I have been told a few times recently that I’m not good at selling myself. The truth is it’s because generally, I don’t like people who are good at selling themselves. It’s something ingrained in the northeast of Scotland psyche. Naebody likes a big heid. I’ve always been conscious of this.
I really enjoy creating music. Here I am giving away free sheet music.
I have started a small free sheet music library on IronBroo.scot and as I create new tunes I will build it up. You can download the PDFs for sheet music for free if you want to learn any of my tunes. I would love to hear them being played or recorded by other people.
I really enjoy doing what I do with music. Here’s one I made earlier…
It’s a pretty modest library at the moment ( more of a shelf ) but it takes a long time for me to write out and record the tunes and make the videos. If you want updates you can follow this blog or find us on Facebook, subscribe on YouTube and visiting ironbroo.scot. Leaving positive comments is encouraging. 🙂
Scottish Music Videos
The tune in the video above is one of my own compositions and the pictures and video are all my own, taken on Lochnagar in Aberdeenshire. I used an iPhone and a Canon Camera. Scotland is such a stunningly beautiful place with such a variety of scenery, it is a source of endless inspiration.
Directed and written by Duncan Harley. An Iron Broo film. Music performed by Charlie Abel & Fred Wilkinson. Narrated & edited by Charlie Abel. Doric supervisors Alison Abel (my ma fae Turra) and Grace Banks.
Our Doric Film Festival Entry.
Iron Broo – From ceilidh band to the big screen
It’s the day after the 2nd of July 2019 and today we can release our shortlisted entry to the first-ever Doric Film Festival. The awards and presentations took place yesterday afternoon in the Belmont Cinema, Aberdeen. There were around 240 guests packed in to screen 1 to see the awards and the entries shown on the big screen. There were over 30 entries and there were 3 categories. Schools, individuals and community groups. We were were in the community groups section and were shortlisted to the final 4, only one of which would get the coveted Doric Oscar. The winner of our group was from Torry Community Group. I was curious to find out if any of the participants stayed on OSCAR ROAD 🙂 (that’s an aptly named street in Torry) Their film was an excellent piece on the history of Torry. Every film I saw on the day was a winner so it must have been difficult for the judges to sit through 30+ films and choose a winner. Each film had something very special about it. From the old footage of Aberdeen Harbour and old Torry, to the Fishing Boats of the Bloo Toon with Meethill Primary. There wis family poems and stories with actors, the whole thing was very moving for any doric person. It warms the heart to hear the familiar turn of the doric tongue on the big screen. Communicating sentiment with messages that the english language could never do for us. To my knowledge, It’s the first time our culture has been celebrated in a film festival. This was art.
Onyhoo…
We were fair tricket to be shortlisted into the final 4 in the Community category. The Doric festival was a great success and brought in talent from across the northeast with some fantastic short film entries from schools, individuals and community groups. We thoroughly enjoyed working on our film about Aikey Brae with real northeast doric language and music. When I was at school I remember being told off and even excluded from lessons for speaking doric in class, it happened a few times but now it warms my heart to see so many people celebrate oor mither tongue. A creative and descriptive language reekin o’ history and hard toil.
Thanks Duncan Harley – Director
The film was Duncan Harley’s concept, and I would personally like to thank him for inviting myself and Fred to join him in the creation of the film. We learned a lot of tricks in the process and are looking forward to our next project. We hope the Doric Film Festival will continue and become an annual event. It’s sair needed in oor toon. A big thanks to Frieda Morrison and her team for making the whole thing happen.
Iron Broo ( Charlie (me) & Fred ) played at the Doric Film Festival awards ceremony. We played little ditties as the folk came up for their awards and we performed our version of the song Aikey Brae, used in our film.
Aikey Brae – oor track(s)
We released the music track “Aikey Brae” online. It’s on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify etc. A radio edit and the version of the full verse with the doric monologue as written by the original author G.S. Morris. You can download the tracks for pennies. Less than a bug o tattie crisps. Please dae as we sair need the siller. Here’s a CdBaby link https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/charlieabel3
The standing stones at Aikey Brae, up above where the horse cowpin’ went on, are believed to be around 5000 years old. There are many standing stones around the area and many share similar features. Aikey Brae is one of the most nearly complete ones left. Many stones were moved and were used for building other things over the centuries.
Aikey Brae Stone Circle informationAikey Brae Standing StonesAikey Brae Stone Circle Aikey Brae ( sacrificial stone?)Aikey Brae from on top of the sacrificial stone
Today I had the pleasure of accompanying Fred Wilkinson, my musical pal of many years, down to the Town House. Where he was then admitted into the Burgesses of Guild of the City and Royal Burgh of Aberdeen. The Burgesses of Aberdeen are one of the oldest civic institutions in Scotland dating back to before 1124.
