An extraordinary moment with Ken Eller and Clan MacFarlane

“In all those years, that was 1987, and we’re now 26 years later, it’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

Those were the words of the late Ken Eller in 2013, perhaps the most extraordinary moment in the 35 years we’ve conducted interviews.

We had reunited former Clan MacFarlane pipers and drummers: Eller, Graham Kirkwood, Bob MacCrimmon, Peter MacKenzie, Mike MacNeil, Gary Moore, Bill Sawyer and Peter Sinclair. The goal was to reminisce about the historically important Grade 1 band from St. Catharines, Ontario, one of the first non-UK bands to challenge regularly and seriously for a World Championship.

Meeting on a late-autumn day in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the group not only reminisced about the many fun times they enjoyed, but surprisingly spoke frankly about the moment in 1987 when Eller left the pipe-major position.

When the news got out, shockwaves reverberated around the pipe band world. For most people, Ken Eller was synonymous with Clan MacFarlane. The band had recently competed at the World Championships, and the 78th Fraser Highlanders won the prize that might have gone to “The Clan” many years before with different judges.

Twenty-six years later, after Eller had finished a stint as a self-described back-rank piper with the same 78th Frasers, the truth of the 1987 power transfer to Joe Rennix proved to be all one colossal mistake.

It was a positively jaw-dropping revelation that Eller had never heard before. True to the all-too-frequent passive aggressiveness of the pipe band world, the catastrophic communications mistake was never rescinded. Eller’s life and, indeed, pipe band history were changed forever.

After a long illness, Ken Eller passed away on July 26, 2024. His life will be celebrated at a gathering on October 5th, where dozens, if not hundreds, will come from near and far to pay their respects to The Captain.

We pay respect here by revisiting the astonishing and perhaps liberating moment when Ken Eller found out that in 1987, he was always wanted, just as he was throughout his 77 years. We will be gratified and thankful forever for bringing a happy reality to his unforgettable life.

Please see Part 4 of Clan MacFarlane Reunited – a pipe|drums historical pipe band interview here.