The band first entered competitions organised by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association in 1977, starting in Grade 4, but by 1983 the band had been promoted to Grade 1. The band came second in the Champion of Champions table during the 1980s, and won the European and British Championship titles in 1988 and 1989 respectively.
In 1993, the band reached a sponsorship agreement with Macnaughtons of Pitlochry, and changed its tartan from traditional Murray of Atholl tartan to the Muted Macnaughton. For much of this period, the organisation had a feeder system of youngsters who competed in the Novice Juvenile and Juvenile grades.