Often a fusion of different "Celtic" styles (Irish, Scottish, English, Spanish, Middle Eastern), this genre is more a modern interpretation of what is thought to be Celtic. Often has a dreamlike, mystical quality. It is more New Age than historical.
Braveheart soundtrack
The Mel Gibson film soundtrack by James Horner helped popularize the Celtic music scene.Below is the film's main theme. You will hear this a LOT in shops in Edinburgh.
Outlander soundtrack
Based on the popular series of novels by Diana Gibaldon about a time traveling 20th Century woman trapped in 18th Century Highlands, the STARZ TV show has become a major hit. Filmed entirely in Scotland, it's soundtrack has also become a hit. Here is the opening theme, "The Skye Boat Song." (NOTE -- we will be visiting Doune Castle, the main setting for the show).
Julie Fowlis
From the Outer Hebrides (islands on the outer edges of Scotland), Fowlis performs mostly in Gaelic. An exception to this is the song below, her biggest hit which was the title song from Pixar's Brave.
Celtic Women
This all-female ensemble evolved out of the popular Riverdance phenomenon. Like a lot of modern Celtic music, it is a blending of Scottish and Irish traditions. This is their most famous song, "You Raise Me Up".
Enya
Although born in County Donegal, Ireland, Enya led the Celtic revival on the 1980s, and is still quite popular today. Her first hit in the US was the 1989 hit, "Orinoco Flow". Below is her hit, "The Celts" from a TV show of that name.
Peatbog Faeries
A Celtic fusion band from the Isle of Skye. Mixes traditional music with modern club dance music.
Loreena McKinnett
A Scottish-Canadian, McKinnett mixes Scottish, Irish, Middle Eastern and other traditions together to form a unique sound. In the 1990s, she had a big hit with "The Mummers Dance" (see Christmas pot). Below is a song called "Standing Stones."
While most people think only of the Scottish bagpipe (which after centuries is still a vibrant form of music) Scottish music is much more varied and expansive than that limited viewpoint. Today's post deals with Scottish musical genres over the centuries -- all of which are still played and enjoyed today.
Traditional Scottish Musical Genres
Clarsach (Scottish harp music)
One of 3 surviving medieval harps -- Museum of Scotland
One of the earliest forms of music in Scotland, the Scottish harp is first seen in the stone carvings of the Picts in the 600s and 700s.
Using horsehair for strings, the clarsach (it's Gaelic name) spread from Scotland to England and Ireland and on to Europe. Harpists were highly prized in the medieval periods, playing for kings, featured on royal regalia, and playing for coronations and other official functions. Today, Edinburgh hosts the International Harpists Festival.
Tin Whistle music
Dating back in Scotland to at least the medieval period (although similar whistles have been discovered going all the back to the Neanderthals), tin whistles are a mouth-blown, six-holed woodwind. Below, a performance of Loch Lomond played on a tin whistle.
Bagpipe music
Although most closely identified with Scottish culture, bagpipes are actually found in many parts of the world. Initially a Highlands instrument dating back to the 1400s and 1500s, it spread throughout the British Isles and colonies in the 1700s and 1800s with the British army, when large numbers of Highlanders joined up post-1745. Most of what's played today is on the Great Highland Bagpipe although many different bagpipes were found in Scotland. Below is the rock bagpipe band, the Red Hot Chili Pipers.
Scottish fiddle music
First mentioned in a Scottish publication in 1680, Scottish fiddling became very popular in the 1700s in both Scotland and the British colonies. While it formed the basis for much of American folk music, traditional Scottish fiddling is still quite popular today. Below is a performance by Katie Boyle from Glasgow:
Scottish Accordion music
Usually played for dances, Scottish accordions have long been popular. Below is a performance by Sandy Brechin of Edinburgh playing accordion dance tunes.
Cèilidh (country dance music)
The word (pronounced "kay-lee"), which originated in Ireland, means "companion" and originally referred to any social gathering. But later it came to mean specifically dances. As should be clear by now, much of Scottish music involves dancing and communal celebration. This video was filmed where we be when we do our ceildh dance this May.
Bothy Band music
From 19th Century Scottish farming communities where married couples lived in cottages called touns and single men lived together in a bothy (shelter). Often these single men formed bands for dances and celebrations. They utilized fiddles, accordions, bagpipes, and tin whistles. Below is a folk revival band from 1977, The Bothy Band
One of the hottest new bands in Scotland right now, the Glasgow-based White has a hit with "Future Pleasure"
The Proclaimers
Comprised of identical twins Charlie and Craig Reid from Leith (near Edinburgh), The Proclaimers had a huge hit in 1993 in the US with "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" -- which had been a huge hit in the UK earlier in 1988. Here they are performing the song with Doctor Who (David Tennant)
For many in Scotland (and for me), "Sunshine on Leith" is a sentimental favorite.
