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WHEN Hayley McInnes was growing up, she thought all pipers wore kilts and sported bushy moustaches – but not any more.

World champion piper Hayley, 25, is one of a new breed of talented young musicians helping blow fresh life into the image of piping.

She has performed alongside Paolo Nutini, piped for the royal family, given a piping lesson to David Walliams and has been mobbed by hundreds of piping fans while on tour in Taiwan.

And she has even played her bagpipes while taking part in a modelling shoot dressed head to toe in Vivienne Westwood.

Hayley is hoping for the same success with the pipes that Scots violinist Nicola Benedetti has had with her violin.

She said: “People are always telling me that I don’t look like a piper but the face of piping is changing. Bagpipes used to

be seen as quite a male instrument – played by an older man in a kilt, usually with a moustache. But more and more girls are playing the pipes.

“I love traditional piping music. I’ve got the full kilt outfit and enjoy playing in traditional bands.

“But playing the bagpipes doesn’t have to be that shortbread image of a piper in his kilt playing Scotland the Brave. There are a lot of us pushing the boundaries when it comes to piping.

“Over the past 10 years, there has been a shift away from just playing traditional music. We are seeing bagpipes being played with other instruments and for other styles of music.

“I’ve played the bagpipes wearing high heels, wearing Vivienne Westwood, wearing summer dresses and wearing tartan skinny jeans with war paint on my face.

“The image of playing the bagpipes is changing but we still have a long way to go.”

Hayley, who grew up in Aberdeen but now lives in Glasgow, was just nine when she first started to play the chanter at school.

She remembers her family trying to dissuade her from taking up “another hobby”– and she says they joke now that their attempts to stop her playing the pipes didn’t succeed.

She said: “I brought a letter home from school about learning to play the chanter.

“As I already did a million other things – from dancing and swimming to playing the piano – my mum ripped the letter up.

“The next day I got another letter from school and this time handed it over with my own saved pocket money to show that I would buy the chanter myself as I was so keen to learn. Thankfully, I was allowed and just loved it.

“I never realised what opportunities there could be in piping until I came to Glasgow with my mum a few years later to visit the World Pipe Band Championships.

“As soon as we came out of Queen Street station and into George Square, we saw all these amazing pipers, of all ages, doing fantastic things.

“I’d never seen anything like it before and was totally hooked.”

(Image: Getty Images)

Hayley went on to study music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and was the only female in her BA Hons Scottish Music – Piping course.

She now juggles working at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow with performing and teaching full-time.

She also competes at the highest level and last year was one of four female pipers performing with Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band when they won the World Pipe Band Championships.

Hayley said: “I can’t imagine my life without piping. Playing the bagpipes has allowed me to travel to so many amazing places, given me so many opportunities and allowed me to meet so many interesting people.

“I’ve played alongside Paolo Nutini at a private VIP event he was doing around the launch of his second album.

“He didn’t have a shot at playing – he stuck to singing – but he was so kind and really grateful to me and the other pipers who were there for volunteering our time for him.

“I’ve played for Princess Anne twice when she was arriving at different events and, while she didn’t speak to me as I was busy playing, she did nod her head to say thank you. Last year, I gave a lesson to David Walliams. Britain’s Got Talent were filming in Edinburgh and a friend invited me along to play for the judges arriving.

“David decided that he wanted to play the pipes for Simon Cowell arriving so we spent about half an hour showing him the ropes.

“He was all kilted out and, despite being a comedian, was very serious about knowing how to hold the bagpipes properly and even getting a note or two out of them.

“He did very well and was very down to earth, just like all the other BGT judges.

“It was very surreal sitting with Ant and Dec but was a great experience.”

When Hayley travelled to Taiwan to perform with another Scottish pipe band, she was shocked by the huge support they received.

The band were playing at a concert in front of 60,000 people and they were mobbed by fans.

She said: “We got a glimpse of what it must be like to be in a boy band.

“Everywhere we went, we were getting followed about by crowds and had to get our own security.

“We had been warned that people in Taiwan love anything Scottish but this was incredible.”

Next week, Hayley will take part in Piping Live, a week-long celebration which attracts more than 50,000 music fans to venues across Glasgow.

Highlights of the event include The Masters Solo Piping Competition as well as a performance by the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.

Piping Live leads on to the World Pipe Band ­Championships, which take place on Glasgow Green next month. www.pipinglive.co.uk.