Capercaillie (band)

Originating from Argyll, a region of western Scotland, the band is named after the western capercaillie, sometimes called a wood grouse, a native Scottish bird. Donald Shaw formed the band aged 16 to play at the Mull Musical Festival. After the BBC asked the band to play a singer was needed. Shaw recruited Matheson, with whom he had played in a band called The Etives whilst at Oban High School together. ==Career==

Their first album, Cascade, was recorded in 1984. They performed live for the first time in two years on 6 August 2021 at the Wickham Festival in Hampshire. After a further nine months off the road the band resumed touring, and between April and August 2022 performed in France, including Paris, Condette, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, Lorient in Brittany, and on the Tatihou islet in Normandy. They also performed concerts in Inverness and Glasgow. They performed on 26 August 2023 at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. On 19 April 2024, it was announced the release the following month of a new album, ReLoved (on double vinyl on 10 May and on CD & streaming platforms on 31 May). The album marks the band's fortieth anniversary and is their first studio release in 11 years since 2013's At the Heart of It All. It contains new arrangements of some of the band's work recorded with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. On the same day, the album's first single, "Tobar Mhoire", was released online. ==Musical style==

Capercaillie's repertoire includes both traditional Gaelic songs and tunes, as well as modern English-language songs and tunes, composed by other folk writers and musicians, or by members of the band. The group often adapt traditional Gaelic songs and music using modern production techniques, and often mix musical forms, combining traditional lyrics and tunes with modern techniques and instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines, electric guitar and bass. Capercaillie's first two albums, Cascade and Crosswinds featured few modern instruments and the tunes and songs were played in a more traditional arrangement. The song was in the world music section, and was used as a representation of traditional folk music combined with rock music. ==Chart success==

Their 1992 EP, A Prince Among Islands, was the first Scottish Gaelic-language record to have a single that reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart: "Coisich A Ruin" peaked at No. 39. Another single, "Dark Alan (Ailein duinn)" reached No. 65 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1995.{{cite book The album Secret People (1993) reached No. 40, and To the Moon (1995) peaked at No. 41 in the UK Albums Chart. ==Discography==

Studio albums • Cascade (1984) • Crosswinds (1987) • Sidewaulk (1989) • Delirium (1991) • Secret People (1993) • To the Moon (1995) • Beautiful Wasteland (1997) • Nàdurra (2000) • Choice Language (2003) • Roses and Tears (2008) • At the Heart of It All (2013) • ReLoved (2024) (re-recording of previously released tracks) Live albums • Live in Concert (2002) Soundtrack albums • The Blood Is Strong (1988) • ''Glenfinnan (Songs of the '45)'' (1998, recorded in 1995) Remix albums • Get Out (1992) (a compilation album of B-sides, remixes & unreleased studio and live tracks) • Capercaillie (1994) (a compilation album of re-worked and remixed tracks) Compilation albums • Dusk till Dawn: The Best of Capercaillie (1998) • Waulk Roots (1998) Tracks from early albums Crosswinds and Sidewaulk • Grace and Pride: The Anthology 2004-1984 (2004) ==Band members==