Annie Lennox
One of my all-time favorites, Annie Lennox of Aberdeen, Scotland first gained fame as part of the 80s duo Eurythmics, with hits such as "Sweet Dreams", "Here Comes the Rain" and "Who's That Girl". She then emerged as a successful solo artist in 1990s and 2000s with hits such as "Why," "Little Bird," and "Walking on Broken Glass" (see video below, which also features Hugh Laurie):
KT Tunstall
A popular singer-songwriter from Edinburgh. Below are her two most well-known songs. The first, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is from her first TV performance, which was her breakout performance.
Franz Ferdinand
This band from Glasgow formed in 2002. They've had several hits including "This Fire," Do You Want To," and "Take Me Out". Here there are performing in Glasgow in 2014
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Simple Minds
From Glasgow, Simple Minds were a major Eighties band, selling 40 million records since 1979. Their hits included "Alive and Kicking," "Belfast Child," "Sanctify Yourself," and their biggest hit -- from the 1985 film Breakfast Club -- "Don't You Forget About Me." (see below)
And here they are performing in Edinburgh in 2015:
Susan Boyle
Perhaps the most unlikeliest pop star of all time, Susan Boyle became a hero to us "regular" folk the world over when she wowed judges and audiences on Britain's Got Talent back in 2009. The Glasgow-native has since sold millions. To see her first appearance, go to the link below. It's well worth it.
The Fratellis
An indie band form Glasgow that released two hit albums in the 2000s (Here We Come and Costello Music). For now, they seem to be on permanent hiatus. Below is one of their bigger hits, "Chelsea Dagger" performed live in Glasgow.
Bay City Rollers
There was a brief period between 1974 and 1975 when the Bay City Rollers were so popular that the success of the "tartan teens from Edinburgh" was being compared to Beatlemania (and was called appropriately enough Rollermania.) Their two biggest hits were "Saturday Night" and "Bye Bye Baby". (By the way, the person in the center in the above photo is not a Bay City Roller but rather Witchiepoo from HR Puffnstuf)
Sheena Easton
From Bellshill, Scotland, Easton had several hits in the 1980s including "Strut", "For Your Eyes Only" (from the 1981 James Bond film), "The Lover in Me," and "Sugar Walls." Below is her first hit, "Morning Train" (called "9 to 5" in the UK)
Gerry Rafferty
Singer-songwriter Rafferty, a Glasgow-native, had several hits in the 1970s, first with his band Stealers Wheel ("Stuck in the Middle With You") then had several solo hits, such as "Right Down the Line," "Days Gone Down," and his biggest hit (#2 in the US), "Baker Street".
Amy MacDonald
While not as well-known in the US, MacDonald from Bishopbriggs, Scotland is huge throughout Europe (especially in Germany, Denmark and Sweden). Her album, This is the Life has sold 3 million copies.
Donovan
Briefly considered the UK's answer to Bob Dylan, Donovan (full name: Donovan Philips Leitch) of Glasgow had several hits in the 1960s, including "Sunshine Superman," "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," "Atlantis" and the "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (below), which was used quite effectively in the film Zodiac.
Big Country
A staple of "Best of the 80s" compilations, this Dunfermline-based band formed in 1981. Their biggest hit was "In a Big Country.
Del Amitri
From Glasgow, this band's hit "Roll to Me" was ubiquitous in the 1990s.
Maeve O'Boyle
One of Scotland's newest singer-songwriters, O'Boyle is from Glasgow, where she often performs at local clubs.
Nazareth
The group was from Dumfermline, Scotland. Their biggest hit was 1976's "Love Hurts," one of the original "power ballads" that is now a staple of Hollywood soundtracks.
Mark Knopler (of Dire Straits)
Knopler was born in Glasgow, Scotland and is best known for the 1985 Dire Straits song, "Money for Nothing."
Jackie Leven
An up and rising pop star in the 1980s who unfortunately feel victim to drug abuse and disappeared for many years before emerging with a new voice and approach. Here was his 1983 hit:
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
One of the odder Scottish rock acts. A middle age rock star who sang about obscure historical topics and performed with a theatrical flair. here are two of hits, Isobel Goudie (about a Scottish witch) and Faith Healer.
Jesus and Mary Chain
A Glasgow-based alternative band from the late 1980s and 1990s. Below is one of the bigger hits, "Head On."
Emma's Imagination
The stage name of Edinburgh-native Emma Gillepsie. While not well-known in the US yet, she has had two hit songs in the UK, "Focus" and "This Day" (see below for both). She got her break when she won the Sky-TV talent program Must Be the Music.
Lulu
A star in the 1960s and early 1970s, Lulu (real name Marie McDonald McLaughlin, from Glasgow) was most famous for the theme song to the James Bond hit Man With the Golden Gun and for starring in and singing the title song to To Sir, With Love.
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