Photo: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Group · United Kingdom · Scotland · formed 2002
band that plays Celtic rock
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Also known as レッド・ホット・チリ・ペッパーズ · The Red Hot Chili Pipers · The Red Hot Chilli Pipers · 嗆辣紅笛
Timeline
13 events▣ Album 9◆ Formed 1★ Debut release 1+ Member joins 1− Member leaves 1
2000s
· Debut release
Debut release: The Red Hot Chilli Pipers
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Dougie McCance joins the band
bagpipe
source: musicbrainz
2010s
· Member leaves
Gregor James leaves the band
source: musicbrainz
2020s
Biography
English biography614 words · 7 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1345212991
Biography
Red Hot Chilli Pipers is a Celtic rock band from Scotland. Formed in 2002, the band became popular internationally in 2007 after winning the BBC talent show When Will I Be Famous?
The band's lineup features three highland bagpipers and traditional marching snare, backed by a five- to seven-piece band. The band's live show also features vocal performances and highland dancing.
History
Since their formation the Red Hot Chilli Pipers have combined guitars, keyboards, drums and their bagpipes to create 'bagrock' sound. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers perform a fusion of traditional pipe tunes and contemporary pieces. Notable covers performed have included "We Will Rock You" by Queen, "Clocks" by Coldplay and "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple as well as "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.
In 2004, the group appeared on the main stage at T in the Park with the headline band, the rock group The Darkness. They appeared on BBC Radio 1 on the Greg James show in July 2013 and The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw in 2014.
The group appears on the soundtrack of How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Tours and performances
The group's highest profile performance have been on the Main Stage at T in the Park in 2004 where they performed alongside The Darkness, and in 2014 when they performed on the Main Stage again in their own right. They performed on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury in 2024 and at The Fuji Rock Festival in 2025. January 2026 started with a month long residency at The Global Village in Dubai UAE.
When Will I Be Famous
In 2007, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers appeared on the BBC show When Will I be Famous? hosted by Graham Norton. The band were in the episode and competed against seven others. The eight contestants were paired into a head-to-head showdown in which the winner would be decided by 101 preregistered viewers who were dubbed the "Armchair Judges". The four winners of these head-to-heads would then compete against each other in the second show with the winner being decided by an open public phone vote. In their first head-to-head showdown, The Red Hot Chilli Pipers were pitted against the "Stringfever", a four-member string quartet. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers won the head-to-head 51–50 and went on to win the weekly prize of ten thousand pounds.
After TV appearance
In September 2008, the group performed a Scottish-flavoured medley of songs during the opening of Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 in Glasgow. In 2010, The Red Hot Chilli Pipers completed an 11-date sold-out tour of Scotland, as well as an 11-week tour of Germany and a 7-week tour of America. They also toured Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, India and most of Europe. They performed concerts in New York and Beijing as well as at the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway.
Musicianship
With a total of four degrees from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, many of the band members past and present have competed at the highest level of bagpiping and drumming for many years. Founder and former Musical Director Cassells received BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician in 2005 and became the first person to attain a degree in bagpipes from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama). The snare drummer and percussionist, Grant Cassidy is an 8 time Juvenile Solo World Drumming Champion and in 2016 placed 7th in the adult section of the World Solo Drumming Championships held in Glasgow, Scotland. Current members (2025) include Grade 1 pipers Andrew Brodlie and Ross Miller.
