THE former president of a top piping body has warned that “watering down” a flagship programme on BBC radio would be “just as bad” as axing it – while the SNP MSP who is Holyrood’s official piper issued his own plea to the BBC.
Pipeline – which has been running for more than 30 years – is set to be replaced, as part of a BBC Scotland budget shake-up which has seen the broadcaster decommission a number of its other music programmes, such as Jazz Nights and Classics Unwrapped.
Simon McKerrell, former president of the Competing Pipers Association and professor of media and music at Glasgow Caledonian University, launched a petition last Friday with the goal of retaining “a full-service Pipeline programme on BBC Radio Scotland”.
He said that the programme – which prioritises live studio sessions and outside broadcasts over and above playing recorded tracks – acts as a “proxy for our national archive of traditional music” as pipe music is not easily available elsewhere.
The BBC has confirmed that a new piping show will replace the previous offering, taking up the same Pipeline time slot at 9pm on Saturdays, but has not yet detailed the extent to which the show will remain its former self.
McKerrell said: “What’s really key about this programme, which isn’t the same necessarily about the other genres, is that piping doesn’t exist in a commercial sense.
“Pipers as solo artists are never generally professional musicians, and they don’t therefore invest a lot of money in recordings, so there are not numerable commercial albums available of pipers, and that’s why it’s so important as a programme.”
“If it was axed I think it would be an own goal for them, in some respects just as much as if they watered it down to just a single disc jockey programme.
“If they’re not doing the original content, that’s just as bad really. They can’t rely on a healthy set of commercial recordings that are constantly evolving – they just don’t exist.”
The broadcaster has said the move is due to the “licence fee being frozen for two years” and comes as part of a wider effort to refocus from “broadcast to digital output”.
McKerrell added: “If it is just a cost-basis decision, that’s clearly not good enough. That’s not a good enough reason justification for a decision of this sort of cultural importance.”
The petition has amassed more than 6000 signatures in just four days, with people pledging their support from countries all over the world, including Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
John Mulhearn, head of piping studies at The National Piping Centre, said Pipeline is vital in maintaining the public face of piping worldwide.
He said: “Generally, piping’s in a good state of health here in Scotland but I’m not sure if you can say the same for other countries.
“Pipeline is one of the ways piping is able to stay relevant – not just a museum piece.
“It’s an outlet that allows piping to appear current to a general audience. And it demonstrates that piping is a living, breathing art form.
“It would be a travesty if that were to be lost.”
Currently, the BBC runs two piping programmes, Crunluath – a Gaelic language show for Radio Nan Gaidheal – and Pipeline, which is hosted by Gary West on BBC Radio Scotland.
The appeal has drawn the attention of Scottish Parliament’s official piper Stuart McMillan – SNP MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde – who said he is a listener of the show himself and has a “keen interest in keeping Scotland’s national instrument playing on our airwaves”.
He told The National: “I was alerted to the petition regarding Pipeline and its Gaelic language sister show, Crunluath, yesterday. I have subsequently received contact from a number of interested parties across Scotland asking for my support in efforts to retain both Pipeline and Crunluath.
“My office was able to speak with a senior BBC Scotland official today and I was given an assurance that a dedicated piping show will continue on both BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal at the same timeslot each week.
“However, these shows may take a different format from what is currently on offer. While I am relieved to hear this, I genuinely hope that the shows aren’t watered down and still offer live performances and outside broadcasts.
"My ask of the BBC is that before deciding upon the new format of the shows, they reach out to the piping community and seek views on what they want to hear to ensure listeners continue to receive a programme they want to listen to.”
A BBC Scotland spokesperson told The National: “BBC Scotland will continue to offer piping on both BBC Radio Scotland and Radio Nan Gaidheal in their established slots.
“The BBC is making these changes in response to the licence fee being frozen for two years, at a time of high inflation, while also being tasked with refocusing some efforts from broadcast to digital output, ensuring more value for all licence fee payers. Contrary to some reports, we are committed to providing piping to our audience.”