Most of Aberdeen’s history stems from the actions of the early Burgesses who were charged with guarding the burgh with its laws and customs.
Fred’s musical career has touched many genres. However, he is perhaps most noted for his punk rock career which started in the early 80s with Toxik Ephex. Later he joined the band Iron Broo Ceilidh Band around 2003.
Fred, known locally as a musician, has made a considerable contribution to local music in different forms, raising funds for charities and good causes, and encouraging others to express themselves in the arts.
Fred has long been a great defender of Aberdeen as one of the founders of the ‘Aberdeen Voice‘, an online free news publication which gives local people a place to air their concerns and opinions through local citizen journalism.
City Council Chamber during the ceremony.
A-political by design, AV has to date published over 3700 articles representing a wide range of socio-political views.
Aberdeen Voice’s Facebook page has become a place where local people can get a chance to exchange views. Sometimes inviting comments directly with city councillors in a public forum, keeping the local debate alive.
I’ve known Fred for more than twenty years and I am very happy to see him recorded in our cities history as a Burgess for his efforts. Very well deserved and well done Fred.
Here’s a live ceilidh video clip we were given by a friend of ours who was at a wedding we played at in Nairn, on the 10th April 2015. It was at the Newton Hotel. It was a great night. The guests were excellent. Excuse the slight distortion on the audio. The set was for a Gay Gordons after the first dance at a wedding.
We had the honour of the Iron Broo ceilidh band perform at our wedding on 16th May, they were outstanding. Talented, organised and such a lovely bunch of guys
Response from the owner:Thanks Ellen, we really enjoyed playing for you. Such a lovely evening. And thanks for your kind hospitality. All the best 👍
We hired Iron Broo to play our ceilidh at a party to celebrate our recent marriage. The band were great, played a good variety of ceilidh tunes, called the dances and incorporated some impressive rhythmic vocals alongside playing. All the guest had a great time and enjoyed the ceilidh - thanks a lot!
We booked Iron Broo Ceilidh Band for our wedding in July 2025 and had a fantastic evening with them. The band were highly experienced and helped everyone get involved in the dancing. I would highly recommend them for any Ceilidh event.
Iron Broo played for our very first wedding at Kinclune House & Estate in our brand new wedding barn. Iron Broo were absolutely brilliant! The wedding party were up and dancing all night. Half of them were not Scottish, so Charlie did a great job of calling so that everyone could join in. I can't recommend Iron Broo highly enough if you're planning a wedding or special celebration!
Response from the owner:Thanks Aylwin, it was an honour to be your first band! We look forward to the next time, the new venue is amazing and the staff were so kind and attentive. Everyone was raving about the place. I'm sure you are going to be busy! All the best, Charlie
Iron Broo recently played a ceilidh and disco for our wedding. Charlie was easy to deal and answered all our questions very quickly. Both the ceilidh and the disco were very well received with the guests of our wedding complementing the band and the music.
We booked Iron Broo for our wedding at Mar Lodge in Braemar in July and they were fantastic! We had a very international group with about half the guests having travelled from New Zealand and Charlie was great at calling the dances and everyone had a a lot of fun, even the teenagers loved it! Thanks Iron Broo!
Response from the owner:Thanks Amy. Great fun playing for you and really nice to meet more of the Abel clan 👍
We hired the Iron Broo duo for a charity ceilidh in February 2024 and they had everyone up on their feet until the very end! Thank you so much for a fantastic evening with your band - lots of classics and few special twists which made for a super fun evening. Would definitely recommend Iron Broo and hire again in the future!
Response from the owner:Thanks very much Jenna, it was great fun to play for you! All the best, Charlie
Iron Broo played at our wedding ceilidh, playing an array of instruments and gave instructions for each dance. Excellent band who were very flexible, cheerful and skilled. Highly recommended.
Response from the owner:Thanks Keri, much appreciated. We had a great time and enjoyed every minute, it was a pleasure to be a part of your special day.
The Iron Broo Duo threw us a fantastic party to celebrate our wedding in September. They happily accommodated some very last minute changes and executed a little surprise absolutely perfectly! They had a great sense of humour when some of the dances didn't go to plan (no fault of the band, entirely the fault of the beer!) and soon had us back on track. A brilliant band to hire if you want to have lots and lots of fun!
From the moment we started to plan our wedding, we knew we wanted Iron Broo! With my wife having attended a few of their ceilidhs in the past, she told me that Iron Broo were the best ceilidh band she'd ever seen. Of course at first, with our wedding being my first ceilidh, I was a little bit nervous but I trusted her with this and I can say I am truly glad that I did. We couldn't have asked for anything more, the music and dancing was incredible (as per usual). Many of our guests had also never attended a ceilidh before, but they made the process of learning all the steps easy and everyone ended up having an amazing time (myself included. ) They were also extremely accommodating, able to play a requested song for our first dance with less than a weeks notice! Thank you so much Iron Broo! It was a pleasure to have you at our wedding and we will be sure to catch you at future events.