Current members • Karen Matheson – vocals (1984 – present) • Charlie McKerron – fiddle (1986 – present) • Michael McGoldrick – flute, whistle, uilleann pipes (1997 – present) • Manus Lunny – bouzouki, guitar (1989 – present) • Donald Shaw – keyboards, accordion (1984 – present) • Ewen Vernal – bass (1998 – present) • David "Chimp" Robertson – percussion (1997 – present) • Che Beresford – drums (1998 – present) • James Mackintosh – drums (1992 – 1993, 2000, 2013) File:Karen Matheson 2007.jpg|Karen Matheson File:FIL 2013 - Capercaillie - 8640.JPG|Donald Shaw File:Charlie McKerron, Madrid, España, 2017 01.jpg|Charlie McKerron File:Manus Lunny, Madrid, España, 2017.jpg|Manus Lunny File:FIL 2013 - Capercaillie - 8694.JPG|Ewen Vernal File:Michael McGoldrick, Madrid, España, 2017 05.jpg|Michael McGoldrick File:David Robertson, Madrid, España, 2017 04.jpg|David Robertson File:Che Beresford, Madrid, España, 2017 03.jpg|Che Beresford Former members • Marc Duff – whistle, recorder, wind synthesizer, bodhrán (1984–1995) • Fred Morrison – Highland small pipes and low whistle (1995–1997) • John Saich – bass, guitar (1988–1998) • Shaun Craig – guitar, bouzouki (1984–1988) • Anton Kirkpatrick – guitar (1988–1989) • Martin MacLeod – bass, fiddle (1984–1988) • Joan Maclachlan – fiddle, vocals (1984–1986) Timeline ImageSize = width:1366 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:70 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:1983 till:2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1983 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1984 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:fiddle value:drabgreen legend:Fiddle id:woodwind value:gray(0.5) legend:Flutes/Whistles/Recorders/Pipes id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards/Accordion id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bouzouki value:teal legend:Bouzouki id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums/Percussion id:Lines value:black legend:Albums BarData = bar:Karen text:"Karen Matheson" bar:Donald text:"Donald Shaw" bar:Joan text:"Joan Maclachlan" bar:Martin text:"Martin MacLeod" bar:Charlie text:"Charlie McKerron" bar:Marc text:"Marc Duff" bar:Fred text: "Fred Morrison" bar:Mike text:"Michael McGoldrick" bar:Shaun text:"Shaun Craig" bar:Anton text:"Anton Kirkpatrick" bar:Manus text:"Manus Lunny" bar:John text:"John Saich" bar:Ewen text:"Ewen Vernal" bar:James text:"James Mackintosh" bar:Wilf text:"Wilf Taylor" bar:David text:"David Robertson" bar:Che text:"Che Beresford" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Karen from:01/01/1983 till:end color:vocals bar:Donald from:01/01/1983 till:end color:keys bar:Charlie from:01/01/1986 till:end color:fiddle bar:Joan from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1986 color:fiddle bar:Martin from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:fiddle bar:Marc from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1995 color:woodwind bar:Fred from:01/12/1994 till:01/12/1996 color:woodwind bar:Mike from:01/12/1996 till:end color:woodwind bar:Shaun from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:guitar bar:Anton from:01/12/1987 till:01/12/1988 color:guitar bar:Manus from:01/12/1988 till:end color:guitar bar:John from:01/12/1987 till:01/12/1998 color:bass bar:Ewen from:01/12/1998 till:end color:bass bar:James from:01/12/1991 till:01/12/1993 color:drums bar:James from:01/12/2012 till:end color:drums bar:Wilf from:01/12/1993 till:01/12/1997 color:drums bar:David from:01/12/1996 till:end color:drums bar:Che from:01/12/1997 till:end color:drums width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Karen from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1984 color:keys bar:Joan from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1986 color:vocals bar:Martin from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:bass bar:Shaun from:01/01/1983 till:01/12/1987 color:bouzouki bar:Manus from:01/12/1988 till:end color:bouzouki bar:John from:01/12/1987 till:01/12/1998 color:guitar LineData = at:01/01/1984 color:black layer:back #Cascade at:01/01/1987 color:black layer:back #Crosswinds at:01/01/1988 color:black layer:back #Blood Is Strong at:01/01/1989 color:black layer:back #Sidewaulk at:01/01/1991 color:black layer:back #Delirium at:01/01/1993 color:black layer:back #Secret People at:01/01/1995 color:black layer:back #To The Moon at:01/01/1997 color:black layer:back #Beautiful Wasteland at:01/01/2000 color:black layer:back #Nadurra at:01/01/2003 color:black layer:back #Choice Language at:01/01/2008 color:black layer:back #Roses and Tears at:01/01/2013 color:black layer:back #At The Heart ==References==