Blue Mountains teenager Lachlan Wiggins had the experience of a lifetime in December when he performed on stage with Sir Paul McCartney.
On Monday and Tuesday night, December 11-12, Lachlan walked on stage as part of the Governor Macquarie Memorial Pipe Band to back up McCartney on his hit single, Mull of Kintyre.
“Walking out on stage [at Qudos Bank Arena] was insane,” said the 17-year-old from Springwood and Hazelbrook. “The nerves were rushing through me but when I got on stage I had the biggest smile on my face. It was the best gig I’ve ever done in my life.”
Lachlan also performed on stage with John Farnham in December but said playing with the former Beatle was in a league of its own.
“We got a loud reaction from the John Farnham concerts but this was 10 times louder,” he said.
A student at McCarthy Catholic College in Emu Plains, Lachlan has been playing the bagpipes for six years.
Musical director of the band (which many will remember under its previous name, Hawkesbury Nepean Valley Pipe Band), Barry Gray, said it was a wonderful experience. A former Beatles fan himself, he first met Paul in 1993 when he played on Mull of Kintyre with Paul’s tour then. “I was starstruck – I’m not sure if anything came out of my mouth at all, but he was very easygoing,” he said.
- with Justine Doherty
