Britain’s Got Talent judges wowed by Ullapool’s RuMac - and his accordion-led disco banger

A HIGHLAND musician took a primetime TV talent show by storm tonight - with an accordion and a fresh twist on a disco banger.

Known to his local fans as RuMac, he was welcomed to Britain’s Got Talent tonight and told judges: “My name’s Ruairidh Maclean and I’m from Ullapool, a wee fishing village an hour north of Inverness.”

That got a huge roar from the audience amidst scepticism from the judges about what they might be about to see.

He describes what he does as “a hobby that got out of hand”.

Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon were joined by guest KSI.

As Ruairidh prepared to set up, Cowell snorted: “Oh no it’s even worse - it’s an accordion!”

“I hate them”, says Cowell before the musician even starts.

Undeterred, RuMac jokes: “I know how much youse love the bagpipes…”

And he proceeds to bring the audience to its feet with a disco banger with a twist, a mashed up version of the Baccara classic, Yes Sir, I can Boogie, which has become a favourite with Scottish football fans.

Said KSI: “That’s the sort of stuff that will go viral bro. It was weird, funky, I didn’t know what I was watching. But I was just entertained.”

Cowell is turned around: “I’ve never heard anything like this in my life. It was fantastically mad.”

KSI added: “Bro, you caught me off guard but I loved it. It’s a yes from me.”

Says RuMac as he’s greeted by Ant and Dec: “I wasn’t expecting that.”

The quirky performer has received instant feedback from a huge new audience.

One posted: “Seen RuMac live before, several times. He’s honestly so fun and never a dull moment. So happy to see him on BGT.”

Another summed up the feeling of many when they posted: “Absolutely the best use of an accordion ever seen!! Unpredictable, original, fresh.. Just brilliant.”

Sandra Winton was one of hundreds commenting on his own Facebook page: “Watched it just for you, so good and you’ve got so much more to give.”

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.