Iain MacKintosh (20 July 1932 – 28 August 2006,

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 ...

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 ...

) was a Scottish singer and songwriter.

Early life

MacKintosh' father was from the Outer Hebrides, a watchmaker and goldsmith who owned a pawnshop in Glasgow; his mother came from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. At age seven he started learning the

Highland pipes The Great Highland bagpipe ( gd, a' phìob mhòr "the great pipe") is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, and the Scottish analogue to the Great Irish Warpipes. It has acquired widespread recognition through its usage in the British mili ...

. He played in a

pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

in his youth. His mother died when he was twelve, and he and his three sisters were brought up by his grandmother. After grammar school, he started his working life as an apprentice watchmaker and goldsmith and later took over his father's business. After serving in the British Army in the Near East he married Sadie; the couple had two daughters, Isla and Fiona.Kalweit, p 39

Career

In the late 1950s MacKintosh went to a

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

concert in Glasgow. He was so impressed he bought a banjo and started to practise. His other instrument of choice was the

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 ...

. He joined the nascent Scottish folk music revival. In 1960 he formed his first band The Islanders, with whom he made one album. It contained one of the first songs he wrote; the ''Pawn Song'' drew on his experiences in the business. For the next ten years he played in two more bands, The Skerries and The Other Half, and was in demand as a session musician for the likes of

Hamish Imlach Hamish Imlach (10 February 1940 – 1 January 1996) was a Scottish folk singer. Imlach was born in Calcutta to Scottish parents, although he claimed to have been conceived in Glasgow, Scotland. His commercial success was limited, but he influence ...

Gaberlunzie Gaberlunzie is a Middle Ages, medieval Scots language, Scots word for a licensed begging, beggar. Etymology The name may derive from the wallet that such people carried, or from a combination of the French language, French words 'gaban' (a cloa ...

and Watt Nicoll. In 1970 MacKintosh went professional as a solo singer, accompanying himself on the long-necked banjo, and also playing the pipes or the concertina. For thirty years he toured Europe, the United States and Australia. His repertoire had always ranged beyond traditionals. He took most of his material from other songwriters, with

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy A ...

and Glaswegian Adam McNaughtan as particular favourites. Scottish audiences voted him Scotland's "Folk Musician of the Year" several times. Of his self-penned songs, 'I Wouldn't Change A Thing', an account of his career in five verses, is probably the most popular; he recorded it for ''Stage By Stage''. MacKintosh became one of the best-loved artists of

Tønder Festival Tønder Festival is an annual folk music festival in Tønder, Denmark. It is held on the last weekend of August. It was founded in 1974. The first festival took place in 1975. The festival is one of the most prominent festivals for traditional an ...

where he used to run the Saturday afternoon concert at the Mill. For years he did joint tours with other notable folk artists, mainly

and

Brian McNeill Brian McNeill (born 6 April 1950, Falkirk, Scotland) is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and musical director. He was a founding member of Battlefield Band which combined traditional Celtic melodies and new m ...

. He retired at the age of 68, after a final tour of several European countries in 2000. Iain MacKintosh died on 28 August 2006Obit: The Independent
/ref> of laryngeal cancer, weakened by

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

Discography

Sources

*''Sing Out!'', 1 January 2007 *Kalweit, Susanne: ''I Wouldn't Change A Thing! 40 years of Iain MacKintosh'', from 'The Living Tradition', issue 49 (Sept/Oct 2002), pp 38–39, 60 *McVicar, Ewan: ''One Singer One Song. Old and new stories and songs of Glasgow folk'', Glasgow 1990 *Siniveer, Kaarel: ''Folk Lexikon'', Reinbek b. Hamburg 1981

References

External links

I Wouldn't Change A Thing!
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKintosh, Iain 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish songwriters Scottish folk musicians 1932 births 2006 deaths Deaths from cancer in Scotland Deaths from laryngeal cancer People with Parkinson's disease 20th-century Scottish male musicians British male songwriters