The World Music CD Listener’s Guide: Battlefield Band and Scottish Traditional Music
by Daniel Finn
I found a world music guide at an op shop, so now I’m working through it one artist at a time.
I’ve also built a playlist as I go. Obviously only good music makes the cut.
Next up is Battlefield Band.
Battlefield Band formed in Glasgow in 1969, originally around musicians Brian McNeill and Jimmy Thomson. They took their name from the Battlefield area of the city and released their first widely available album in 1977.
They play Scottish traditional music, but weren't afraid to mess with the format. Highland pipes, fiddle, guitar and whistles were joined by keyboards, and by the 1980s they were even experimenting with drum machines and adapting rock songs.
Their albums mixed traditional Scottish tunes with newer material, often covering Scottish history, working life and emigration.
The lineup changed constantly over the years, with musicians including John McCusker, Davy Steele and Karine Polwart passing through the group. That changing membership became part of Battlefield Band's identity and kept the music evolving across a career that lasted more than four decades.
I expected the keyboards and drum machines to pull me out of the traditional stuff, but they actually work. The music changes around the edges without losing what made it Scottish in the first place.