Jim Kilpatrick

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(born 11 August 1956) is a Scottish

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

drummer, and leading drummer of the

Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band The Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band is a pipe band formed from top-class solo players. History The idea of forming the band came about in 2007 at the Glenfiddich Piping Championships, one of the world's premier solo piping events. The name comes fr ...

. He has won numerous drumming titles as both a solo drummer and in pipe band competitions, enjoying his greatest competitive success with the

Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band The Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band is a grade 1 pipe band from Shotts, in the North Lanarkshire region of Scotland. The band has won the World Pipe Band Championships sixteen times. The current pipe major is Emmett Conway. History Th ...

Life

Kilpatrick was born in

Whitburn, West Lothian Whitburn (originally Whiteburn) is a small town in West Lothian, Scotland, halfway between Scotlands's two largest cities, about east of Glasgow and west of Edinburgh. The nearest major towns are Bathgate, and Livingston, . History Origin ...

on 11 August 1956, and started playing the snare drum at the age of 9 or 10. His partner Fiona Cruickshank was

pipe major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

of the Deeside Ladies Pipe Band. His uncle Tom Brown is also a pipe band drummer, and was leading drummer of

Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band The Peoples Ford Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band is a pipe band from West Lothian, Scotland which formed in 1972. The band has competed in Grade 1 since being promoted to that level in 1980. Throughout its competitive history, the b ...

until he was succeeded by his son Gordon, who is Kilpatrick's cousin. He was awarded an

in 2003 for "services to music."

Career

At the age of 12 he joined his first band, in Grade 1. In 1971, at the age of 15, he joined the

, which was at the time under the leadership of Alex Duthart. He left to become leading drummer of Polkemmet Pipe Band in 1980, along with Robert Mathieson who also came from Shotts at the same time to become pipe major. Kilpatrick became leading drummer of Shotts in 1986. He has won the drumming title at the

World Pipe Band Championships The World Pipe Band Championships is a pipe band competition held in Glasgow, Scotland. The World Pipe Band Championships as we currently know them have been staged since 1947 although the Grade 1 Pipe Band Competition winners at the annual Cowal ...

nineteen times, fifteen of those as leading drummer. This includes a run of eleven consecutive times between 1988 and 1998, a record which still stands. In 1991, Shotts won the drumming title in all five major championships, the only time this has occurred. Kilpatrick was suspended in 2012 for comments made on

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about the result the band received at the British Championships. This led to the resignation of pipe major Gavin Walker and the band withdrawing from all competition for the rest of the season, including the World Championships. In 2015, Shotts won the World Championships for the first time in ten years, breaking a run of four consecutive victories by

Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band The Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band is a competitive grade one pipe band from Lisburn, Northern Ireland named in honour of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. The band has won the World Pipe Band Championships 13 times, making it ...

. In October 2015, a statement released by Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band reported that Kilpatrick had agreed to step down and retire from his position as leading drummer, and that corps member Blair Brown would be his replacement. The statement offered from the band did not include any quotations directly attributed to Kilpatrick. In his own statement, released on 17 October 2015, Kilpatrick stated that his removal from the band was "the final act in a long-running, premeditated and well-planned coup d’état orchestrated by Ryan Canning, Blair Brown, Glenn Brown and perhaps three other members of the Shotts band." In 2016, Kilpatrick became leading drummer of the

, which was reformed to compete for the 2016 season. He has stated that this will be his final season of competition. Kilpatrick also competes in solo events, and has won the World Solo Drumming Championships a record sixteen times. He has been involved in teaching at the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

, as well as giving masterclasses around the world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilpatrick, Jim Scottish drummers British male drummers Pipe band drummers People from Whitburn, West Lothian 1956 births Living people