Billy McIsaac (born William McIsaac, 12 July 1949 in

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

) is a musician, who played mainly keyboards since his early days with different pop bands.

Biography

Previously, he worked as a telephone engineer and played with a band called The Bubbles. In 1972, he joined Salvation, formed by brothers Kevin and

Jim McGinlay James Anthony McGinlay (born 9 March 1949 in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, Scotland) is a Scottish bass guitarist who formed along his elder brother Kevin a hard-rock band called Salvation, in Glasgow, which after numerous line-up changes included ...

, along with drummer

Kenny Hyslop Kenneth John Hyslop (born 14 February 1951 in Helensburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish drummer. He joined the band Salvation with Midge Ure, which later became Slik and, after Ure's departure, some of the remaining members formed the Zones. He also ...

and guitarist Midge Ure. After Kevin McGinlay left in 1974, the band became

Slik Slik were a Scottish pop group of the mid-1970s, most notable for their UK number 1 hit " Forever and Ever" in 1976. Initially glam rock, the band later changed their style to soft rock/bubblegum. It was the first band with whom singer and g ...

and began to release singles, among them, two hits: " Forever and Ever" and "Requiem", both released in eponymous singles, in 1975 and 1976, respectively. Slik fame was growing during 1976, but late that year, punk rock bands were hitting the musical scene, so in 1977, the band changed their name, to

PVC2 Slik were a Scottish pop group of the mid-1970s, most notable for their UK number 1 hit " Forever and Ever" in 1976. Initially glam rock, the band later changed their style to soft rock/bubblegum. It was the first band with whom singer and g ...

, after McGinlay was replaced by Russell Webb, and began to play as the latter bands did. In September 1977, Midge Ure left PVC2, and the rest called

Willie Gardner Willie Gardner is a Scottish musician, who formed part of various pop and rock bands in the 1970s and 1980s, playing guitar. He was a cousin of Alex Harvey. His earliest known band was The Hot Valves, formed in 1976. The band was influenced b ...

to replace him, and the band renamed themselves as

Zones Zone or The Zone may refer to: Places Climate and altitude zones * Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span * Frigid zone, ...

. Zones lasted until 1979, and the band finally split up. McIsaac and Hyslop continued with a project called Science, a band considered as a continuation of Zones, but only McIsaac was the supposedly remaining member. Hyslop and bassist Russell Webb joined

The Skids Skids are a Scottish punk rock and new wave band, formed in Dunfermline in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jo ...

, Ure joined

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

and Visage and the McGinlay brothers were working alone again. He had also a solo career, releasing "Love Me Like You Did Before" as a single. In 1990, he studied piano performance at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 1995, along with singer Maureen McMullan and saxophonist/keyboardist Gordon Bowie, he formed the Billy McIsaac Band, who claim to be the number-1 wedding band in

. He retired from the band as of 2012.

References

External links

*
Billy McIsaac Discogs.com

Science Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIsaac, Billy 1949 births People from Rothesay, Bute Scottish rock guitarists Scottish male guitarists Scottish keyboardists Living people Slik members Zones (band) members