Iron Broo Ceilidh Band.

Iron Broo are a well established, professional band with a great deal of experience playing at home and abroad.

They are the ideal band for any ceilidh function you might be planning.

The Iron Broo Ceilidh Band members.

Charlie Abel:          Accordion, Roland/Musictech Midi Bass and Vocals

Jani Lang:              Fiddle and vocals

Gus MacDonald:   Dance caller, Bodhran and various other Percussive instruments

Fred Wilkinson:     Bouzouki, Jaws Harp and Vocals

Charlie Abel was born in Aberdeen and began playing the accordion at 15 years old, inspired by the accordion playing of Irish Accordionist Mick Foster.  He went to Lessons in Aberdeen from the late six times Scottish champion accordion player Alastair Hunter. Under Alastair's expert supervision and keen eye Charlie was "able" to bang out a tune on his shiny new accordion. He went on to start a performing career in music when leaving the school at 17. Then played, sang and overindulged with many local musicians in the Aberdeen circuit including Fred Wilkinson now also an Iron Broo member. Charlie toured Brazil with the Alastair Hunter Lorne Scottish Dance Band in 1993 and started playing ceilidhs around Scotland shortly after, which led to him founding the band now known as Iron Broo.

 He still continues his solo career playing spots in concerts, guesting at Accordion and Fiddle clubs and doing the occasional pub gig when the price is right, but as the Iron Broo band are so busy this is becoming increasingly more difficult. Charlie has played support for world famous Irish-American accordionist Fintan Stanley while he was in Scotland on two occasions. He has also played all over Scotland, Orkney (nearly every island) and south of the border. He has 2 solo albums to date, and has recorded as a session/guest musician on many other albums. In 2006 he toured Japan with The Red Krayola, an American  band with whom he had the pleasure of recording 2 CDs  "Introduction" released on the 18th April 2006, and "Red Gold" released November 2006. 

Charlie is also a Digidesign Certified Pro Tools Operator.                          

Jani Lang

Jani trained as a classical violinist at the Music Academy of Szeged in his homeland of Hungary but it was as a folk fiddler that he won the Prize of Excellence and went on to study Irish, Scandinavian and Balkan fiddling under some of best traditional musicians in their field. He has performed concerts throughout Europe as well as appearing on the Voice of America and Denmark Radio. Jani also featured as part of the "Fiddles on Fire" tour in 2000 alongside acclaimed fiddlers Eliza Carthy, Susanne Lundeng, Dezi Donnelly and Chris Stout.

Gus MacDonald met Charlie at a session in Cellar 35 in Aberdeen in 1998 and was invited to a now infamous trip to Knoydart and to take part in the "Aberdeen Boat People" raft race team, which was racing in the Knoydart Alternative Highland games. "We was robbed!"  Being a westcoaster from Dumbarton Gus jumped at the opportunity to again sample the rain and the midges for which the west coast has become famous. The Inverie experience was later the catalyst that cemented three of the band members, Gus, Charlie, and Judith. They were later joined in their present line up by Fred Wilkinson and Sharon Hassan. Gus originally played guitar. However, when then time percussionist Pasqualis Arvanatidis was forced to return to his native Greece to carry out a spell of compulsory national service in 2003, the band decided to move Gus into a more percussive role on the Bodhran, which provided the percussive edge the band was now missing. In addition to the Bodhran, Gus is the band's main  Dance Caller. At the last count he had a repertoire of over 30 dances tucked away in his small mind.

Gus is also a member of the Gaelic Folk Group  “Rapach”. The band was formed in 2003 and won the folk section at the Royal National MOD in the years 2005 and 2006 at Stornaway and Dunoon. This led to TV appearances on STV’s Gaelic programme Ceol Aig A’Chaisteal.
 In December 2007 Gus started as a radio presenter on a local community channel. “Getting to Folk” can be heard on SHMU FM 99.8 Wednesday 3pm till 4pm.
 

