Scottish piper Bob Ash playing the bagpipes
Name: Bob Ash
Email: bobash@wedding-pipers.com
Based: Greater London
Location (Region Covered): Greater London, and the South East
Dress: Any required.
Experience: Attracted to Scottish music from the age of seven, he initially took lessons from Iain K. MacLeod and his father P/M William MacLeod (Seaforths).
He soon joined the best band in the South of England at the time, the grade two 57th (Middlesex) General Hospital R.A.M.C. (T.A.) Pipe Band under P/M Bob Hill, and later P/M Gordon K. Speirs.
He was later a founder-member of the Blue Bonnets (City of London) Pipe Band, and, in the 70′s and 80′s played with the grade 1 British Caledonian Airways Pipes and Drums, travelling and performing all over the world with the airline. He now instructs and plays with the Surrey Pipe Band, and teaches the pipes at two schools in Surrey.
Bob is in demand to play at weddings, dinners, birthday celebrations, corporate events, funerals and the like. He can appear in full highland dress uniform, highland day-wear or evening wear, in any of 7 different tartans.
He has played several times on TV, when he was 18 on Spike Milligan’s show Q2 on BBC2, he also featured on ITV’s News at Ten whilst playing the F.A. Cup finalists on board their helicopter, The National Lottery Show, The R.D.A. Show, The Stand Up Show, The Generation Game et c.
Abroad, Bob has also featured playing solo on TV in Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, U.S.A. et c.
Bob’s most memorable gig was accompanying pop singer, Lulu, at a charity concert at the Royal Opera House. Other performers that evening included Jimmy Nail (who joked about locking him in the loo while he was tuning up!), Canadian singer Brian Adams, Anoushka Shankar, Vanessa Redgrave, Anharrad Rees, Simon Callow, Madonna and the Can Can Dancers from the Moulin Rouge in Paris!
When not mixing with the celebs, Bob also enjoys playing at old folks homes (whether they like it or not!), and in schools.
Event type: Weddings, Funerals, Birthday surprises and parties, Dinners, VIP Welcomes, Corporate Events, Advertising, TV, School and Village Fetes, May Queen parades etc.
Pictures: Piper Bob Ash
If this piper has played at one of your events we’d appreciate it if you could leave a comment!
#1 by Admin on March 10, 2009 - 6:49 pm
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If you would like to enquire about hiring this piper please visit this page which will give you the information you need: http://www.wedding-pipers.com/hire-a-piper/
All the best!
Wedding-Pipers.com
#2 by Admin on July 1, 2010 - 2:38 pm
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Bob Ash:
Had a great job last Saturday: I was invited to play with P/M Derek Potter [Queen's Piper] and P/M Roger Huth [ex-Scots Guards] at a dinner at Prince Edward’s home in Bagshot, Surrey. The Queen was there too, and, after playing during the coffee, we were asked back to meet the Royal family. The Queen asked me about my piping, and was interested to hear that I teach pipes at the Gordons School, of which she is the patron. P/M Potter [Royal Scots Dragoon Guards] said he’d be happy to have Roger and I to play with him again, if anything came up! Never in a month of Sundays did I think I would have that opportunity!