Thongchai McIntyre ( th, ธงไชย แมคอินไตย์, ; born Albert Thongchai McIntyre; 8 December 1958) is a Thai singer and actor. He is also sometimes known as Bird Thongchai, Phi Bird ("elder brother Bird") or simply Bird (). He finished high diploma management major from Thonburi Commercial College. Considered to be Thailand's No.1 superstar, he is one of the most successful singers in Thailand's history, having sold more than 25 million albums. He is best known for his

string (Thai pop) Thai pop or T-pop, is a genre of Thai music roughly equivalent to western pop. It emerged in the 1970s–80s, during which it was known as string music ( th, เพลงสตริง), before gaining mainstream popularity during the 1990s and ...

and luk thung music. He has also acted in numerous films, on television, musicals, and in commercials. He is of

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * An ...

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

descent.

Early life

McIntyre was born in Bangkok to parents Udom and James McIntyre. He was the youngest of nine siblings, and his life in the slums did not give him much of a head start, thus his childhood was filled with struggle to supplement the income of his family. As a child, he sometimes taught English to other children in the slum in exchange for 5 to 10 baht. Raised in a music-loving family, Bird McIntyre loved to sing and dance, and showcased his talents in school. His father died when Bird was still a child, He then started working as a bank officer.

Career

While still working as a bank officer, he met the famous Thai TV producer "Kai Varayuth" who recognised Bird's talent. Bird débuted in his first TV series with the help of Kai. His most memorable role was that of Captain Kobori in the 1990 television series ''

Khu Kam ''Koo Kam'' (Thai: คู่กรรม) is a Thai novel written by Thommayanti. It was adapted into a 1996 film, '' Sunset at Chaopraya'', and a 2013 remake that shared the same name. Plot summary Set in 1939, the early days of World War II i ...

'', a tragic love story about a Japanese soldier (Bird) and a local Thai girl during World War II. He reprised this role in the 1996 film adaptation, '' Sunset at Chaophraya''. He reached the height of his musical career in the early nineties. Among his best-known songs are ''Duay Rak Lae Pook Pan'', ''Koo Gud'', ''Sabai Sabai'' and ''Kob Jai Jing Jing''. His popular singles released recently include luk thung singles ''Mah Tummai'' (with Jintara Poonlarp), ''Fan Ja'' (with Jintara and Jarin B. (

Joey Boy Joey Boy ( th, โจอี้ บอย; born 1975) or Apisit Opasaimlikit ( th, อภิสิทธิ์ โอภาสเอี่ยมลิขิต, ), is a Thai hip hop singer and producer known as The Godfather of Thai Hip Hop. ...

), Nat Myria Benedetti, and Katreeya English), ''Lao Su Kan Fang'', and ''Yak Tham Kor Tob'' and ''Mai Kang Ying Pae'' from his album "Volume One". In the mid-nineties, he became the first Thai artist to receive an International MTV Award for his performance in '' Sunset at Chaophraya''. He was featured on CNN and in ''Variety'' magazine. An award-winning documentary of his life entitled ''Crossing Borders'', directed by Phanjanit Garnploog, can be seen at St. John's University in New York. In 2010, Bird made his first international tour in Los Angeles and the 50th Anniversary of Lincoln Center in New York. In late 2007, he released another album entitled "

Simply Bird Simply Bird ( th, ซิมพลีย์ เบิร์ด) is the fifteenth studio album by Thai recording artist Thongchai McIntyre. The album was released on November 26, 2007 by GMM Grammy. Mostly songs in this album are smooth and midpaced ...

", which features songs such as Chuay Rap Tee and

Mee Tae Kid Tueng Mee or MEE may refer to: * Mee (surname), surname list * Maré Airport, via IATA code, airport in Maré, New Caledonia * Mee (crater), a lunar impact crater * MEE (psychedelic), organic compound, 2-methoxy-4,5-diethoxyamphetamine * Mee (tribe), eth ...