Judith Pullar  originally came from Fife and began playing classical music at school, mainly on the Cello. However it was when she moved to Aberdeen in 1988 and met some of the mad traditional players that reside there that she realised this style of traditional music had something that she was missing. So, she took up the Penny Whistle and began her traditional music career busking to supplement her student grant (not even being shouted at to "Shut up!" or "Learn some new tunes!" by fed-up shopkeepers stopped her enthusiasm for playing). Since then she has taken up the Flute and has been a member of several popular bands including Cannach, The Kitchen Ceilidh Band and now more recently The Brogues (a pogues tribute band). It was on the now infamous trip to Knoydart that she met many of the members of Iron Broo and perfected the art of sleeping sitting up with a can of export in each hand, and the rest is history...

Fred Wilkinson From an early age Fred was destined to become a global pioneer in the field of biochemistry, but alas, much to the disappointment of some, and the relief the rest of creation, it was not to be.  To this day the crucial turning point, somewhere between electrocuting flies, racing snails and caterpillars, inflating frogs and watching mould grow on damp bread, has remained elusive.
 Was it being coerced to sing Harry Lauder songs with grandma? Twanging rubber bands on her bingo board? Playing Bohemian Rhapsody on a hastily constructed meccano glockenspiel? Or was it that fateful night, when inspired by a novelty act on Opportunity Knocks he resorted to blowing raspberries down the spout of the teapot? Many have pondered, and some have cited advanced yeast experiments as a possible factor. Whatever it was, Fred was primed when the punk rock demon snaffled his soul.  6 weeks after buying an old guitar for £1, Fred emerged, dazed and unkempt from the solitary confinement of his bedroom, changed his name to "Inspector Blake", and got his first band together.... the name of which remains a source of extreme embarrassment and moral shame. ( considering his next band changed their name from " The Abductors"to "Toxik Ephex", one gains some insight re. his decision to keep the first one out of the public domain! ). Whilst enjoying moderate success and notoriety, with the latter outfit Fred studied electronics and learned the basics on the mandolin: pursuits which led to some strange and intriguing instruments and devices being inflicted on his generally vulnerable social circle, notably the mandiddle and the electronic bagpipe. The emergence of The Pogues in the mid 80s inspired Fred to learn tin whistle, further his skills on mandolin, and have a go at anything with a stretched string ( resulting in a court order banning him from approaching youngsters with kites, skipping ropes or yo-yos! ) His motto, "If it's stringit, Ah'll ping it!" sums up his versatility as a multi instrumentalist able to hold his own on guitar, bass, mandolin, bouzouki, tenor banjo, dulcimer, balalaika, ukelele etc ....but for goodness sake, NEVER leave yer fiddle unattended!!
 As singer and mandoliser for folk-rock band Frantik Zimmer in the late 80s, Fred developed a taste for a new musical direction, an a love of traditional folk music. However, the less we say about his nude folk duo "The Scuds", the better for all concerned.
 But then with such a variety of interests, direction would be anything other than a straight line, and alongside the fact that he is Iron Broo's crappiest joke teller, one has to ask, what are we to expect from a Scotsman of English descent who enjoys playing Russian, Indian and Arabic riffs on an American strung, Irish tuned, Greek built instrument of the Armenian tradition in the manner befitting a possessed Hungarian?
 From the sublime to the ridiculous, Fred is neither, but everything in between, and endeavours to add a unique, creative and adventurous spirit to the Broo.  Mr. "Ahll-dae-it", his policy of never backing away from a challenge has seen him through singing such 'classics' as "Crazy Frog" and "Stayin' Alive" mid willow-strip, and shred sensitive mouthparts ( his own I hasten to add ) with the jaws harp. Furthermore his bloody-minded determination to match Charlie chop-for-note renders him medically unstable on a weekly basis making it impossible to earn a living by any other means...such is his dedication to cause.
 Very few have witnessed his "Sufference and Servitude be my Salvation" tattoo, and none will disclose its location. Nevertheless, he has "well contented bunny" written all over him as he seeks to undermine all that is sacred or reasonable. Nice Guy!