to be found is the original version of "Loch Lomond", a later version was to become their signature song and its closing song at concerts. The artistical breakthrough came with Recovery in 1981, a thematic record dealing with the rise and politics of Scotland's Gaelic community. The music is there to match the ambitions and Runrig were now well on the way in moulding their unique sound.

In 1982 they re-recorded "Loch Lomond" as their first single. This brought them to the attention of people outside the Highlands and Islands. They signed to a small label called Simple Records in 1984, who almost killed the band off; two singles were released. The first was "Dance Called America"; in the process of this being mixed, the master tape became damaged, appearing to make the record sound out of tune and this is most noticeable in the 12-inch version's outro.

The second single, "Skye", disappointed many fans, as the song was arranged in a way that did not meet the band's approval. A longer version of "Skye" appeared on the Alba Records compilation "A feast of Scottish Folk Music, Volume 1" along with an early version of "Lifeline", both of which were previously unreleased on albums, and "Na H-uain as T-Earrach" which was the B-side to "Dance Called America".

The band broke loose of Simple and returned to their Ridge Label. They engaged the services of producer Chris Harley (a.k.a. Christopher Rainbow) who brought to their recordings the benefit of his experience as a solo artist and a singer with The Alan Parsons Project. The springboard to a mainstream market came in the form of Heartland in 1985, a strong record welding Gaelic sounds with anthemic rock music, but inevitably marked by its times. The same can be said about Cutter and the Clan (1987), the band's first album on a major label, Chrysalis, though the album had previously been released by Ridge shortly before the band signed to Chrysalis.

Now the band started to come to prominence in England and the period from 1987–97 marks Runrig's most successful run, during which time they achieved placings in both the UK albums and singles charts and toured extensively.

Recent history

Runrig's popularity has waned somewhat since its peak in the mid-1990s, but it is still very much an active band, touring regularly and releasing albums through its own label, Ridge Records. The 2001 album The Stamping Ground was seen very much as a return to form after the lacklustre In Search of Angels (1999), but 2003's Proterra divided opinion yet again.

Runrig played their first U.S. concert, a benefit for the charity "Glasgow the Caring City", April 4, 2006 at the Nokia Theatre in New York City. In a reunion of sorts, founding member Blair Douglas joined the band onstage, playing accordion on several numbers. In the audience were fans from as far away as Texas, Alabama, Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, and Scotland.

While the bulk of their 2007 tour is scheduled for Denmark, Germany, and England, an outdoor show, titled "Beat the Drum," was held at Loch Ness on Saturday, 18th August 2007. It was staged at Borlum Farm, Drumnadrochit. It actually was an all-day music festival, with many other bands, including wolfstone amongst others, Runrig being the headline act.

Membership

Current members

• Rory MacDonald (since 1973, Songwriter, bass, and vocals) — (born 27 July 1949, in Dornoch, Scotland)
• Calum MacDonald (since 1973, Songwriter and percussionist) — (born 12 November 1953, in Lochmaddy, North Uist, Scotland)
• Malcolm Jones (since 1978, Guitars, pipes, accordion) - (born 07 july 1959, in Inverness, Scotland)
• Iain Bayne (since 1980, Drums) - (born 01 january 1960, in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland)
• Bruce Guthro (since 1997, Lead vocals and guitar) - (born 31 august 1961, in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada)
• Brian Hurren (since 2001, Keyboards and vocals) — (born 09 october 1980, in Falkirk, Scotland)

Former members

• Peter Wishart (Keyboards)
• Donnie Munro (Lead vocals)
• Blair Douglas (Accordion and keyboards)
• Robert MacDonald (Accordion)
• Richard Cherns (Keyboards)
• Campbell Gunn (Vocals)

Discography

Studio Albums

• Play Gaelic (1978)
• The Highland Connection (1979)
• Recovery (1981)
• Heartland (1985)
• The Cutter And The Clan (1987)
• Searchlight (1989)
• The Big Wheel (1991)
• Amazing Things (1993)
• Mara (1995)
• In Search Of Angels (1999)
• The Stamping Ground (2001)
• Proterra (2003)
• Everything You See (2007)

Live Albums

• Once in a Lifetime (1988)
• Transmitting Live (1994)
• Live At Celtic Connections (2000)
• Day Of Days (2004)

Compilations

• Long Distance (1996)
• The Gaelic Collection (1998)
• The Best (2005)

Live DVDs

• City of Lights
• Wheel in Motion
• Air an Oir
• Day of Days

External links

• Runrig's official website