Brian McNeill (born 6 April 1950, Falkirk,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

) is a Scottish

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and musical director. He was a founding member of

Battlefield Band Battlefield Band were a Scottish traditional music group. Founded in Glasgow in 1969, they have released over 30 albums and undergone many changes of lineup. As of 2010, none of the original founders remain in the band. The band is noted for t ...

which combined traditional Celtic melodies and new material.

Biography

McNeill learnt music on the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

before taking up other instruments including guitar, fiddle,

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, mandolin,

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

, and

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vi ...

, as well as singing. He played fiddle with

from its formation in 1969 until 1990. In 1987, he won the UK National Songsearch competition for amateur and professional performers, having been runner-up in 1986. From 1996 until January 2008, McNeill was head of the traditional music course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow. As a novelist he has published three books, ''The Busker'' (1989), ''To Answer the Peacock'' (1999), and ''In the Grass''. He has also produced an acclaimed audio-visual show about Scottish emigration to America, ''The Back o' the North Wind''. Apart from his visible contributions, McNeill is influential in Scotland and abroad as a producer. He has many production credits in the UK and North America including "Emigrant and Exile" for

Eric Bogle Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of ...

with John Munro. McNeill's songs often feature lyrics based on Scottish historical themes, and he continually has celebrated the culture of his fellow Scots, including those who have emigrated to North America. His album ''The Back o' the North Wind'' features songs about industrialist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

and the man who initiated the conservation movement in the United States,

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

. Brian McNeill won the inaugural Fatea Lifetime Achievement award in 2007 and was the producer of 2017's instrumental album of the year, "Matt Tighe", the eponymous debut album of the young English fiddler that Brian had inspired at one of his many Cambridge Folk Festival appearances.

Books

*''The Busker'', Macdonald, 1989, *''To Answer The Peacock'', Black Ace Books, 1999, *''In the Grass'', Author House, 2012,

Discography

With Battlefield Band

*1976 01/small> ''

Farewell to Nova Scotia "Farewell to Nova Scotia" is a popular folk song from Nova Scotia, Canada. It was adapted from the Scottish lament "The Soldier's Adieu" written by Robert Tannahill. It was written sometime before or during World War I and popularized in 1964 wh ...

'' debut studio album (first released on Escalibur label as ''Scottish Folk'') *1977 02/small> ''Battlefield Band'' studio album #02 (first released on Topic label) *1978 03/small> '' Wae's me for Prince Charlie'' studio album #03 (first released on Escalibur label) *1978 04/small> ''At the Front'' studio album #04 (first released on Topic label) *1979 05/small> ''Stand Easy'' studio album #05 (first released on Topic label ; reissued as ''Stand Easy/Preview'' in 1980) *1980 06/small> '' Home Is Where the Van Is'' studio album #06 *1982 07/small> ''The Story So Far 1977-1980'' compilation album #1 of the 3 first studios albums released on Topic label *1982 08/small> ''There's a Buzz'' studio album #07 *1984 09/small> ''Anthem for the Common Man'' studio album #08 *1986 10/small> ''Music in Trust Vol 1'' Soundtrack album #01 *1986 11/small> ''On the Rise'' studio album #09 *1987 12/small> '' After Hours: Forward to Scotland's Past'' compilation album #2 of the five last previous albums *1987 13/small> ''Celtic Hotel'' studio album #10 *1988 14/small> ''Music in Trust Vol 2'' Soundtrack album #02 *1989 15/small> ''Home Ground - Live From Scotland'' live album #1 (recorded live in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

during the group's Scottish tour in Spring 1989) *1998 00/small> ''

Live Celtic Folk Music ''Live Celtic Folk Music'' is a live album by Battlefield Band, released in 1998 on the Munich Records label. It was recorded in 1980 at the Winterfolkfestival, held in Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Track listing # "Lord Huntly's Cave/The Lady in ...

'' (live recording of a concert at the 1980 Winterfolkfestival, held in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

; released only on a foreign label)

Solo albums

* 1978 ''Monksgate'' * 1985 ''Unstrung Hero'' * 1985 ''The Busker and the Devil's Only daughter'' * 1991 ''The Back O' The North Wind'' ( Greentrax Recordings) * 1994 ''Horses for Courses'' (with Tom McDonagh) * 1995 ''No Gods'' (Greentrax Recordings) * 1995 ''Stage By Stage'' (with Iain MacKintosh) * 1999 ''To Answer the Peacock'' (Greentrax Recordings) * 2000 ''Live and Kicking'' (with Iain MacKintosh; includes " The King of Rome") * 2009 ''The Baltic tae Byzantium'' (Greentrax Recordings) * 2010 ''The Crew o' the Copenhagen'' (with Drones & Bellows) * 2015 ''The Falkirk Music Pot'' (Greentrax Recordings) (featured as "Brian McNeill & Friends celebrate his home town's music") (22-track double album)

References

External links

Official website

Temple Records"> Temple Records
profile {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, Brian 1950_births Living_people 20th-century_Scottish_male_singers.html" ;"title="Living_people.html" ;"title="1950 births Living people">1950 births Living people 20th-century Scottish male singers">Living_people.html" ;"title="1950 births Living people">1950 births Living people 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish songwriters Scottish folk musicians Scottish fiddlers British male violinists Battlefield Band members 21st-century violinists 21st-century Scottish male singers British male songwriters