The Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band is a

grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by re ...

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of Bagpipes, 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 b ...

from

Shotts Shotts is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The village has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertram de ...

, in the

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

region of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The band has won 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 ...

sixteen times. The current

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 ...

is Emmett Conway.

History

The Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band was formed in 1910 by Pipe Major Dugald MacFarlane. The band purchased its first uniform with kilts of the McKenzie tartan in 1914, but despite entering many competitions, the band did not attain competitive success until Pipe Major Tom McAllister took the lead role in 1929. In 1935 the band won the Grade 2 world championship, and were upgraded to Grade 1 for the 1936 season, when they won the British Championship on the first attempt. After a suspension of competitions during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the band won the World Championships in 1948 and 1952 under Tom McAllister, for a total of 21 major championships during his leadership of the band. Tom McAllister's son John Kerr McAllister took over as pipe major in 1954, in partnership with leading drummer

Alex Duthart Alex Duthart (7 October 1925 – 27 November 1986) was a Scottish drummer. He is widely regarded as having revolutionised pipe band snare drum playing. Life Duthart was born on 7 October 1925 in Cambusnethan, near Wishaw in North Lanarkshire ...

. Under this leadership, the band won four consecutive World Championships, between 1957 and 1960, setting a record for the time. After losing several members, including Alex Duthart, and not competing in 1963, Willie Stevenson was appointed as leading drummer and the band resumed competition in 1964. John Kerr McAllister retired in 1968, having led the band to 26 major championship victories, to be succeeded by his younger brother Tom McAllister Junior. Alex Duthart returned in 1970, and in the next twelve years before Tom retired the band won a further 23 major championships, including the 1980 World Championships. Alex retired in 1982 and Tom in 1984, and were succeeded by leading drummer John Scullion and pipe major James A. Bell. At the end of 1986, Robert Mathieson and

Jim Kilpatrick Jim Kilpatrick MBE (born 11 August 1956) is a Scottish pipe band drummer, and leading drummer of the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band. He has won numerous drumming titles as both a solo drummer and in pipe band competitions, enjoying his greatest c ...

, former members of the band, took over as pipe major and leading drummer respectively. The band won 30 major championships under Mathieson, who retired at the end of 2010 to be replaced by Gavin Walker. Following the unexpected resignation of Gavin Walker just prior to the 2012 World Championships, Ryan Canning was appointed as the new pipe major of the band. The band did not, however, compete in the World Championships that year, partially due to Kilpatrick's suspension by the

RSPBA The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) is an association aiming to oversee pipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the development of pipe band culture worldwidepipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the develo ...

over a comment posted on Facebook. In 2013, the band announced the end of its decade long sponsorship from The House of Edgar and the name reverted to Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band. In 2015, Shotts won the World Championships again, the first major championship won under Canning and the first victory by a Scottish band since Shotts won the title in 2005. Kilpatrick left the band in October 2015, a statement from the 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. but in his own statement 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." Emmett Conway took over as pipe major of the band in late 2018.

Pipe Majors

*''Dugald MacFarlane'' (1910–1929) *''Tom MacAllister Sr.'' (1929–1954) *''J.K. MacAllister'' (1954–1968) *''Tom MacAllister Jr.'' (1968–1984) *''James A. Bell'' (1984–1986) *''Robert Mathieson'' (1986–2010) *''Gavin Walker'' (2010–2012) *''Ryan Canning'' (2012–2018) *''Emmett Conway'' (2018– )

Leading Drummers

*''George Crawford'' *''Willie (Teddy) Gilchrist'' (?-1949) *''John Kirkwood'' (1949–1953) *''John Kerr'' (1953–1955) *''Alex Duthart'' (1957–1963) *''Willie Stevenson'' (1963–1970) *''

'' (1970–1982) *''John Scullion'' (1982–1986) *''Arthur Cook'' (1986) *''

'' (1986–2015) *''Andrew Lawson'' (2015– )

Discography

*''World Champions'' (1960) *''Champions Supreme'' (1965) *''The Covenanter'' (1968) *''Parade of the Pipes'' (1970) *''Pipes & Drums'' (1970) *''Bagpipes, Brass & Accordion'' (1971) *''The Shores of Loch Katrine'' (1974) *''Bagpipe Marches and Music of Scotland'' (1976) *''Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band'' (1976) *''Champion of Champions'' (1981) *''Another Quiet Sunday'' (1992) *''By the Waters Edge'' (1994) *''The Pipe Major's Choice'' (1999) *''La Boum Ecosse'' (2001) *''Legendary House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band'' (2005) *''Rise'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Scottish pipe bands Musical groups established in 1910 Grade 1 pipe bands Organisations based in North Lanarkshire World Pipe Band Championships winners 1910 establishments in Scotland