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Topic: Uillean/Northumbrian Pipes< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
moonchildhippy Offline




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Posted: Dec. 13 2005, 10:21

After watching "The Making of Ommadawn" film, (well I got 10 minutes to play on my PC).  This deserves a proper release, with  a 30th Anniversary release of Ommadawn :D.

I've drifted a little there.  The film, shows Mike playing a set of Uillean/ Northumbrian Pipes,  but on the Ommadawn LP the pipes are credited to Herbie ( Northumbrian) and Paddy Maloney (Uillean), and not Mike.

Where did Mike learn to play the pipes?  What he was playing on the Making Of Ommadawn  film sounded good :) !!!  I would imagine getting the bagpipes to sound in anyway musical would be most difficult, especially for a beginner.

Are there any differences between Uilllean and Northumbrian pipes, please?


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Sonilink Offline




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Posted: Dec. 14 2005, 15:15

where did ypu get this video?

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Tubularman Offline




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Posted: Dec. 19 2005, 21:58

Quote (Sonilink @ Dec. 14 2005, 21:15)
where did ypu get this video?

http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=20GMX9M6VM0ZS1KXD50T8P58GZ  ;)

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EeToN Offline




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Posted: Dec. 20 2005, 06:51

Quote (moonchildhippy @ Dec. 13 2005, 16:21)
Are there any differences between Uilllean and Northumbrian pipes, please?

Sorry for the lazy answer but Wikipedia has an informative description of all kinds of bagpipes.

But if you want to compare the sounds of them, you can find some Uilleann pipe soundclips here, and some Northumbrian ones here.

On the latter page there are also some pictures of Northumbrian pipes, while you can look at Uilleann pipes here.


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EeToN Offline




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Posted: Dec. 20 2005, 06:53

Anyway, here there are some bagpipe jokes if you're interested. ;)

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Sonilink Offline




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Posted: Dec. 20 2005, 10:29

great video!!! who is saying "the story of mike oldfiekd is one of the most amazing..."?

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moonchildhippy Offline




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Posted: Dec. 20 2005, 17:15

Thanks for your links Eeton :) , but I still have the burning question when/where did Mike learn to play the pipes?  What he was playing in the Making of Ommadawn film sounded great :D . I would imagine getting the pipes to sound in anyway musical would take years of practice.

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I'm going slightly mad,
It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad

If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come.


I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health


"Part time hippy"

I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS

BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!!
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timshen Offline




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Posted: Jan. 11 2007, 12:24

I taught him to play  ;)

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manintherain Offline




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Posted: Jan. 11 2007, 14:39

So you are Paddy Moloney then?  ;)

Uillean Pipes 1

Uillean Pipes 2
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familyjules Offline




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Posted: Jan. 12 2007, 09:57

I seem to remember that Paddy added his uillean pipes too late to get a credit on the original sleeve, or at least get him in the group photo, and that his parts replaced Herbie's Northumbrian pipes.

I don't know what happened to Mike's pipes though....unless 'Herbie' was Mike using a pseudonym - maybe he thought his playing was below par and tried to blame it on a ficticious person?  Other musicians have done this for instruments which are not their usual forte - Elvis Costello and Neil Young spring to mind as examples.

Jules


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Inkanta Offline




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Posted: Jan. 12 2007, 19:02

From Richard's discography:

"Herbie - Full name Herbie Armstrong (according to the Amarok Mike Oldfield FAQ - my research drew a blank on him). It seems his northumbrian bagpipe parts were later replaced with Paddy Moloney's uillean pipes (though I did have a vague thought that I might have found the sound of the northumbrian pipes buried deep in the mix somewhere in part 2. I don't remember where it was, and it was probably something else anyway...). Herbie Armstrong played guitar with Van Morrison on a couple albums during the late 70s and early 80s."  http://rcarter.34sp.com/oldfield/ommadawn.html

From the Amarok FAQs: http://tubular.net/faq/#5.3
5.3 Who is Herbie, credited on Ommadawn for Northumbrian Bagpipes?

"Les Penning once recalled seeing Herbie sobbing into his beer at a Kington pub after having his work removed from Ommadawn. This would indicate that Paddy Moloney's part replaced something that Herbie did. I think Herbie was a local musician, like Les, but I'm not sure.

"Herbie was a member of Yellow Dog, a Virgin signing in 1977. It was a duo formed by Irish musician Herbie Armstrong and Brill Building tunesmith Kenny Young - the latter being the writer of some The Drifters themes. The twosome were previously linked with singer Noosha Fox to form Fox, and provided the UK charts with three top 20 hits during 1975-76. As Yellow Dog they didn't do badly.

"Herbie has since appeared on numerous Van Morrison projects, but Young has disappeared from sight."

Credit: David Porter, dporter2@compuserve.com, Nacho Marin, nachomarin@wanadoo.es, Vox Magazine, September 1993.