Former members
Founder and frontman Stuart Cassells left the band in 2011, due to focal dystonia. He was replaced by Kyle Warren of Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 21 | 87.5th |
| Studio albums | 9 | 90th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 13 | 89.7th |
| Recording span (years) | 20 | 45.6th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (21 release groups · 9 studio albums)
Albums · 9
2005 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 36:00
1The Crooked Bridge2:262Jack and Barney’s Chopsticks: La Boum / Jack Daniel’s Reel / Barney’s Balmoral / Electric Chopsticks3:163Tag Team Jigs: Out of the Air / Gingerhogs / Atlantic Bridge / Glasgow City Police Pipers2:534Highland Cathedral4:015The Chilli Drummers Fanfare4:366Reels on the Reelpipes: The Banshee / The Ramnee Ceilidh / Lexy McAskill / McFadden’s / Break Your Bass Drone4:187Stuart Cassels: The Terror / Fleshmarket Close / The Antrim Rose / The Wisemaid3:568Snare Drum and Tam Bain’s Lum: Train Journey North / Tam Bain’s Lum3:289Lochanside3:2510Rory MacLeod / Molly’s Jig / The Famous Baravan3:412007 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:07:05
1We Will Rock You / Eye of the Tiger / The Clumsy Lover3:462The Chilli Time! – You’re the Voice / The Chilli Time5:133Smoke on the Water / Thunderstruck / Upside Down at Eden Court3:404Celtic Bolero4:365Jazz Badger3:516Flower of Scotland3:447Getting Jiggy With It – The Pig Jigs4:468In the Groove – Groovy 4/4’s3:089100 Chilli Pipers / Rockin’ All Over the World4:3510The Dark Island3:5511Hey Jude / The Mason’s Apron4:5212The Lost4:0013The Hills of Argyll (live)5:4914Vodoo Child – Chillied4:0415Clocks5:0216Auld Lang Syne2:04Music for the Kilted Generation
2010 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 49:45
1Long Way to the Top - If You Wanna Bagrock3:312Just for Willie4:303Chasing Cars5:244Hellbound Train4:495The Hidden Gem3:586Amazing Grace4:377Black Knight on the Crazy Train3:018Low Rider2:509Radio Ga Ga4:1210Little Cascade2:4811Everybody Dance Now2:1112Let Me Entertain You3:0513Baba O'Riley4:492011 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 45:58
1We Will Rock You/Eye of the Tiger/The Clumsy Lover (live)7:472Smoke on the Water Set/Thunderstruck/The Fourth Floor (live)3:593Black Knight on the Crazy Train3:024Long Way to the Top - If You Wanna Bagrock3:315Hellbound Train4:506Voodoo Child - Chillied4:027Low Rider2:518Baba O'Riley4:499Radio Ga Ga4:1310Let Me Entertain You3:0511Hundred Chilli Pipers (Wi' a Hundred Pipers/Rockin' All Over the World)3:492013 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 55:06
1The Silver Spear3:342Don’t Stop Believing4:203The Sleeping Tune3:524Gimme All Your Lovin’4:015Down to the Loch a’ Choire4:016Cars3:037Hold the Line3:468Use Somebody3:399Insomnia3:4810Croftinloan Times3:4011Sweet Dreams2:4012Fix You4:4513Young Blood4:1314Love Will Keep Us Alive5:442016 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 50:19
1La Grange: La Grange / The Green Room4:042Starlight: Starlight / Charlie Brown5:173Time for Trad: The Kesh / Old Wullie’s Dog / Merrily Kiss the Quaker's Wife3:134Fat Bottomed Girls: Fat Bottomed Girls / Fat Arsed Lassies3:055Seven Nation Army: Roadhouse Song / Seven Nation Army2:556Pressed for Time4:217The Fallen3:278Chasing Love1:479The Way It Is: The Way It Is / Chasing Love3:3610Jump: Jump / Dancing Feet3:4311Neon: Neon / Wee Derek’s Song3:2312Everybody Wants to Rule the World: The Bung / Everybody Wants to Rule the World2:5813Wild Mountain Thyme4:1214Urban: Rip the Calico4:182016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 52:06
1Baba O'Riley4:482Flower Of Scotland3:453Love Will Keep Us Alive5:414Down To The Loch4:015Chilli Time5:136The Hills Of Argyll6:207Voodoo Child4:048Dark Island3:569Use Somebody3:3710Hold The Line3:4511Auld Lang Syne2:3412The Lost4:222019 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 57:05
