THE bagpipes are one of Scotland’s most famous trademarks, never more so than at this time of year.

As well as the Military Tattoo, bagpipe fans and players come from all over the world for the Piping Live! Festival, held in Glasgow every year since 2004.

Events are held at venues across the city from August 8-14 and culminate with the World Pipe Band Championships at Glasgow Green.

One of this year’s biggest concerts at the festival is the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, whose blend of traditional piping skills and rock music has won them legions of fans around the world.

We spoke to band member Willie Armstrong about the band’s Top 10 Piping Moments.

T in the Park

In 2003, T in the Park headliners The Darkness asked for a local pipe band to perform with them. We were doing a corporate gig that same day, so I remember hurtling over the Forth Bridge to get to Balado in time. It was a great experience but we weren’t really there in our own right, just as a local group of pipers. The Chilli Pipers’ founder, Stuart Cassells, said in 10 years we would be playing there ourselves.

None of us thought it possible, but in 2014 we opened the main stage on what was the final day at Balado – something no one else can ever say. We looked to the side at one point and saw the Kaiser Chiefs watching and clapping along. We got to meet them and lots of other bands backstage.

Going platinum

We released our debut album to little reaction in 2005, but by the time our second album, Bagrock To The Masses, came out a couple of years later we had started to build a good following. Sales were going really well but we didn’t realise quite how well until we were in New York playing at the Tartan Day celebrations in April 2009.

We were surprised in Times Square by then-First Minister Alex Salmond, who presented us with our first platinum disc. It made a special trip even more memorable.

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TV winners

The morning after a gig in 2007, we found ourselves at Stuart’s flat when we saw an advert in the newspaper for a new BBC talent show, When Will I Be Famous? Auditions were taking place at noon and it was 11.30am, so we grabbed our gear and rushed over, only to be told that acts had to sign up in advance. Stuart talked them round and we played We Will Rock You.

We got the call to take part in the show and in our first episode we were up against a string quartet. I didn’t think we would have any chance in the public vote. In fact, I just hoped it wouldn’t be a landslide. Incredibly, we received 51% so squeezed through to the next round.

We didn’t even have a website at this stage, so quickly had to start working on that side of things as we moved through the rounds, beating off stiff competition to win the show as an audience of 8.2million Saturday night TV viewers watched. That really helped us push on.

Viral video

The band was invited to play at Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival in 2014, held in Glasgow to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. We wanted to do something a little different and about an hour before we were due to go on, we decided we would try to cover the Aviici song, Wake Me Up, which had been a massive hit the year before. We worked the parts out quickly backstage and then performed it live. Within 24 hours, the YouTube video had been watched more than a million times and proved to be a massive springboard for the band.

Meeting Andy Murray

We were in London for a corporate gig when we went into Starbucks and spotted Andy Murray and his mum, Judy, sitting at a table. It was the day he won Queen’s in 2011. Never one to miss an opportunity, Stuart went over and introduced himself. To our surprise, Andy said he listened to our music all the time and asked his mum to take his picture with us. Andy was asking us for our picture!

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Judy mentioned Andy would soon be playing in Glasgow in the Davis Cup against Hungary and said they would need to get us along to play. We didn’t think any more of it but, sure enough, we received a call asking us to warm up the crowd. Then Andy asked if we would pipe him out to Flower of Scotland. I looked at him afterwards and he had tears in his eyes.

First American gig

One of the best things about being in the band is all of the countries we’ve played but one of the most memorable overseas shows was our first American gig in 2006. The booker of Milwaukee Irish Fest saw us perform at Celtic Connections in Glasgow and took a massive punt, flying all of us over.

It went really well and we’ve been back several times since. In fact, we’ve played there every year for the past six and also recorded a live DVD at the festival.

Helping others

Our gigs in Scotland are always great, but we played one last year that was even more special. It was my 50th birthday and I thought a good way to mark it would be to do a gig where all the proceeds went to charity. We sold out the O2 ABC in Glasgow and made £43,000, an incredible amount. The money was split between the Anthony Nolan Trust and, being a former fireman, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Family Support Trust.

The Proms

We’d played the Scottish Proms in the Park for the BBC at Glasgow Green a couple of times already, so it was nice to be asked again in 2013. But then I was told it was the Proms in Hyde Park in London! What an amazing experience. I never get nervous but when I walked on stage and saw this mass of people – 90,000 – I did have a pang of nerves. I’ve never seen a crowd like it.

We went down really well and afterwards we mingled with folk like Bryan Ferry, Sir Terry Wogan and violinist Nigel Kennedy. I watched the rest of the show with my wife, two daughters and brother on the grass, enjoying our Harrods hamper.

Hong Kong

We were asked to play at the opening ceremony of the Rugby Sevens competition in Hong Kong last year. The massive stadium is in the centre of the city and I couldn’t help but look around at all of the iconic buildings on the Hong Kong skyline. The bagpipes are such an international instrument now and I’ll never forget the crowd singing along as we played Highland Cathedral. We were asked back again this year.

Sold out in Manhattan

We booked a gig in one of Manhattan’s legendary venues, BB King’s, but weren’t sure what sort of turnout we would get. We thought maybe 100 or so would come along but, as we walked towards the venue, we saw the band’s name in lights outside with the words “Sold Out” below. Around 1200 people packed in and afterwards we got to sign the wall backstage, a custom for headline acts there, alongside huge stars like Prince.

Red Hot Chilli Pipers, O2 ABC Glasgow, Saturday, August 13. Visit www.pipinglive.co.uk for more information.