Alasdair George S. Clayre (9 October 1935 – 10 January 1984) was a British

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, broadcaster,

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Early life and career

Clayre was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

on 9 October 1935. He won a scholarship to

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, where he became head boy, and a further scholarship to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

''The Times'' obituary 13 January 1984 where, as an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

, his intellect was compared to that of

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

. He graduated with a congratulatory first class degree - the highest class of degree awarded at Oxford (see

British undergraduate degree classification The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

) - and won a Prize Fellowship to

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

- one of the highest academic honours in the United Kingdom. Clayre recorded two albums of songs including many of his own compositions: ''Alasdair Clayre'' (

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

) and ''Adam and the Beasts'' (

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

). He also appears on the Elektra folk song compilation '' A Cold Wind Blows''. His English translation of " La Colombe" (The Dove") by

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

has been recorded by

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

and

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

. Another of his compositions, '' Train Song'', has been recorded by

Vashti Bunyan Vashti Bunyan (born Jennifer Vashti Bunyan, 1945) is an English singer-songwriter. Beginning her career in the mid-1960s, she released her debut album, ''Just Another Diamond Day'', in 1970. The album sold very few copies and Bunyan, discourage ...

, while ''Adam and the Beasts'' has been recorded by

Barry Dransfield Barry Dransfield (born 1947 in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire), is an English folk singer, fiddler, cellist and guitarist. He has appeared as a session musician on numerous albums by other artists, and has released his own albums as we ...

and

Shusha Guppy Shushā Guppy ( fa, شوشا گوپی; née Shamsi Assār ( fa, شمسی عصار; 24 December 1935 – 21 March 2008) was a writer, editor and a singer of Persian and Western folk songs. She lived in London from the early 1960s, until her death ...

Personal life

Clayre married

Felicity Bryan Felicity Anne Bryan (16 October 1945 – 21 June 2020) was a British literary agent, the founder of Felicity Bryan Associates based in Oxford. She co-founded ''The Washington Post''s Laurence Stern Fellowship. It was announced in June 2020 that ...

in 1974. They divorced in 1980.

Death

Clayre took his own life in 1984 by jumping in front of a train in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

Selected publications

*''The Heart of the Dragon'' (London: Collins, 1984), based on a TV series he produced, wrote, directed and presented about China at a time when the country was just opening up to the West *''Nature and Industrialisation: an Anthology'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with the Open University, 1977) *''The Political Economy of Co-operation and Participation: a Third Sector'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980) *''Work and Play: Ideas and Experience of Work and Leisure'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1974) *''The Impact of Broadcasting; or, Mrs Buckle's Wall is Singing'' (Salisbury: Compton Russell, 1973), which includes a foreword by

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

*''100 Folk Songs and New Songs'', a songbook which he compiled; some of the new songs are his own compositions *''A Fire by the Sea'' (London: Calypso Press, 1965; 2nd edn Salisbury: Compton Russell, 1973), a book of poems *''The Window'' (n.p.: Cape, 1961) *''Dialogue'' (Newport: n.p., 1959), co-edited with P. Jay

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayre, Alasdair 1935 births Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British broadcasters Elektra Records artists English male singer-songwriters Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Writers from Southampton People educated at Winchester College Suicides by train Suicides in London 20th-century English singers 1984 suicides 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British male singers Musicians from Southampton