1Bleaching Cloths4:172Dalavich4:383Hallelujah4:544Shut Up and Dance4:165Highland Cathedral3:376Smelling Fresh5:057Treasure3:458The Gladiator3:439This Is Me3:3810Auf Uns4:1111Old Yellow Bricks4:3112Under the Influence3:1713All These Things That I’ve Done3:2914Leave a Light On3:442025 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 45:56
1400%3:262Hellbound Train4:373Last Tango in Harris3:074Take On Me3:535Rip the Calico4:146Spirit Medley: The Happy Daftie / Spirit of Radio4:297Oblique Medley: Oblique / Wee Jamie's Jig6:168Hey Brother4:069Vikkl’s Flick4:5010Mrs Macleod Medley2:4211Thunderstruck Medley: Thunderstruck / Angus Thing4:16
EP · 3
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 100 Chilli PipersSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 4 tracks · 12:581100 Chilli Pipers3:49 2Little Drummer Boy3:22 3Flower of Scotland3:43 4Auld Lang Syne2:04 | 2007 | ||
| 2011 | For Those About to BagrockSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 6 tracks · 23:551We Will Rock You, Eye of the Tiger, the Clumsy Lover (Medley)3:44 2Baba O'riley4:49 3Voodoo Child - Chillied4:02 4Low Rider2:51 5Smoke on the Water, Thunderstruck, Upside Down at Eden Court (Medley)3:39 6Hellbound Train4:50 | 31 May 2011 | ||
| 2012 | Rockin' the 6 Nations - Live at Murrayfield StadiumSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 5 tracks · 16:461We Will Rock You (live at Murrayfield Stadium)3:24 2Chasing Cars (live at Murrayfield Stadium)4:49 3Long Way to the Top - If You Wanna Bagrock (live at Murrayfield Stadium)2:50 4100 Chilli Pipers (live at Murrayfield Stadium)3:27 5Auld Lang Syne (live at Murrayfield Stadium)2:16 | Live | 20 February 2012 |
Album · 5
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Blast LiveSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 16 tracks · 1:10:281Also Sprach Zarathustra / Crooked Bridge4:15 2Jack and Barney's Chopsticks - La Boum / Jack Daniels / Barney's Balmoral / Electric Chopsticks3:28 3Celtic Bolero4:36 4Smoke on the Water / Thunderstruck / The Fourth Floor3:59 5Jazz Badger - The Lochaber Badger4:07 6Clocks4:52 7Pig Jigs - Price of the Pig / Not the Bunny Hop / Glasgow Police Pipers4:42 8Hills of Argyll6:24 9Highland Cathedral3:13 10The Lost4:20 11You're the Voice / Chili Time5:11 12Sexy Lexy - Lexy MacAskill / Thomson's Dirk2:39 13We Will Rock You / Eye of the Tiger / Clumsy Lover7:47 14Rory McLeod / Molly's Jig / The Famous Bavaran4:20 15Teardrop / I'll Give You Something to Cry For3:13 16Little Drummer Boy3:22 | Live | 2008 | |
| 2011 | The Greatest HitsSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 35 tracks · 2:18:311We Will Rock You, Eye of the Tiger, the Clumsy Lover (Medley)3:44 2Smoke on the Water, Thunderstruck, Upside Down at Eden Court (Medley)3:39 3Chasing Cars5:24 4Voodoo Child - Chillied4:02 5Hundred Chilli Pipers (Wi' a Hundred Pipers/Rockin' All Over the World)3:49 6Let Me Entertain You3:05 7Black Knight on the Crazy Train3:02 8Getting Jiggy With It - the Pig Jigs (Medley)4:45 9Hey Jude, the Mason's Apron (Medley)4:50 10Auld Lang Syne2:04 11The Dark Island3:54 12The Chilli Time! - You're the Voice, the Chilli Time (Medley)5:12 13Little Cascade2:49 14The Lost3:58 15Flower of Scotland3:43 16In the Groove - Groovy 4, 4'S (Medley)3:06 17Everybody Dance Now2:12 18Long Way to the Top - If You Wanna Bagrock3:31 19Amazing Grace4:38 20Clocks5:00 21Radio Ga Ga4:13 22Jazz Badger3:50 23Teardrop/Brenda Stubberts/I'll Give You Something to Cry For3:13 24Baba O'riley4:49 25Celtic Bolero4:35 26Low Rider2:51 27Just for Willie4:30 28Hellbound Train4:50 29Chilli Pipers, Rockin' All Over the World (Medley)4:32 30Jack & Barney's Chopsticks (Medley): La Baum/Jack Daniels/Barney's Balmoral/Electric Chopsticks (live)3:28 31Little Drummer Boy (live)3:23 32The Hidden Gem (live)3:58 33Crooked Bridge (live)4:15 34Hills of Argyll (live)6:24 35Highland Cathedral (live)3:13 | Compilation | 24 May 2011 | |
