Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
There’s no doubt Fremantle playing group are in a purple patch this year, but Perth bagpiper Alisdair McLaren reckons he knows what’s put a final fizz into their game.
The musician has been the Dockers’ official piper since round two this year. That means he and Freo’s guitarist Troy Nababan have performed pre-game on the Optus Stadium rooftop, helping to gee up crowds of more than 55,000 with a blast of AC/DC.
And the Dockers haven’t lost at home since.
Co-incidence or not, McLaren is looking forward to the finals series and hopes he and Nababan will get the call up should Freo make it to the MCG in September.
“There’s quite a strong link to AC/DC and piping in general at Freo,” he said.
“I didn’t have to think about it too much before jumping on board and I’ve enjoyed being part of the journey this year.
“If they make it to the MCG, I’m sure Troy and I would love to rock out to give the guys a gee up before the bounce down.”
The opportunity has been “one of the big highlights of my career”, said McLaren, and that’s saying something given WA’s only world champion piper is currently in Scotland, where he is pipe major for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Pipes and Drums corp.
He has held the pivotal leadership role since 2017, and this year, he also has the rare opportunity to be one of the solo pipers that close each performance. The job is usually reserved for the military.
“It is a pretty amazing feeling, obviously, being in such an iconic venue,” McLaren said.
“The lone piper is the emotional pinnacle of the show, and performs high on the castle walls overlooking the Esplanade. Being selected in an extraordinary honour.”
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Pipes and Drums leads what is arguably one of the world’s largest, and most watched outdoor events. With 75 members this year, including 45 pipers, the corp is the tattoo’s largest single pipe band and possibly its most diverse, considering there are 19 nationalities across its players.
The corp are the linchpin in all 26 shows over the month-long annual event — held Mondays to Fridays and twice on Saturdays — in front of a 9000-strong audience each night. McLaren has performed in about 210 shows over this tattoo career.
As pipe major, McLaren is responsible for logistics, musical selection and commands, tuning the pipes and keeping time. The role involves plenty of administrative work and the chance to play alongside and mentor other Aussies in the corp.
This year, that includes his 2IC Hamish Cotton, who is director of the Perth Piping Centre and pipe major of Freo-based Coastal Scottish Pipe Band, as well as Scotch College’s 2025 pipe sergeant Joel Wilson and Perth piper Eoin Aiken.
“In 2024, we had five PLC leavers audition and make it into the show,” McLaren said.
“I try to encourage WA pipers and drummers to have a go at going down this route.”
McLaren, whose father hails from Elgin in the north of Scotland, said he got into the pipes after watching the annual Christmas broadcast of the Edinburgh tattoo as a child.
“The lone piper was my inspiration to learn,” he said. “I watched the tattoo on TV in Perth as a 10 year old, seeing the lone piper and dreaming that one day it might be me. I’ve come full circle to lead the mass band and now be the lone piper.”
He started learning the pipes at Perth’s Trinity College, and rose to be pipe major in his final year in 1996. He got his first taste of Edinburgh as the “youngest player” in the renowned WA Police Pipe Band, which performed at the tattoo in 1997.
With a competitive bagpiping career firmly in his sight, McLaren left for Scotland in 2007 and soon landed a senior job at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, where he also started a youth pipe band project.
He joined what was then known as the tattoo’s Pipers’ Trail in 2017 and was immediately asked to come on aboard as pipe major. “I thought I’d do it for one year, but then I signed up for the next year… and the next, and now it’s my eighth year,” he said.
McLaren moved back to Perth just before COVID — given he could continue working with the tattoo remotely – where he has been head of pipes and drums at PLC since 2022.
He said the girls placed third in two junior sections at the recent Australian Championships and he is looking for them to compete at the next Australian and New Zealand championships, with a view to reaching the World Championships at some point.
“PLC has one of only a handful of all-female pipe bands remaining worldwide,” he said. “They are number one juvenile band on the Australian rankings.”
If the past few months haven’t been whirlwind enough, McLaren will be in an even greater spotlight next year when the tattoo’s pipe and drums corp performs at the start of the Tour de France at Edinburgh Castle. And at home, there is another footy connection to look forward to.
He and Nababan are the musical mascots for the Dockers’ AFLW team this year, and will play at their homes games at Cockburn. PLC’s 25-strong main pipes and drums band will also perform at the games.
“That will be pretty cool,” McLaren said. “It’s seen as a big part of the club now.”
