The show, one of the most anticipated on the opening weekend of the Celtic Connections festival, will round off a remarkable 12 months for the maverick singer and accordion player, from Inverbroom, near Ullapool.
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It has included a prominent appearance in Danny Boyle’s blockbuster 28 Years Later, reaching the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent, travelling to India to perform in British Council concerts and kick-starting Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations in Princes Street Gardens.
He has somehow managed to fit in regular pub gigs at the Ullapool pub where he swapped serving pints for serving up wild nights of entertainment, even if they were only a handful of punters.
Ruairidh Maclean, who performs under the name RuMac, is appearing at SWG3 in Glasgow as part of the city’s Celtic Connections festival. (Image: Gordon Doherty)
Maclean was an unknown quantity to most Britain’s Got Talent viewers when he made his debut on the show nearly a year ago with a cover of Baccara’s 1970s disco classic Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, which has been adopted by the Tartan Army in recent years.
But by then he had become a cult figure on the Scottish music scene thanks to pub gigs and festival appearances around the Highlands and Islands, as well as regular support slots on tour with Hebridean rockers Peat & Diesel.
Musician Ruairidh Maclean worked with director Danny Boyle on 28 Years Later.
Maclean’s live performances combine traditional Scottish tunes and songs with classic pop and rock anthems from the likes of AC/DC, Johnny Cash, Tom Jones, Dr Hook and Fleetwood Mac.
Celtic Connections has promised his forthcoming show will feature everything from “heartfelt Gaelic ballads to high-octane covers of heavy metal and rock anthems, sometimes within the same breath” and that his performance will prove that “the mighty accordion can be the most versatile and surprising instrument on any stage”.
Ruairidh Maclean, who performs under the name RuMac, is performing at SWG3 in Glasgow as part of the city’s Celtic Connections festival. (Image: Michael Hunter)
Supporting Peat & Diesel on sell-out tours and his own forthcoming headline gig at SWG3 are certainly a far cry from the days when Maclean – who started learning the accordion when he was nine – was playing in a ceilidh band with his mother or his early pub performances.
Maclean recalled: “I’ve been only a professional musician since 2019. I was really only playing for a hobby before then.
“It was very, very sporadic and I wasn’t making any money from it at all.
“I worked on the lorries for a few years and then started working in The Arch Inn, in Ullapool.
“There were some nights I would work in the bar and would then play later on. I didn’t completely jump into music and take a risk.
“I was doing various events, but I found pub gigs were the most relaxed. There was no real expectation. It was a bit like: ‘We know you are sort of Scottish themed. Come and make a lot of noise for a couple of hours and then disappear.’
“To this day, playing in pubs is still what I enjoy the most. Sometimes people want to dance, other times they just want to sit and listen.
“I like it when I can see people are going: ‘What the hell is this?’ I think it works best in a small town, where people have maybe seen a sign for live music and before long there is someone screaming at them.
“I will go absolutely mental playing if there are just four people in a bar. Some people might think it is bit cringe, but I think it is really funny and I think people will remember it more.
“It is also about practising how you are going to perform instead of thinking: ‘Ach there’s only a few people there.” You have to entertain them if they have taken the time to see you.”
Maclean’s popularity has soared since he first toured with Peat & Diesel almost three years ago and opened for the band most recent at their headline Night Afore Concert at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival.
He said: “I found it quite relaxing supporting Peat & Diesel. They are a fun bunch to be around and don’t take themselves too seriously.
“People weren’t paying to see me, they were paying to see Peat & Diesel and I was just maybe a wee bonus for people that had come along a bit early. There was no pressure. It was just very much a case of ‘have fun and do it.’
“I think it taught me that the reason people like me because I am having fun on stage. It’s not like I am doing anything madly impressive. I just need to enjoy myself.”
After being booked to play at Peat & Diesel Belter Festival in the Highlands in 2024, Maclean decided to play to get his performance filmed for his new YouTube channel – a decision that paid off in a completely unexpected way.
Two of the production team working on 28 Years Later happened to catch Maclean performing in the Highlander Bar in Inverness.
He recalled: “They spoke to me afterwards and asked me where they could find some of my stuff online. I told them I only had two videos on my YouTube channel – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie and Delilah.
“I then got an email through asking me to be in the film. “When I read the bottom of it and it said 28 Years Later I just thought: ‘No way. Is that even a thing?’ Then I looked it up online and realised it was.
“I just thought: ‘What the hell are they asking me for?’
“The next thing I knew I was speaking to Danny Boyle on the phone. I actually thought it was my brother pranking me.
“He chatted away about what the people in the scene were like and what he wanted for me. It was just nuts. At first I was shocked. But I realised I had to snap into it and pay attention.
“When I showed up on set and realised the vibe it kind of made sense. It felt like the people who had survived for so long were just as weird as the infected with their behaviour.
“I thought that what I do sort of fits in what that, but never really got an explanation. I didn’t really want to stop and asked in case they changed their mind. They told me they were happy with what I had done.
“When I got invited to a screening I thought I must have made the final cut. There were all these close-ups of me singing Delilah. I don’t know what they did to my eyes, but they were pitch black. I just thought: ‘That looks really creepy.’ They got it spot on.”
Maclean has mixed feelings about going on Britain’s Got Talent, a decision he admits he made “after a few drams” after a pub gig, particularly after his chosen song to perform in the semi-final, The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, was over-ruled in favour of the A-ha hit Take On Me.
But he admits he his now taking his musical career much more seriously, especially after lining up his first headline tour of the UK, which will get underway at Celtic Connections and see him perform in the likes of London, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle as well as two shows in the one day in Inverness.
Maclean, who is appearing at Celtic Connections on January 16, said: “I’ve really started to re-evaluate and rethink what I want to do in future.
“If people are paying to see me I don’t think I should be doing the same show over and over again. I know some people want to hear certain songs, which is fair enough. I think you should have a few surprises up your sleeve.
“I’m messing around with ideas and trying to find the right balance between making it fun for me and also make it enjoyable for people in the audience.
“I would love get a band together with people from up here, make some mad music and have a bit of fun.”