A major campaign is launched today to encourage more of our pubs to pin their colours to the mast and boast - "We are Scottish - and proud of it".

The drive, supported by the Scottish Licensed Trade News and VisitScotland aims to see bars, hotels and restaurants featuring
traditional music - both pre-recorded and 'live' - to give them a
distinctly Scottish feel and bring the tourism experience closer to what is found across the Irish Sea.

The organisers say that tourists who come here invariably get a
disappointment if they are seeking a flavour of good Celtic music to complete the picture. The move comes as a recent survey revealed that the majority of Scots would like to see more grant aid going to support traditional music than other areas of the arts. And, it follows Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival which once again enjoyed huge attendance figures to confirm there is an eager audience out there for traditional music in its many guises.

To get the project underway, leading Scottish record label Greentrax will be giving out an hour-long sampler CD fittingly entitled "Every Pub Should Have One" featuring a selection of artistes from his extensive catalogue, to all the bars, hotels and restaurants which show an interest in participating. Label boss Ian Green said: "Most of those featured are acts which tour
the world performing great music from Scotland. It will be fantastic if they get a little more exposure on their home turf from this new initiative". Among acts featured on the hour-long CD are headlining bands such as Shooglenifty, Burach, The Peatbog Faeries, Fiddlers' Bid, Seelyhoo, Macumba and solo performers of the calibre of Gordon Duncan, Wendy Stewart, Tony McManus, and Donald Black.

The crusade to get Celtic music into our bars is being supported by a wide cross-section of interested parties and has been welcomed by MSPs across the political spectrum. Many foreign visitors have expressed disappointment at the lack of
Celtic music encountered during visits here. BBC broadcaster Iain Anderson, himself a great supporter of traditional music said he was at a loss to understand why the new-found interest in Celtic music has taken so long to register with licensees and publicans. He said: "The music sits so well with the hills, the lochs and the islands.the very reasons why the tourists come to Scotland. Urging sections of the trade to get onboard, he added: "Think of Dublin as a role model then you won't go far wrong."

The Scottish Licensed Trade News has carried several stories of foreign tourists who have been disappointed at the lack of musical soundtrack to their travels. One group from North Carolina searched far and wide for a taste of the music they came here to hear and reportedly were "haunted by Frank
Sinatra and Dean Martin" wherever they went. A bus party of Italians was sorely disappointed too and when they finally saw a ceilidh advertised on the Isle of Lewis went along filled
with anticipation only to have their dreams dashed once more as the band providing the music was a country & western outfit!
The campaigners say it's not all bad out there but could be a whole lot better.

In Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness, and other isolated pockets, there are a number of well-established venues which feature bands, but many more could easily dip a toe in the water without becoming all-singing, all-dancing music venues. Scots travel writer and music journalist Loudon Temple is confident
that the time is right to get the pubs to re-consider music policy. He said: "Even if they don't to commit to something really bold and exciting or simply don't have space for live bands it is still very easy to offer Scottish music - in its broadest possible sense - instead of the bloody awful supermarket muzak you get in some places.

"I appreciate that most publicans, hoteliers and restauranteurs are extremely busy running things on a day-to-day basis and hardly get the time to even think about an issue such as this. That is part of the problem. They need to be introduced to the concept, and that means introducing them to music. It's a fact that those who have taken the time to carve out a niche
for themselves, have found it has worked very well indeed.
In Inverness, for instance, Hootannany's has proven the point. There is live traditional music staged there every day of the year and it is one of the busiest places in the entire country."

Those who give a commitment to featuring Celtic music - even if that if just pre-recorded CDs to help create the right atmosphere - will benefit from inclusion on a website being set up to tell visitors, and everyone else who is interested, that these are the places to go to if they want to sample a real "taste of Scotland" experience.

"There are more young fiddlers, clarsach players and accordionists out there today than there has been for many decades. Having gone through colleges and music schools, they all want to play," he added. "We hope to establish a circuit for those musicians, with smaller bars maybe featuring a fiddle and box duo some nights a week and other larger venues providing opportunities for bands."

Many of those who are backing the move feel that pubs are currently shying away from playing CDs of Scottish acts through ignorance rather than any bias against them. There is no doubt that once the trade gets to know how good some of
these bands and solo artistes are, they will be very happy to play their music.

"We are working on ways to introduce both recorded material and live acts to the trade, with proposals to stage showcases and provide CDs to all of those who are interested in taking this and running with it. "I spoke to one publican and he was adamant he did not wish to turn his place into a "White Heather Club". That kind of summed it up and indicated he just didn't have any inclination of the rich variety of great music that is being played these days. It is a million miles away from Andy Stewart. Modern-day Scottish performers are actually quite hip. The young band Back of The Moon, for instance, worked hard all last year, touring almost constantly. But, where did they play? Places such as Canada, American and France."

It is intended to build up a data base of acts - from solo musicians to ceilidh bands - who want to play their music right here in Scotland. In the first instance, if a few music-friendly pubs can be encouraged to change over to playing Celtic-inspired rootsy material, they will be introduced to a wide range of recordings and live acts.

Loudon added: "If you imagine Scotland in tourism terms as a big jigsaw puzzle with all of the component parts that go to make the experience special, this is the one area that needs to be addressed. Right now, we can all hold out heads up high and be proud of the quality of music that is being performed and recorded by home-based talent. Let's set about giving them the support they deserve. I am certain everyone who does will be glad they did."

VisitScotland's senior press officer, Karin Finlay, confirmed that she would be working closely with the action group as plans developed further. She said: "Clearly there is a desire from visitors to hear authentic and high quality Scottish music played in our pubs and this is what we should be providing. It's encouraging that the industry themselves recognise this and are working to find the right solution."