| 2012 | BraveheartSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 58:401Crooked Bridge2:31 2Just For Willie, Kelsey's Wee Reel4:35 3Smoke On The Water, Thunderstruck, Forth Floor3:54 4Hellbound Train4:38 5Highland Cathedral3:08 6Long Way To The Top, If You Wanna Bagrock (Medley)3:35 7Little Cascade3:02 8Everybody Dance Now, Gonna Make You Sweat, Davy Webster's2:14 9Hills Of Argyll6:21 10Low Rider, G-Man's Reel2:50 11Chasing Cars5:24 12Baba O'Riley (Medley)4:37 13Chilli Pipers, Rockin' All Over The World3:50 14Rory McLeod4:05 15We Will Rock You, Eye Of The Tiger, Clumsy Lover3:56 | Compilation | 2012 | |
| 2014 | Live at the Lake 2014Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 22 tracks · 1:36:10Disc 1 1Insomnia3:50 2Gimme All Your Lovin’3:52 3Silver Spear3:48 4Thunderstruck4:41 5Little Cascade3:04 6Everybody Dance Now2:33 7Hellbound Train4:57 8Amazing Grace4:32 9Croftinloan Times3:29 10Just for Willie4:58 11Fix You5:04 12Rory’s Baravan3:46 Disc 21Chasing Cars5:37 2Wake Me Up3:20 3Low Rider3:08 4Use Somebody3:40 5Long Way to the Top4:13 6Don’t Stop Believin’4:13 7100 Pipers4:05 8We Will Rock You12:55 9Crooked Bridge3:10 10Wake Me Up (studio version)3:15 | Live | 27 October 2014 | |
| 2023 | 20 Years - Live On the RoadSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 21 tracks · 1:33:151Arpeggiator6:07 2All These Things3:28 3Thunderstruck3:55 4Hallelujah3:53 5Bleaching Cloths4:06 6Fat Bottomed Girls3:06 7Smelling Fresh5:39 8Leave a Light On4:22 9Pressed for Time4:47 10Vikki's Flick6:32 11Let Me Entertain You3:39 12Rory's Baravan3:46 13Wake Me Up3:33 14Drum Fanfare6:26 15Last Tango in Harris3:11 16Starlight / Charlie Brown4:20 17Treasure4:16 18Don't Stop Believing4:13 19Shut Up and Dance5:29 20We Will Rock You4:41 21La Grange3:46 | Live | 17 March 2023 |
Single · 4
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Wake Me UpSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 2:491Wake Me Up2:49 | 3 February 2014 | ||
| 2014 | Loch LomondSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 4:051Loch Lomond4:05 | 24 February 2014 | ||
| 2016 | 343 the FallenSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 5:181343 the Fallen5:18 | 5 September 2016 | ||
| 2020 | Fairytale of New YorkSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 4:031Fairytale of New York4:03 | 11 December 2020 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Red Hot Chilli Pipers head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 21 | 87.5th |
| Studio albums | 9 | 90th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 13 | 89.7th |
| Recording span (years) | 20 | 45.6th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dougie McCance | 2009 | present | bagpipe |
| Ben Holloway | — | present | guitar |
| Cameron Barnes | — | present | bagpipe |
| Chris Pugh | — | present | brass |
| Chris Russell | — | present | |
| Craig Munro | — | present | bagpipe |
| Gary O'Hagan | — | present | keyboard |
| Gregor James | — | July 2010 | |
| Gregor McPhie | — | present | |
| Kevin MacDonald | — | present | |
| Kyle Stuart Howie | — | present | bagpipe |
| Kyle Warren | — | present | |
| Malcolm McEwan | — | present | |
| Marco Cafolla | — | present | keyboard |
| Steven Black | — | present | membranophone |
| Steven Graham | — | present | |
| Stevie Lawrence | — | present | bass guitar |
| Stuart Cassells | — | present | |
| Willie Armstrong | — | present | bagpipe |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FIL_2008_-_Red_hot_chili_pippers_1.JPGaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5d341431-7002-4dcf-9da8-1d25f5bd0ed7discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5d341431-7002-4dcf-9da8-1d25f5bd0ed7core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2095272genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2095272seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hot_Chilli_Pipersbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hot_Chilli_Pipers
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Scottish musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q2095272 · MusicBrainz: 5d341431-7002-4dcf-9da8-1d25f5bd0ed7
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