Unsuspecting Islanders enjoy meteoric musical success

Their self-written songs, that tell stories about island life in a hilarious way, have won them a resolute celebrity status up and down the country. With the band’s new-found fame being dubbed ‘Peatlemania’, fans flock in their thousands to see them perform live and their nine-date 2020 UK tour is already close to a complete sell out.

Despite their celeb standing, all three members are still holding down full-time jobs. Fisherman Callum ‘Boydie’ MacLeod is on guitar and vocals, electrician Innes Scott is on the accordion and delivery driver Uilleam ‘Uilly’ MacLeod is on drums.

Since their video Western Isles went viral in early 2019, clocking up more than 200,000 views, the video’s tagline “This is how we do it in the Western Isles” has become a much-heard catchphrase across the Scottish festival circuit.

The track clocked up over 115,000 streams and their debut album, cleverly titled Uptown Fank, sold more than 4000 CDs and is stocked by HMV and FOPP stores across Scotland.

Due to the unprecedented demand, a limited edition vinyl of the album is being released in time for Christmas to fill revellers’ stockings.

Their second record, Light my Byre, will be launched at Celtic Connections on Saturday, 25 January at Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom.

However those still hoping to nab tickets for the party atmosphere performance are out of luck, with the show selling out a matter of minutes after going on sale – despite being moved from Oran Mor to accommodate as many of Peat & Diesel’s loyal fans as possible.

It comes after a summer of festival slots which saw ‘Peatlemania’ reach fever pitch. At The Gathering the tent reached capacity due to the army of fans trying to squeeze in to catch a glimpse of the trio and join the party.

Festival goers happily chose to miss out on a big act on the main stage to be part of the action.

The Stornoway lads also rocked the main stage at HebCelt, despite originally turning down the slot for a smaller stage so they could make it to their day jobs.

The night before they were set to perform fans stormed the signing tent, resulting in Police supervision to calm the eager crowds.

Their fanbase was deemed far too big for a smaller tent stage and they wound up playing the mainstage to thousands after all – without having to pull a ‘sickie’ at work.

Hot on the heels of the unexpected hype, the band are set to release their second – brilliantly named – album Light my Byre on Friday, 24 January.

The album will be available to pre-order from Sunday, 27 October and the band are looking forward to sharing another set of tunes with their fans.

Innes of Peat & Diesel said: “It’s been amazing to see so many people get behind us in 2019. Western Isles’ has become an unofficial anthem for the islands which is just mad. It’s all about writing songs that are relatable for us and I think that’s why so many people have got on the Peat train and embraced the music.

“There was such an appetite for the songs we’re making that it made sense for us to put another release out in the New Year. We’re always inspired by everyday things and our home and the new album will continue to tell those stories and most importantly, give our fans something new to jump up and down to.”

As the band’s popularity continues to grow across the UK, the trio are attracting fans faster than they ever expected. They launch into 2020 with a nine-date tour which takes them from Fort William and Aberdeen to Manchester and London, with a handful of tickets left for just three dates on the tour including Dundee and Stirling.

For more information on Peat & Diesel please go to: www.peatanddiesel.band