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Bagpipe music is an acquired taste, and it looks like quite a few people are acquiring it. Last year, the The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, a cavalry regiment of the British Army, recorded an album. It sold an unexpected three hundred thousand copies. So this year they wanted to record a sequel. The problem was the Dragoon Guards were on duty in southern Iraq. That didn't stop the record company, Universal. They sent one of their sound engineers with a laptop out to Basra where the band gathered to record the album, at the airport, in a tent. Corporal Ross Munro is one of the pipers on this album. He said the tent's conditions were quite different from your average recording studio. It's no surprise that temperatures upwards of 120 degrees would fatigue and dehydrate the players, but the bagpipes suffered too. Corporal Munro says their previous bagpipe CD was a hit because of its boldness. He says the album was a radical departure from the band's regular repertoire. And that appealed to bagpipe music lovers. Munro: Well I've certainly spoken to a few people that bought it and it's the complete difference from what we normally do. The regiment is now back at its base in Germany, looking forward to performing at a string of holiday functions. The pipes of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards bring our show to a close today.
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