Jim Kilpatrick

Background

Kilpatrick was born in Whitburn, West Lothian on 11 August 1956, and started playing the snare drum at the age of 9 or 10.

Career

He also teaches and has given masterclasses around the world. He was awarded an Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2003 for "services to music"

At the age of 12 he joined his first band, in Grade 1. In 1971, at the age of 15, he joined the Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band, which was at the time under the leadership of Alex Duthart.

He left to become leading drummer of Polkemmet Pipe Band in 1980, with pipe major Robert Mathieson, who also came from Shotts at the same time.

He became leading drummer of Shotts in 1986. Kilpatrick was suspended in 2012 for comments made on Facebook about the result the band received at the British Championships.

This led to the resignation of pipe major Gavin Walker and the band withdrawing from all competition for the rest of the season, including the World Championships. This includes a run of eleven consecutive times between 1988 and 1988, a record which still stands.

In October 2015, a statement released by Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band reported that Kilpatrick had agreed to step down, and retire, from his position as leading drummer.

lieutenant also confirmed that corporation member Blair Brown would be his replacement. The statement offered from the band did not include any quotations directly attributed to Kilpatrick. He has been involved in teaching at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as well as giving masterclasses around the world.

Achievements

• He has won numerous drumming titles at the World Pipe Band Championships. With Shotts, he has won the drumming title at the World Pipe Band Championships nineteen times, fifteen of those as leading drummer. In 1991, Shotts won the drumming title in all five major championships, an event which has only occurred once. Kilpatrick also competes in solo events, and has won the World Solo Drumming Championships a record sixteen times.

Membership

In his own statement, released on October 17, 2015, Kilpatrick stated that his removal from the band was "the final act in a long-running, premeditated and well-planned coup d’état orchestrated by Ryan Canning, Blair Brown, Glenn Brown and perhaps three other members of the Shotts band.".