Published: Wednesday, 23rd July, 2008 10:35am

Look what"s in the pipeline

by Colin Hutton

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Miss Scotland and First Minister lined up for gig

AN ambitious drummer has organised his second international piping event, but this time is going all out to make it a rip-roaring success.

Jason Prentice - along with his Celtic Spirt band mate Brian Kennedy - is ready to unleash the Pipes of Peace Concert again, and this year has bagged a beauty queen and the most influential man in Scotland to come along on the night.

And the 29-year-old also hopes to bring Yoker to a stand still after applying for a licence to allow his international collection of pipe bands to march down Dumbarton Road before they are bussed to the concert venue.

The Yoker man, who aims to expand the glitzy event each year, told the Post he has persuaded First Minister Alex Salmond to compere the evening and newly-crowned Miss Scotland, Stephanie Willemse, to take part.

Jason said: 'This year will be bigger and better than before and to have the First Minister on our bill is massive.

'We were invited to the Parliament to play and met the First Minister and since then we asked him to come and compere the concert, which he was happy to do.

'Marching along Dumbarton Road is a personal thing for me because it"s always nice to play in your own place.

'If we get the go ahead then it will be from the monument at the play park in Yoker up to the community centre.

'It will be a nice way to start off the day and will be like a huge thank you to the community for looking after all the performers.'

The concert will be held on August 12 with the Patiala pipe band from Pakistan back for a second year, Sydney"s St Mary"s Band Club making its debut as well as 'the piping world"s answer to Rod Stewart' - soloist Fred Morrison.

The bands will get ready at the Yoker Resource Centre before buses take them to the venue - Oran Mor pub in Glasgow"s west end - and the boys cannot wait.