{"id":684060,"date":"2026-01-09T08:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T08:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/684060\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T08:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T08:18:10","slug":"the-celtic-connections-headliner-who-left-bin-lorry-driving-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/684060\/","title":{"rendered":"The Celtic Connections headliner who left bin lorry driving behind"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The show, one of the most anticipated on the opening weekend of the Celtic<\/a> Connections festival, will round off a remarkable 12 months for the maverick singer and accordion player, from Inverbroom, near Ullapool<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Read More:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n It has included a prominent appearance in Danny Boyle\u2019s blockbuster 28 Years Later, reaching the semi-final of Britain\u2019s Got Talent, travelling to India to perform in British Council concerts and kick-starting Edinburgh<\/a>\u2019s Hogmanay celebrations in Princes Street Gardens.\n<\/p>\n

\n 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n 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)\n<\/p>\n

\n Maclean was an unknown quantity to most Britain\u2019s Got Talent viewers when he made his debut on the show nearly a year ago with a cover of Baccara\u2019s 1970s disco classic Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, which has been adopted by the Tartan Army in recent years.\n<\/p>\n

\n 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n Musician Ruairidh Maclean worked with director Danny Boyle on 28 Years Later.\n<\/p>\n

\n Maclean\u2019s 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n Celtic Connections has promised his forthcoming show will feature everything from “heartfelt Gaelic<\/a> 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”.\n<\/p>\n

\n 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)\n<\/p>\n

\n 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 \u2013 who started learning the accordion when he was nine \u2013 was playing in a ceilidh band with his mother or his early pub performances.\n<\/p>\n

\n Maclean recalled: \u201cI\u2019ve been only a professional musician since 2019. I was really only playing for a hobby before then.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt was very, very sporadic and I wasn\u2019t making any money from it at all.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI worked on the lorries for a few years and then started working in The Arch Inn, in Ullapool.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere were some nights I would work in the bar and would then play later on. I didn\u2019t completely jump into music and take a risk.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI was doing various events, but I found pub gigs were the most relaxed. There was no real expectation. It was a bit like: \u2018We know you are sort of Scottish themed. Come and make a lot of noise for a couple of hours and then disappear.’\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cTo 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI like it when I can see people are going: \u2018What the hell is this?\u2019 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt is also about practising how you are going to perform instead of thinking: \u2018Ach there\u2019s only a few people there.\u201d You have to entertain them if they have taken the time to see you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Maclean\u2019s 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\u2019s Hogmanay festival.\n<\/p>\n

\n He said: \u201cI found it quite relaxing supporting Peat & Diesel. They are a fun bunch to be around and don\u2019t take themselves too seriously.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cPeople weren\u2019t 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 \u2018have fun and do it.\u2019\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think it taught me that the reason people like me because I am having fun on stage. It\u2019s not like I am doing anything madly impressive. I just need to enjoy myself.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n 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 \u2013 a decision that paid off in a completely unexpected way.\n<\/p>\n

\n Two of the production team working on 28 Years Later happened to catch Maclean performing in the Highlander Bar in Inverness<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n He recalled: \u201cThey 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 \u2013 Yes Sir, I Can Boogie and Delilah.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI then got an email through asking me to be in the film. \u201cWhen I read the bottom of it and it said 28 Years Later I just thought: \u2018No way. Is that even a thing?\u2019 Then I looked it up online and realised it was.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI just thought: \u2018What the hell are they asking me for?\u2019\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe next thing I knew I was speaking to Danny Boyle on the phone. I actually thought it was my brother pranking me.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI thought that what I do sort of fits in what that, but never really got an explanation. I didn\u2019t really want to stop and asked in case they changed their mind. They told me they were happy with what I had done.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen 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\u2019t know what they did to my eyes, but they were pitch black. I just thought: \u2018That looks really creepy.\u2019 They got it spot on.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Maclean has mixed feelings about going on Britain\u2019s Got Talent, a decision he admits he made \u201cafter a few drams\u201d 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n Maclean, who is appearing at Celtic Connections on January 16, said: \u201cI\u2019ve really started to re-evaluate and rethink what I want to do in future.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf people are paying to see me I don\u2019t 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI would love get a band together with people from up here, make some mad music and have a bit of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The show, one of the most anticipated on the opening weekend of the Celtic Connections festival, will round…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,918,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-684060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-glasgow","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115864161634201046","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}