The excitement around Peat and Diesel is nothing new. In May 2019, the Stornoway punks were forced by police to abandon a gig at The Gathering in Inverness, when their festival tent became overwhelmed. “There were pints flying and people crowd surfing,” says Macleod of the gig when he and his bandmates Innes Scott (accordion) and Calum “Boydie” MacLeod (guitar and vocals) realised their agri-industrial schtick had caught the wind, giving rise to a Highland-led phenomenon that would eventually be called Peatlemania.
Their sound is proudly rudimentary and anarchic, no-nonsense tales and humorous homespun eulogies to island life, roughly hewn from their history, traditions and upbringing. It lies somewhere between the Sex Pistols, The Pogues, Runrig and a runaway tractor at full throttle on a landscape of Lewisian gneiss. It’s also hugely popular, something that the organisers of next month’s Celtic Connections festival recognised as being sufficiently appealing to award them the accolade of becoming the the first band to transform the Emirates Arena into a rock venue.
“I remember seeing it on the telly during the Commonwealth Games,” says Macleod, speaking to The Herald from his home in the Highlands ahead of their landmark date in Dalmarnock. “We played a headline gig at the Royal Concert Hall a few years ago, and we were looking at playing the Barrowlands again. But the Emirates is three times the capacity of the Barras, and although we’ll be back there, this was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“There will be things done to make it feel more like a venue rather than a sports amphitheatre. And it will likely open the way for this venue being used by other bands. It will hopefully be something really positive for the venue, which doesn’t get used as often as it could, and positive for the city too. And it’s great that Peat and Diesel will be the first band to do it. It’s going to be a great night.”
(Image: Peat and Diesel)
Despite their burgeoning fanbase and steadily climbing prospects, don’t expect Peat and Diesel to give up the day jobs any time soon. They may have played Glastonbury – twice in one day in 2022 – but there’s work to be done once the craic is over. “We still need the wages coming in from our work,” says Macleod. “The most important thing for us is we have a common understanding with our employers. “I think if we just had the band we would feel a bit bored. We’d be able to play a bit of golf, watch the football, do the things we want to do. But I think having that structure with work is important for us.
“Innes has not long had a child with his other half and they’re building a house. We’re quite happy with the jobs we have and the way we are working. Sometimes it can get on top of you, being out on the road all the time and then having full time work. But we make it work and we take our partners to the gigs when we can, which eases their anxieties about us being away.” Two thirds of Peat and Diesel now live on the mainland, around Inverness, with Scott the sole member remaining on Lewis.
“With the way everything is with the ferry fiascos and the planes getting cancelled, it eliminates a bit of the risk,” says Macleod, the band’s drummer. “And for me as well, the island, like a lot of places, it’s not doing very well economically, the town is absolutely dead. I have been at home for 32 years and now was as good a time as any to come over for the city vibe.” Still, it seems unlikely that the air of Peat and Diesel will take on a metropolitan whiff any time soon. Having formed in Stornoway in the 2010s, they played as a wedding band before ad-hoc social media posts of jocular singalongs like Calum Dan’s Transit Van gave their music wings that lifted it beyond the Western Isles.
Macleod says: “An integral aspect of Peat and Diesel is grounding. You don’t get big headed or indulge in that rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, although some might argue that on that rock ‘n’ roll rollercoaster it can come apart and blow up in front of you. So we take every gig as it comes and approach things the same way.” Support slots with folk-punks bands like The Levellers and Gogol Bordello have broadened Peat and Diesel’s appeal well beyond the Highlands and islands of their homeland. “Our English gigs sell just as fast as our Scottish gigs now,” says Macleod. “The second fastest gig to sell on our tour next year was London. That’s nowhere near Stornoway or Inverness, but these gigs have helped us build momentum. Maybe not everyone who comes to the gigs knows what we’re singing about, but they’ll come and have a right good time still.”
It’s testament to their work ethic and homespun authenticity, whether in a digger on a quarry or playing to 5000 at the newest live music venue on the scene. And there’s no sign Peatlemania abating, with a new album in the works, following 2019’s Uptown Fank and 2020’s Light My Byre. “There’s a sense of belonging in our songs.” says Macleod. “From an islander’s perspective there’s a really proud tradition of the way we were brought up. Islanders especially really get behind what we’re doing because what we’re singing about it is a culture they know about.
“Most bands don’t dwell on the past and their culture the same way. And I think that’s what makes us different.”
Peat and Diesel are at Celtic Connections, on 23 January, Emirates Arena, Glasgow
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