Covid: Peat & Diesel write hand washing tune for isles NHS

NHS Western Isles has enlisted the help of local band Peat & Diesel to get a hand hygiene message stuck in islanders' heads.

The tongue-in-cheek tune, and an accompanying video, have also been made to lift spirits following a Covid-19 outbreak on the isles.

Cases on the islands have risen to more than 50 in recent weeks, with most linked to a cluster in South Uist.

The song, That's The Way We Wash Them, has been released online.

Peat & Diesel is a three-piece with fisherman Boydie MacLeod on guitar and vocals, electrician Innes Scott on accordion and delivery driver Uilly Macleod playing drums.

Last year, the band went from playing their music - songs telling funny stories of life in the Western Isles - at one of their homes to performing at sell-out gigs.

They played HebCelt, the Western Isles' biggest music festival, and also the largest music event in the Highlands - Belladrum, near Inverness.

They sold out a gig in Glasgow's Barrowland and won the best live act accolade at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards.

This year, at the height of the lockdown, they also helped provided the music for an NHS Western Isles health and safety message.