Documentary on Friday tells the inside story of Peat & Diesel and the rise of Peatlemania and the cult hits with which the Stornoway musicians have won over the world

A NEW documentary being shown on Friday gives an exclusive look at the lives of Stornoway sensations Peat & Diesel and the music that has seen the rise of ‘Peatlemania’.

The hilarious trio – a fisherman, a delivery driver and an electrician, started out singing about life in the Western Isles, wild parties on the moors and crofting.

But fisherman Calum ‘Boydie’ Macleod, delivery driver Uilleam ‘Uilly’ Macleod and electrician at the local airport, Innes Scott, found themselves and their songs became a viral hit.

And a meteoric rise to fame that quickly took them to packed festival tents and selling out legendary venues like the Barrowlands in Glasgow has kept them incredibly busy.

Their meteoric rise to fame has taken them by surprise and they’ve hardly had time to enjoy it because they’ve been so busy.

But that’s all changed now because, like everyone else, they are practising social distancing.

Before the Covid-19 crisis, Peat & Diesel had almost sold all their tickets for an Irish tour, and they had loads of summer festivals and an end-of-year tour to look forward to. Now most of their gigs have been cancelled and it remains to be seen what happens next.

Since Boydie's return from a trip to sea, the band has live streamed a performance from their respective houses to entertain their fans and give everyone a laugh.

And more than 1,000 people tuned into their video gig, which was initially just intended to be a test of the streaming facility.

But they have now had 24,000 views.

Now fans can catch up with the whole Peatlemania story in documentary That’s The Way We Do It on BBC ALBA this Friday (April 3).

The film charts the success of Peat & Diesel and it shows them as three extremely down to earth guys with a wicked sense of humour who are the best of pals.

As most people know by now, they started out playing in their front room and Stornoway’s Lewis Bar.

But after a video of them went viral on Facebook there was a huge increase in demand for gigs and they’ve had to juggle life on the road with full-time jobs.

Singer ‘Boydie’, gets a real thrill out of playing live gigs, he says: "I get the same feeling when I get a full lift of prawns as when I get a full room of people."

Innes Scott, accordion player and father-of two, added: “It’s a lot to take in when you’re not used to it. Other bands might be used to it but we’re not, we’re straight off the croft to this. I honestly don’t know what’s happening anymore.

“I don’t know where people are coming from or how they’re hearing about us, but they are.

“I don’t think even my mother wanted me this much!”

None of them wants to give up their ‘day’ job yet in case it all ends as quickly as it began.

But they’ve all been under a huge amount of pressure to keep up as their fan base has increased, which surprisingly includes hundreds of adoring primary school children.

Innes has been taking holidays to play with the band and says the Covid-19 crisis may give him time to get back on track.

He might even finally start building the family house that’s been on hold while he’s been on the road.

He said: “I don’t think the band will lose momentum. We’re a bit behind with making videos and this will be time to recharge.”

That’s The Way We Do It! – Peat & Diesel, is on BBC ALBA on Friday (April 3), at 9pm, followed at 10.30pm by From The Barrow To The Barrowlands, highlights from one of the band’s biggest gigs yet.

Below, That's The Way We Do It In The Western Isles, Peat &Diesel video from last year: