A TALENTED Dunbar drummer has told of his pride at playing in front of huge audiences at Edinburgh’s Royal Military Tattoo.

Frazer Rankin was one of 24 members of the Pipers’ Trail, the first-ever group of pipers to perform at the international show with no military connections.

He described the experience, from August 1 until August 23, as “absolutely fantastic”.

He said: “This is something that will be remembered for the rest of my life.” The 20-year-old took up the drums at the age of 13 and climbed through the ranks to become Drum Sergeant with Haddington Pipe Band.

Then, after spotting an advert online, he submitted a video and a CV, showcasing his drumming talents, and requested to be considered for the Pipers’ Trail.

He had to include a reference from a Pipe Major and, a few days’ later, he was invited for training.

That took place at Edinburgh’s Redford Barracks, with the newly-assembled group practising both their marching and music skills.

Frazer said: “The Pipers’ Trail felt fine. It was learning the basic marching displays and playing alongside the military band that was more difficult but it felt fine and was no problem.” The former Dunbar Grammar School pupil admitted that the three weeks of the shows got easier as time went on.

He said: “I think it is the fact you have such an amazing backdrop – the castle – behind you and you are playing in front of a massive audience, thousands at a time.

“It’s nerve-wracking at first but you get used to it and you get much more confident; it becomes the same every time.

“In the dress rehearsal, my legs were shaking but afterwards I was a lot calmer and it was very straight-forward.” Frazer’s parents were at the dress rehearsal and a number of other family members came to see the show on August 12.

The Bruntsfield Crescent resident added: “They absolutely loved it.

“They loved the fact a family member was doing one of the world’s best shows.” Since then, Frazer has returned to his work at the town’s Asda store and added that a lot of colleagues had congratulated him on the show.

He added: “I would definitely be up for it next year.

“It is one of those thing you want to do again because it was just so good the first time round.”