Discography

Albums and singles

TV dramas

* Numtarn Maai (น้ำตาลไหม้) * Mongkut Fang (มงกุฏฟาง) * Tayaat khun pooying (ทายาทท่านผู้หญิง) * Ruk nai sai mok (รักในสายหมอก) * Muer ruk rao (เมื่อรักร้าว) * Kamin kup poon (ขมิ้นกับปูน) * Wong wean hua jai (วงเวียนหัวใจ) * Baan soi dao (บ้านสอยดาว) * Plub pleung see chompoo (พลับพลึงสีชมพู) * Duang fai yai mai song chan (ดวงไฟไยไม่ส่องฉัน) * Neu Nang (เนื้อนาง) * Khu Kam (คู่กรรม) as Kobori * Wan née tee ror koy (วันนี้ที่รอคอย) * Niramit (นิรมิต) * Kuam song jum mai hua jai duem (ความทรงจำใหม่ หัวใจเดิม) * Kol Kimono (กลกิโมโน)

Awards

Covers by other artists

In 2012, the popular Japanese girl group Berryz Kobo released a song titled "

Cha Cha Sing "Cha Cha Sing" (stylized as "cha cha SING") is the 29th single by the Japanese female idol group Berryz Kobo, released in Japan on July 25, 2012. Background The single was released in four versions: Limited Edition A, Limited Edition B, Limite ...

" as a single. The title track is a cover of the song "Row Mah Sing" by Bird Thongchai. The first coupling track "Loving You Too Much" is also a cover of a Bird Thongchai's song, "Too Much So Much Very Much". Both were translated into Japanese. The single debuted at number 6 on the Japanese Oricon weekly singles chart. In 2013, Japanese girl group Berryz Kobo released a single titled " Asian Celebration". The coupling track of the Limited Edition B and Limited Edition D, "I like a Picnic" is a cover of a

Bird Thongchai Thongchai McIntyre ( th, ธงไชย แมคอินไตย์, ; born Albert Thongchai McIntyre; 8 December 1958) is a Thai singer and actor. He is also sometimes known as Bird Thongchai, Phi Bird ("elder brother Bird") or simply Bir ...

's song, "กอดกัน(Gaud-gun)".

Koo Gud Koo may refer to: *Kōō (1389–1390), a Japanese era *KOO, a South African food brand * Koo (social network), an Indian microblogging and social networking service *''Koo Koo'', a 1981 Debbie Harry album People *Koo Chen-fu (1917–2005), Taiwan ...

was covered in Chinese by Hong Kong Cantopop band

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

as ''Club Broken Heart'' (Chinese: 失戀陣線聯盟), which became a smash hit throughout Asia. It's also covered in Vietnamese as ''Thất Tình'' by Vietnamese duo

Minh Thuận {{Orphan, date=December 2021 Minh (Chữ Nôm: 明) is a popular unisex given name of Vietnamese origin, written using the Chinese character (明) meaning "bright", and is also popular among other East Asian names. The Chinese name Ming has the s ...

and Nhật Hào.

Honours

Tongchai has received the following royal decorations in the

Honours System An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashes ...

of Thailand: * Order of the White Elephant - 3rd Class (Thailand) ribbon

1991 – Commander (Third Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant * Order of the Direkgunabhorn (Thailand) ribbon

2005 – Silver Medalist (Seventh Class) of the Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn *

Red Cross Medal of Appreciation (Thailand) ribbon

2012 – First Class (Gold Medal) of Red Cross Medal of Appreciation

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Thongchai 1958 births Living people

Thongchai McIntyre Thongchai McIntyre ( th, ธงไชย แมคอินไตย์, ; born Albert Thongchai McIntyre; 8 December 1958) is a Thai singer and actor. He is also sometimes known as Bird Thongchai, Phi Bird ("elder brother Bird") or simply Bir ...