Bagpipers' lament for BBC 'tartan fun day'

Published on Saturday 18 October 2008 19:42

THE skirl of the bagpipes has been the war cry of Scots for centuries, and last night they were marching to the door of the BBC.

The Scottish bagpiping bible, the Piping Times, has vented its anger about "grinning personality girl" Jackie Bird fronting a programme that turned the instrument's most prestigious competition into a "tartan fun day".

In a vitriolic editorial column, the magazine said the BBC Scotland coverage of the World Pipe Band Championships was "flippant", "annoyingly presented", and "verging on the unwatchable", as Bird talked over performances and displayed a lack of piping knowledge.

It went on to accuse the TV personality, along with fellow presenter Laura Marks, of "failing hopelessly to disguise the fact that they would rather be anywhere else on the planet", and giving the programme, which should have showcased world-class talent, "a Blue Peter-esque frivolity".

But the organisers of the event said they were delighted with the BBC1 coverage, as it appealed to a wider audience, and the corporation said it received record-breaking viewing figures.

The annual championships were held on Glasgow Green on September 7, and attracted more than 8,000 pipers from all over the world.

It was shown in a 50-minute programme on the evening of Sunday, September 7, at 6.40pm, and attracted 380,000 viewers, which was 100,000 more than last year's programme. As last year, the programme was introduced by Bird, but the format differed with the addition of "roving reporter" Laura Marks, a new BBC Scotland presenter who is a member of Scottish glam rock band El Presidente.

Bird previously caused controversy as a presenter in 2000 when she wore a sequined dress with a plunging neckline for BBC Scotland's Hogmanay broadcast, provoking suggestions that she looked like a chicken.

The Piping Times was disappointed that Bird and Marks failed to convey the gravitas of the piping championship, and said that many readers had voiced their dislike of the programme. The editorial column asked: "Why, when they hire an expert like (Canadian piper] Bob Worrall do they use him so little? Instead we had two BBC 'personality girls' grinning and dashing about, consumed with faux enthusiasm.

"Let the music and the people who make it speak for themselves. Let an informed presenter provide the continuity and the viewer will get quality all right."

The column was written by Piping Times editor Robert Wallace, a top piper and principal of the College of Piping. He told Scotland on Sunday: "The flippant tone is not reflecting the hard work and the sheer brilliance of the musicianship that goes into it. The BBC just made the pipes and drums all kitsch. If a similar show had been broadcast about top violinists or pianists there would be absolute uproar."

He added that the BBC should worry less about viewing figures and more about the quality of its programmes.

The event, which draws 40,000 spectators, has been broadcast on the BBC for the past three years, following a campaign by pipers to televise the competition.

Wallace said: "This is the national music and it should be on national television. We've got enough stories about the pipers there without them having to give it the spin. As a public service broadcaster, the BBC shouldn't be worrying about the number of people watching it. Maybe the answer is to put it on BBC4 and give it the seriousness it deserves."

Responding to the magazine's criticism, a BBC Scotland spokesman said: "The addition of a roving reporter to this year's coverage enabled us to reflect more fully the range of the performances, particularly from the younger musicians. It also allowed us to give our audiences a fuller sense of the excitement of the World Pipe Band championships.

"Many young people attend the event, either to perform or watch, and we are pleased that we focused on that age group, as well as giving due prominence to the elite performers."

The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, which organises the competition, said it did not share the magazine's disgust and was delighted with the BBC's new style of coverage.

Chief executive Ian Embelton said: "I understand what Mr Wallace is saying, but the BBC is making commercial TV programmes to appeal to a wider audience. There are a few thousand pipe band people in Scotland but the BBC broadcasts to five million people. It very successfully made a programme with wider appeal.

"We recognise it's an entertainment programme and not a traditional music programme."

He added that the piping world was split down the middle in its opinion of the coverage. He said: "Most of the younger element of the pipe band world liked it, but some of the older traditionalists, and I would include Mr Wallace in that, would like to see a more serious programme.

"But it is 2008 and we need to move with the times."

Bugbears

What else gets up bagpipers' noses?

&#149 The inaccurate use of the word "skirl" (see article). A skirl is in fact a bum note.

&#149 Drummers. While pipers consider themselves musicians who lead the pipe band, the drummers who trail after them are nothing more than men with sticks.

&#149 Bad buskers. Anyone who owns a kilt and can get a sound out of the bagpipes can make money out of tourists in Princes Street in Edinburgh and Buchanan Street in Glasgow.

&#149 Rude jokes about them. Why do bagpipers walk when they play? To get away from the noise. What's the difference between bagpipes and an onion? Nobody cries when you cut up bagpipes.