00:00 [Music]
00:07 [Applause]
00:09 We're just here in advance of our 25th anniversary gig
00:13 that's going to be in Bachbach on the 6th of July.
00:16 So we'll be meeting a few fans and signing a few tickets
00:20 and a few bits of merchandise.
00:22 And Nuri's just having a wee rehearsal for the gig as well.
00:25 How does it feel to have been in the industry and around for 25 years
00:32 and to mark this milestone?
00:34 Yeah, it's been a long, unpredictable road.
00:39 So it's a really nice feeling to be getting ready for such a great gig
00:47 and over the years Inverness has been such a strong place of support for Skibbish
00:53 and it's a very fitting place to mark the 25th year.
00:58 And today there's also a competition going on, so can you tell me a bit more about it?
01:03 Yes, so we've got a great opportunity for any artist
01:07 and it could be a soloist, a duo, a band, all over the country
01:11 and you have the chance to open the show for Skibbish and all the other acts as well.
01:17 You'll be first on for about maybe a 20-25 minute set
01:20 and you have to record yourself on video doing at least one Skibbish song
01:26 and provide your set list for the day as well
01:29 and submit them all the information on the Courier website and stuff.
01:33 But no, we're looking forward to having some young up-and-coming group
01:36 come and open the show for us.
01:38 It could be a soloist, a band, a choir?
01:41 Anyone, anyone, absolutely anyone.
01:44 If you had this opportunity 25 years ago to open for a big and recognised band as you are, how would you feel?
01:52 It would be very exciting.
01:54 For me the O'Connor would have been Rundwick
01:56 and if Rundwick were doing that kind of thing you'd be throwing yourself at it all the time.
01:59 So hopefully there's some young band out there who feels the same way
02:02 that we would have done 25 years ago, yeah.
02:05 Fantastic.
02:07 Within these 25 years, how has, for you, the music landscape changed?
02:15 Can you tell me a bit more about this?
02:18 The whole scene's grown hugely.
02:21 When we first started, really the only band that were pulling numbers into the thousands
02:27 was Rundwick for so many years.
02:31 Caber-Cayley went through a phase of pulling fairly big numbers
02:34 but now there's six or seven bands that are all pulling very, very big numbers.
02:37 It's a great scene to be part of and we're very, very lucky to be
02:41 in such a vibrant period for traditional music.
02:45 That's the main change I would say, that the size of the gigs
02:49 and the following for traditional music has grown hugely
02:53 in particularly the last 10 to 15 years.
02:56 We're very lucky to be at it in a good time.
03:00 I don't know how you feel, Murray, you're not quite as old, as long of a tooth as me.
03:03 I think when we were younger, going through the phase, moving on,
03:08 you could see the popularity of Scottish music getting bigger and bigger.
03:12 It is great that, I've been doing it again for almost 20 years now as well,
03:17 and it's great to see what it was when I started and what it is now.
03:20 You are seeing a lot of bands pulling in huge numbers and it is great.
03:24 Like Angus was saying, it wasn't like that when we were younger,
03:27 but it's great to see it now.
03:30 You were mentioning Runrig of course, and you're going to have a special guest
03:34 at your next concert if I'm not wrong?
03:37 That's right, we've got a very good and long-standing friend, Malcolm Jones,
03:42 who's a guitar player in Runrig for many, many years.
03:47 He's been a great friend to the band since we started, right from the very, very early days.
03:52 It's another very fitting addition to the night in Inverness.
03:57 So we're looking forward to having a wee tune with Malcolm Jones.
04:01 So we've brought Skippin' It Along to do a personal appearance here at the Eastgate Centre
04:06 ahead of their 25th anniversary concert at the Buck Park this coming July.
04:13 Fantastic, and today there's of course something quite particular that they're promoting today.
04:18 Can you tell me a bit more about it?
04:19 Yeah, there's a couple of things.
04:20 We've got a competition running with Highland News Media for a van to open for them.
04:26 So obviously we're encouraging all band and artists to come along and present their entries.
04:34 And then of course, obviously their 25th anniversary concert, 25 years of music,
04:38 and we're going to have a big party at the Buck Park in July.
04:42 It's a fantastic celebration, so how do you feel about bringing these events to Inverness?
04:48 I think it's great that we can still bring live music to Inverness.
04:53 Obviously there are very few live music venues now,
04:57 but we have the capabilities of bringing large-scale events.
05:01 We've done it for Nyon 15, 16 years,
05:04 and it's just great that we can bring them to Inverness and for the people of the Highlands.
05:09 Fantastic, and can you tell me a bit more about the line-up for this summer?
05:12 Because that's quite a programme.
05:15 Yeah, so we've got three nights under the big top.
05:18 We've got the big eight-pole big top going in again.
05:22 On the Friday night we've got Ministry Sound Classical, 31-piece orchestra, DJs, singers.
05:28 An amazing night.
05:30 If you were 80s, 90s, the music of that era, now's the time to go.
05:36 Then on Saturday we've got Skip Nish doing their 25th anniversary concert,
05:42 which is obviously going to be a great night.
05:44 And on Sunday night we've got Rag & Bone Man coming to Inverness
05:49 to finish off what I'm sure will be a fantastic weekend in music.
05:53 It's a good mix of local talent and also internationally brought artists.
06:00 Yeah, I mean there's something there for everybody.
06:03 And I think, you know, we've hopefully covered all the bases,
06:08 and hopefully the people of Inverness and the Highlands will come out and support it.
06:12 [Music]
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