Sarah Muir was the 2025 winner of the Pipe Major’s Wheel of Fortune competition yesterday, April 26, 2025. Sarah won the medley element of the innovative and popular contest, with Ross Miller taking second place and Cameron Drummond third.
Cameron Drummomd won the March, Strathspey and Reel (MSR) event, with Brian Lamond winning the prize for best joke.
The other competitors in a posse of elite pipers were Sandy Cameron, John Dew, Gordon McCready, and Cameron May.
The Wheel of Fortune competition, which is hosted by the City of Edinburgh Pipe Band, was held at Danderhall Miners Club in Midlothian.
Muir’s winning medley featured The Mad Hornpipe, Steve Byrne’s Jig, Alison’s Song, Unknown Polka, As I Went Out Upon the Ice, Dancing Feet, a self-penned tune which has yet to be named and The Fourth Floor.
Drummond’s MSR tunes were Donald MacLellan of Rothesay, The Shepherd’s Crook and Drumlithie.
Lamond’s joke involved a stale marriage, an attempt to freshen it up with a wheelbarrow, and worries about passing the mother-in-law’s house.
Following the event, band secretary, Paul White, said: “Thank you and well done to all the pipers who kindly agreed to pit their wits against the Wheel of Fortune. They treated our audience to a series of terrific performances, and we very much appreciate their support. And special congratulations to Sarah, Ross, Cameron, and Brian for their successes in a field of winners.”
The competition was judged by Robert Barnes, Ian Duncan, and the audience. MC for the day was Gary West, who hosts the popular podcast, Enjoy Your Piping.
The Wheel of Fortune has 12 numbers, with each number corresponding to a type of tune:
Each competitor must play five of the 12 tune categories. Four of the tune categories are determined by pipers spinning the Golden Chanter on arrival at the competition. The final category of tune is determined by a member of the audience spinning the Golden Chanter as competitors take the floor.
At the end of the competition, the audience remembered the band’s former Pipe Major, Gordon Campbell, who passed away at the start of the year. Brian Lamond performed The Campbells are Coming in tribute to Gordon.
The City of Edinburgh Pipe Band is grateful to the following sponsors and supporters who helped ensure the success of the event:
- The Eagle Pipers’ Society
- G1 Reeds
- The Gordon Duncan Trust
- McCallum Bagpipes
- RG Hardie & Co.
- Unison Lothian Health Branch
Next year (2026) will be the 20th anniversary of the Pipe Major’s Wheel of Fortune competition.