Rick Brown

Rick’s piping journey began when he was 10 years old, when living in the small seaside town of Burntisland, in the kingdom of Fife. Under the tuition of local Pipe Major Jim Forbes, Rick was ably set on his way. Competition was a very important part of Rick development. Even when he could barely grasp a set of Bagpipes, Rick was already competing in “Practice Chanter” (a learning tool for the bagpipes) competitions and winning prizes. In 1998, Rick won the Fife Championship for Practice Chanter. Soon after, rick got his first set of Bagpipes. Now a fully fledge member of the band, Rick went on to compete in his first pipe band competitions include all 5 of the RSPBA Major Championships at Novice Juvenile Level. Several Prizes followed this year, including a champion drum corps, which led to promotion to the highly competitive Juvenile Grade. In 1999, Rick relocated with family to the heart of Cheshire. Joining the Warrington Juvenile Pipe Band, for a season, whilst settling into the area. In 2000, Rick joined the Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service Pipe Band. Sticking with this band for the next decade, Rick was promoted up the ranks to eventually become Pipe Major in 2008. The band went on to winning many trophies including 2 North West Championships and a World Title for drumming in 2009. Circumstances in 2010 led to a change of band for Rick and over the next few years he would spend time with Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary Pipe Band, several successful years with Manchester Phoenix Pipe Band as Pipe Sgt and a return to Burntisland & District Pipe Band for a year in 2015. After a year out in 2016, Rick was asked to return to Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service Pipe Band as Pipe Sgt. In 2017 changes in the band, once again saw Rick being asked to take over as Pipe Major. Under Ricks leadership and with the help of several other key members, the band went on to win the 2017 All England Championship