Response from the owner:Thanks Peter, it was a pleasure to play for your special day. We had a great time and everyone was wonderful. See you soon, Charlie 👍
They recently played at our wedding on 4th November 23 and were fantastic! A lot of guests had never been to a ceilidh before and they all really enjoyed it, especially the kids! We highly recommend Iron Broo!
We hired the Iron Broo duo for a corporate ceilidh and they had everyone up on their feet until the very end! Thank you so much Charlie for performing for us - everyone had a fantastic evening with your band. Would definitely recommend Iron Broo and hire again in the future!
Response from the owner:Thanks Jenna, for a lovely review and we had great fun playing for you. Hope to see you again soon 👍
Iron Broo are well worth hiring for a special celebration. Great musicians who know how to get everyone involved. Caller ensured everyone knew what to do and they were happy to keep it fast & furious when no one knew how to waltz! If you are thinking of having a ceilidh I would highly recommend hiring them.
Response from the owner:Thanks Helen, much appreciated. We had a great time playing for you 😄 All the best 👍
Iron Broo played at our family and friends ceilidh in July. It was a two piece band - talented musicians who played in varying styles. Iron Broo chose the dances - a mix of traditional and new ceilidh dances. The explanations of the dances were very clear. Many of our guests commented on how good Iron Broo were. We would definitely recommend them.
Response from the owner:Thanks Ian & Kathy, we loved playing for you! It was a pleasure, your family and friends were great fun. All the best 🪗😊
Iron Broo made a perfect day even better, they had everyone up dancing and mixing, from 3 year olds upwards. Guests who had never been to a ceilidh before had the best time and plenty of laughs trying to get the moves right. We highly recommend them to get the party started
Response from the owner:Thanks Cathy 👍 we had a great time. Much appreciated
Hired for ceilidh at Wedding, very accomodating and friendly. Played a requested tune for our first dance. Called/instructed on the dances which was very necessary and useful for people unfamiliar. Flexible on day when time for break and end called. Hired 4 players including a fiddle and sounded great! Had heard play before, and look forward to hearing again.
Response from the owner:Thanks Robin and Chen, it was ace fun playing for you both 👍 all the best ❤️
They came all the way to Luxembourg to do a ceilidh with our Year 8 students and it was simply fantastic! They really motivated our students to take part in the dancing and the students ended up loving it! Thank you so much again! It was a great event!
They are very very good musicians who are masters of their style, but please understand they are not a versatile band and I am sure that is why they are the cream of the cream of ceilidh, however Charlie really takes advantage of his disco choice to make the night round. He adapted to my needs and I am happy to have decided to hire his services.
Response from the owner:Thanks David, it was great to play for you and I really enjoyed the Venezuelan music “crazy hour” 👍🎶
The best Ceilidh band ever, our whole wedding was jumping from start to finish. My English relatives couldn't get enough of the dancing and were guided so well. Thoroughly recommend Charlie Abel and all of his brilliant 5 piece band.
Response from the owner:Thanks Juliet, it was a pleasure to be a part of your special day. It was great fun with excellent company. 🎶🏴👍🥰
The band (two piece) were absolutely brilliant. They were all set up in good time and the music was fantastic. Charlie called the dances where needed - everyone had an absolute ball! Thanks a million.
Response from the owner:Thanks Annette, it was great fun. A super audience to play for. I hope we can play for you again sometime, any excuse for a Ceilidh 🎶👍🪗🎶🙏🏼
Amazing wedding band!! Played both a ceilidh set and disco afterparty. Listened to all my crazy plans and created an awesome evening for all my guests. Super value for money and really easy to communicate with.
Response from the owner:Thanks Kaitlyn! We had a great time, your guests were ace fun to play for! All the best, Charlie
absolutely amazing!! the dances and the music of the duo was the best and we loved every minute of the time we had! They were also the nicest people ever
Response from the owner:Thanks 😊 so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for a lovely review 👍🤩
We were lucky enough to have Iron Broo play for us at our wedding, where half the guests were Scottish and experienced ceilidh and reeling dancers and the other half were German and had no idea what was going on! The fact that Iron Broo got EVERYONE on the dance floor and partaking enthusiastically in both Scottish and German dances is a testament to their legendary music and DJ'ing! The evening simply wouldn't have been the same without them. Thank you so much Iron Broo for making our multi-national wedding such a cracking party!
Response from the owner:Thanks Chrissie, it was a pleasure to play for you, everybody was so keen to dance. The German Knoten disco was also such fun. Please let us know if we can help you again. We have played in Germany before, quite a few times for weddings. If you can find another excuse for a ceilidh.... :-)
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