Fife’s singing barber Cammy Barnes overcame a lost bags “disaster” to perform at a prestigious international music festival in Switzerland.
The 32-year-old Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo veteran, who runs Barney’s Barbershops in Methil and Anstruther, sang Auld Lang Syne in front of a sold out crowd at the World Band Festival in Luzern.
After an “absolute disaster” with EasyJet which resulted in his bags not arriving, Cammy revealed that Swiss clothes shop Centralhof Herrenmode sorted him out with some clothes, allowing him to look the part when he played with the Christoph Walter Orchestra.
“Playing such a large prestigious venue in Switzerland in front of a sold out crowd at the world big band festival really was a mind blowing experience for me,” Cammy told The Courier.
“It felt like a proper milestone and I loved that I was the only Scottish person there.”
Cammy Barnes is having a busy year
In June, the singer from Methil left Scotland proud with his rendition of classic hit ‘Caledonia’ in the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent.
The singer revealed the birth of his daughter Bonnie had inspired him to chase his dream by entering the show.
But ITV viewers were left gutted when he just lost out on a place in the final by the skin of his teeth.
Cammy hasn’t let his departure from the show hold him back, however.
In August he shot to number one in the UK iTunes charts with his single, Bonnie’s Song.
Where else has Cammy Barnes performed over the years?
No stranger to big occasions, Cammy toured the world with the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and made his theatre debut in Black Watch for the National Theatre of Scotland in 2010.
He also reached number one in the World Music iTunes charts with his debut solo single in 2019.
Last year he told The Courier how performing at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo had “ticked every box”.
The former Kirkland High School pupil took to the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade as part of Electro Pipes.
The specially created tattoo super group blended the traditional instrument of the bagpipe with modern, electronic music, mixed with state-of-the-art projection and lighting.
Cammy, who learned to play bagpipes “from the moment he could walk”, described the performance as a “proper showstopper”.
But while Cammy enjoyed the “amazing buzz”, he laughed that he “trumped” his dad Robert who performed as the solo piper at the tattoo years ago while serving with the Queen’s Own Highlanders.
That’s because Cammy also had the privilege of singing the Skipinnish song Walking on the Waves.
Did Cammy Barnes ever consider joining the Army?
Cammy, who trained at the Aberdeen City Music School and the National Centre of Excellence, Plockton, considered joining the army.
But as his application progressed, he secured a job with the second cast of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch theatre show.
Instead of becoming a soldier, he pretended to be one – playing the role of 18 year-old squaddie Macca.
Cammy, whose grandfather served in the Black Watch, toured the world with the acclaimed show.
A big rugby fan who goes to most of the Scotland games, Cammy says that if he didn’t play the bagpipes, he’d probably play rugby.
But he’s too scared of breaking his hands!
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