The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s, which was the band's most successful period commercially, also included Donnie Munro (vocals), Malcolm Jones (guitar), Iain Bayne (drums), and Pete Wishart (keyboards).

In August 2018, Runrig performed the final shows of their farewell tour, entitled The Last Dance, in Stirling City Park beneath the castle ramparts.

The band then engaged the services of producer Chris Harley who brought to their recordings the benefit of his experience as a solo artist and a singer with The Alan Parsons Project and Camel.

Runrig's fourth independent studio album, Heartland (released in 1985), combined Gaelic sounds with anthemic rock music.

The period from 1987 to 1997 marked Runrig's most successful run, during which they achieved placings in both the UK albums and singles charts, and toured extensively.

Along with The Cutter and the Clan,[13] the four albums released by the band under Chrysalis Records include Searchlight (1989), The Big Wheel (1991), Amazing Things (1993), and Mara (1995).

On 22 June 1991, the band attracted around 50,000 people to an outdoor concert held in Balloch Country Park, near Loch Lomond.

In 2001, Pete Wishart, the band's keyboard player, left after being elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of Tayside North for the Scottish National Party.

The 2001 album The Stamping Ground was seen very much as a return to form after the lacklustre In Search Of Angels (1999), but 2003's Proterra divided opinion amongst music journalists and public alike.

While the bulk of their 2007 tour was scheduled for Denmark, Germany, and England, an outdoor show, titled "Beat The Drum", was held at Loch Ness on 18 August 2007.

They were supported by acts such as the Peatbog Faeries, piper Fred Morrison, King Creosote, Kathleen Macinnes, and Blair Douglas (a former member of the group) and his band.

To underline this, First Minister Alex Salmond made an appearance on stage (introduced by his SNP colleague and former band member Pete Wishart), and launched an initiative called 'SconeStone.'

During a routine check up with his doctors in June 2009, he was strongly advised to have heart bypass surgery, which forced the band to cancel a tour of Denmark.

However, on 28 February 2010, just a week prior to an extensive German tour, it was announced that Malcolm would have to have yet another operation which in turn forced the band to cancel/postpone their Spring dates in Germany, due to start on 3 March 2010.

Guthro released another solo album, while drummer Iain Bayne was appointed manager of English folk-rock band Coast.

The band re-united as a six-piece again in the summer of 2012 for the Rewired Tour, with the big Scottish outdoor show held in August at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness.

In November 2012, ahead of their planned Rewired Tour, the band announced a special 40th Anniversary Concert at the Black Isle Show Ground in Muir of Ord, near Inverness.

Bassist, Rory Macdonald said that "in many ways, it was the perfect Runrig gig" whilst drummer, Iain Bayne called it "the culmination of a lifetime's work".

[32] The band announced in issue 74 of The Wire magazine and on their official Twitter feed that they had begun work on their 14th studio album.

It was also announced (informally) that to accommodate for the time it takes to write, record and produce an album they would not be playing any further live shows in 2014 after the Tønder Festival, due to be held on 28 and 29 August 2014.

[33] Shortly after the single was released, the band announced that along with a sizeable tour of the UK and Europe in 2016 they would both be headlining the 21st HebCelt Festival on the Isle of Lewis[34] and staging an outdoor show at Edinburgh Castle in July 2016.

The tour concluded with a final show in Stirling's City Park entitled The Last Dance which took place over two days and was attended by over 50,000 people over the course of the two dates.

[36] During the tour, all members of Runrig were given the opportunity to be "front and centre" for a period of time during the setlist, from a drum set which included Iain Bayne and Calum MacDonald and keyboardist Brian Hurren who performed vocals during "In Search of Angels".

To conclude the concert, Macdonald thanked fans for "45 years of memories you’ve given to us" and vowed that whilst the band "will not perform on stage as Runrig again, the music lives on".

[36] In September 2018, one month following their final performance in Stirling during The Last Dance, Sony Music released a box set compilation entitled Original Album Classics.

[39][40] Bruce Guthro, who joined the band in 1998 following the departure of original lead singer Donnie Munro,[41] died on 5 September 2023 from cancer.