Calum MacDonald (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

: Calum Dòmhnallach /kalˠəm dɔ̃ːnəlˠəx/; born 12 November 1953) is a musician who was a founder member of, and percussionist in, the Scottish

Celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been extremely prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundatio ...

band

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s (the band's most succe ...

, as well as their primary songwriter with his older brother, Rory MacDonald from 1973 to 2018. Generally, Rory wrote the melodies, and Calum the lyrics.

Early life

His brother Rory was born in

Dornoch Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray ...

, Sutherland. His father, Donald John MacDonald of

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...

, was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran. The family moved to

, when Rory was about four years old. Calum MacDonald himself was born in

Lochmaddy Lochmaddy ( gd, Loch nam Madadh, "Loch of the Hounds") is the administrative centre of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. ''Na Madaidhean'' (the wolves/hounds) are rocks in the bay after which the loch, and subsequently the village, are ...

, North Uist. When the time came for Rory to attend High School, which at the time was situated in

Portree Portree (; gd, Port Rìgh, ) is the largest town on, and capital of, the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is the location for the only secondary school o ...

, on the Isle of Skye, the whole family moved en masse. It was in Skye that the brothers formed

along with Blair Douglas and subsequently

Donnie Munro Donnie Munro (Scottish Gaelic: Donaidh Rothach /dɔnɪ rɔhəx/) (born 2 August 1953) is a Scottish musician, and former lead singer of the band Runrig. A native speaker of Scots Gaelic, much of his work is in that language. Early life Munro ...

. MacDonald attended

Jordanhill College Jordanhill Campus is an historic estate within the boundaries of Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland, which developed as a country estate. It is best known and most recently used as the home to the Faculty of Education of the University of Strathcl ...

and worked as a P.E. teacher until Runrig went 'professional'.

Later life

During the 1980s, MacDonald's Christian faith deepened and this influence began to be felt in his lyrical content, in both Gaelic and English. He was based in Edinburgh for the 1980s and early 1990s before re-locating his young family to

Contin Contin (Gaelic: Cunndainn) is a Ross-shire village, and a civil parish and community council area between Strathpeffer and Garve in the Highland council area of Scotland. The parish has a population of 675.Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

. MacDonald has contributed main vocals to a handful of Runrig tunes, including ''Dust'' and ''Faileas air an Airigh''. His son, Donald MacDonald - affectionately known as Seeds - is also a songwriter and performer and has his own band Donald MacDonald & the Islands.

References

External links

The Official Runrig website
People from Uist 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish percussionists Scottish songwriters Living people 1953 births Runrig members People educated at Portree High School British male songwriters {{Scotland-musician-stub