Ian Kidd

As a youngster at high school, I realised that Physics, Maths and all that was a waste of time.  The one time in the academic year that I enjoyed was when we learned Scottish Country Dancing at Christmas.  The usual teenage angst of having to line-up against the wall-bars waiting to be picked by a girl (or worse, having to go and choose one for yourself) didn’t phase me – I was simply waiting for the opening chords from the ceilidh band giving it laldy on a Dashing White Sergeant.  The hairs on the back of my neck were raised, closely followed by the hairs on my sporran.

Fast forward 100 years and now I bring this love of the music to you every Sunday morning on Celtic Music Radio in the programme that nobody asked for: The Ceilidh Kidd. Tune in at ten – you might not hate it.

When I’m not mispronouncing tune names on the radio, I also play the drums in various ceilidh bands having risen up through the ranks of the pipe band scene, graduating from playing at rainy gala days to playing at warm village halls, country houses, castles and hotels – often with a few sausage rolls at half time followed by a long drive home while listening to The Shipping Forecast.

I do also like many other kinds of music and I get a chance to play a mix of jazzy, folky, smooth sounds in The Sunday Lie-In on a Sunday morning.

And occasionally I pop up on other shows as a disappointing stand-in when the main presenter can’t make it.