there was a band in this area that did a version of “over the rainbow” changing it into a reel
another time i remember a piper whose party piece was making a slow air out of soap opera themes
has anyone out there done the same thing? i’d be interested in hearing any examples
Yes. My best was a medley consisting of different ways of playing The Red Flag. It ended up being recorded by The Old Swan Band on an album of theirs and credited to them. Bleedin’ typical! 
I also do a - strictly for showbusiness 
- medley of The Trumpet Hornpipe with The College Hornpipe. I start with a heavily disguised version - that anyone is yet to recognise, even though it’s the exact, unaltered tune - of The Trumpet Hornpipe, played as a slow air, before launching into The Trumpet at somewhere like normal speed and then, of course, speeding up gradually until I’m playing like a madman.
It may not be music, but it is showbiz.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” 