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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Jan. 15 2007, 09:10

Mike did try to play the Northumbrian pipes himself. He ordered a DIY kit and built a set, but it proved so awkward that he gave up.

The pictures that manintherain posted are from the book "Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains" by Bill Meek. According to that book, Paddy took an diversion from touring to visit Mike and play on Ommadawn. The next day Mike arranged for Paddy and the Chieftains manager, Jo Lustig, to fly by private plane to their next venue, which was Southampton. I have yet to find a 1975 tour schedule for The Chieftains but I would think that the Southampton gig was during August. Too late for Paddy for get a mention on the sleeve so certain copies have stickers proclaiming the fact.
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moonchildhippy Offline




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Posted: Jan. 15 2007, 19:27

Quote (Airborne @ Jan. 15 2007, 14:10)
Mike did try to play the Northumbrian pipes himself. He ordered a DIY kit and built a set, but it proved so awkward that he gave up.

Thanks Airborne that solves some of my original questions. Does that mean that Mike taught himself to play, or did someone teach him, as what he is playing in the Making of Ommadawn film is bloody good for a beginner  IMHO :)  :) .

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I'm going slightly mad,
It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad

If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come.


I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health


"Part time hippy"

I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS

BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!!
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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Jan. 18 2007, 05:26

One of these days I will have to transcribe the interview where Mike describes the arrival of his Northumbrian bagpipe kit and the troubles he had with it. Meanwhile follow the link below to read about a chap with similar aspirations who discovers Herbie the Hermit.

Herbie the Hermit
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moonchildhippy Offline




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Posted: Jan. 18 2007, 19:16

Quote (Airborne @ Jan. 18 2007, 10:26)
One of these days I will have to transcribe the interview where Mike describes the arrival of his Northumbrian bagpipe kit and the troubles he had with it. Meanwhile follow the link below to read about a chap with similar aspirations who discovers Herbie the Hermit.

Herbie the Hermit

Oh Yes Please, I'll  love ya forever  :cool:  :) .

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I'm going slightly mad,
It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad

If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come.


I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health


"Part time hippy"

I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS

BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!!
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Airborne Offline




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Posted: Jan. 21 2007, 09:49

Here it is then, especially for moonchildhippy.

There was this nice interview Mike did for BBC Radio in 1982.
The programme was called Strictly Instrumental, where Mike chose instrumental tracks that meant a lot to him. After they played "The Morpeth Rant" by, renouned Northumbrian Bagpipe player, Billy Pigg the interviewer exclaimed that Mike could actually play the pipes himself. He went on to explain:

"I thought I would learn how to play them, you can't buy them, I had to have a set made. When it came to me it seemed to me impossible to do, it's like trying to play an octopus. You've got a bag under your left arm, bellows under your right arm, drones that stick out one shoulder and you play this little bit of rosewood, a tiny, slender little thing. But you have to nurse the reeds, you have to drop bits of sealing wax on them, stick hairs in the reeds, heat them up and cool them down and rub them in your hands, blow on them. It took me months before I could make a tune out of them."

So it looks like Mike was intending to play Northumbrian pipes himself on Ommadawn, but, due to the trials of getting a tune from them, turned to Herbie the Hermit and then Paddy Moloney. My powers of recall forgot he had a set of Northumbrian bagpipes made for him, but he still had difficulties putting them on the album.
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moonchildhippy Offline




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Posted: Jan. 21 2007, 18:38

Thank you for transcribing the interview Airborne. Love ya forever :)  :)  :)  :)  :) .

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I'm going slightly mad,
It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad

If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come.


I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health


"Part time hippy"

I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS

BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!!
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glasgow_tubular Offline




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Posted: Jan. 22 2007, 10:57

Quote
Q: What's the difference between a Scotsman and a Rolling Stone?
A: A Rolling Stone says "hey you, get off of my cloud!", while a Scotsman says "Hey McLeod, get off of my ewe!"

:laugh:  :laugh:  :laugh:

Dunno if thats funny or insulting  :p


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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: Feb. 01 2008, 09:20

Then of course there's the story told by Phil Newell in the Boxed booklet.He tells of going to the Manor with 2 weeks to go till the pressong date.Paddy turned up late one evening,proceeds to get drunk with Mike (on,according to Paddy,Irish whisky which Mike thought appropriate-Paddy preffered scotch)at which point Phil went to bed.He is then woken up and told Mike and Paddy have got something.Explains why he isn't in the pic or creditted,but as i posted in another discussion,the part Paddy played had been around since 1968 as anyone who brought the extended cd re-issue of Children Of The Sun (the track A Sad Song For Rosie is basically Paddy's pipe tune on solo acoustic guitar)so i think Phil may have been exagerating a wee bit. :)

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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: Feb. 01 2008, 09:21

aplogies,Phil didn't go to the Manor to help.he went,of course,to the Beacon.

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