Angus J. MacLellan

In piping, Angus J. MacLellan could well be the most underrated superstar of the last 50 years. Anyone who knows “Angus J.” knows his incredible playing ability and his knowledge of the Highland bagpipe.

In the days when playing with a pipe band was almost taboo for top Scottish soloists—and almost unheard of for top piobaireachd players—Angus was a pioneer. While committing himself to the Highland games circuit and along the way winning most prizes available in both ceol mor and ceol beag, he was a tireless member of the famed Glasgow/Strathclyde Police Pipe Band under the band’s greatest pipe majors. While some pundits frowned upon this great piobaireachd talent committing himself also to a pipe band, Angus J. defied them, proving them wrong with a bold, sympathetic, and always musical approach to piobaireachd.

Born in South Uist in 1936 to Gaelic-speaking parents, Angus John MacLellan initially received piping instruction, as many Scottish pipers do, from his father. His family relocated to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in 1946, and there he received tuition from Alex MacIntyre, whom he credits when with influencing his piping career greatly. When Angus turned 16, he joined the Merchant Navy, which took him to all corners of the earth.

In 1962, Angus J. MacLellan left the Merchant Navy and joined the Glasgow Police as a constable. Interestingly, this was the same year that Iain MacLellan joined the force—and simultaneously the band—and when Pipe Major Donald MacLeod relocated to Glasgow to become part of the now defunct bagpipe making firm, Grainger & Campbell. This incredible convergence of piping talent in Glasgow would play a major role in shaping that city’s future as the world’s centre of piping.

While with the police band, Angus J. played under Angus MacDonald, until Ronald Lawrie (May 1997 Piper & Drummer interview) took the top spot in the late 1960s. When Iain MacLellan took over the band in the early 1970s, “Angus J.” was appointed Pipe Sergeant, and remained in the position until his departure from the police in 1990.

During his time with the Glasgow/Strathclyde Police, Angus J. MacLellan played an influential part in the band’s greatest years, winning 11 World Championships, including the band’s remarkable streak of six consecutive titles in the 1980s. He was known for his high-impact instrument, his deft and nimble technique, and his ability to put together a full musical package.

In his solo career, the impact of Donald MacLeod on Angus J. MacLellan was profound. It can be said that no one had more formal and informal instruction from “Wee Donald” than “Big Angus.” Because the Grainger & Campbell shop was a part of Angus MacLellan’s beat as a police constable, from 1962 until MacLeod’s death in 1980 Angus gained knowledge from Wee Donald almost daily. Angus J. is one of the purest and most reliable links to the teaching of John MacDonald of Inverness alive today.

His solo competitive record was formidable, and his success encompassed both piobaireachd and light music. In 1973 he won the Gold Medal at the Argyllshire Gathering playing “Glengarry’s March.” This was the last year, incidentally, that the requirement for the Gold Medal at Oban was a submission of six tunes of the competitor’s own choosing, thus making the event more difficult to win. He won the Inverness Gold Medal in 1976 playing “Lady MacDonald’s Lament,” and over the years picked off most top prizes around the games and at such prestigious events as the Scottish Pipers’ Association, the Uist & Barra, and the Highland Society of London Competitions.

His teaching career has been equally impressive. Since 1965, Angus has taught regularly at the College of Piping, where he worked with the legendary Seumas MacNeill. He has travelled to numerous piping summer schools throughout North America, and, until recently, was a regular at the Seumas MacNeill schools in California.

Today, due to a lack of mobility, Angus J. must be selective about the schools and judging assignments he takes on. He is in high demand as a solo piping adjudicator, and teaches daily at the college. Pipers of any ability would be hard pressed to do better than to gain a few hours of Angus’s invaluable tutelage.

p|d

What do you think? We always want to hear from our readers, so please use our comment system to provide your thoughts!

Do you have an idea for a feature story that you would like to read or write? Be sure to send your concept to the pipes|drums. We can’t report what we don’t know about! Please remember to support the businesses that advertise and make the not-for-profit p|d possible.