John Patrick Byrne (born 6 January 1940) is a Scottish playwright and artist. He wrote '' The Slab Boys Trilogy'', plays which explore working-class life in Scotland, and the TV dramas '' Tutti Frutti'' and ''

Your Cheatin' Heart "Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952. It is regarded as one of country's most important standards. Williams was inspired to write the song while driving with his fiancée ...

''. Byrne is also a painter, printmaker and theatre designer.

Life

John Patrick Byrne was born into a family of

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

descent in Paisley,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

and he grew up in the Ferguslie Park housing scheme. He was educated at the town's

St Mirin's Academy St Mirin's Academy was a Catholic senior secondary school for boys founded in 1922 in Paisley, Scotland, and which closed in 1976. The school was dedicated to St Mirin, the patron saint of the town and of the Diocese of Paisley. The Academy's L ...

and attended

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

from 1958–63. His mother, Alice McShane, was married to Patrick Byrne when he was born. Byrne was conceived from

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...

uous abuse between his mother and her father, Patrick McShane. He did not know the truth about his parentage until he was informed by his cousin in 2002. He was initially angered by the revelation, but eventually reconciled with the truth of his lineage. He created The John Byrne Awards.

Work

Writer

Art

From 1964 until 1966 Byrne designed

jackets A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...

for

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.faux-naïf'' images. Byrne's career as a professional painter started in 1968, when he left Stoddard's. As well as designing the scenery for his own plays Byrne, in collaboration with director Robin Lefrevre, also designed the settings for Snoo Wilson's ''The Number of the Beast'' (Bush 1982) and

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdra ...

' The Country Girl (

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

1983).Bush Theatre programme notes for ''Candy Kisses'', May 1984. Byrne's best-known art works are arguably the album covers he created for friend

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in th ...

and his former bands

The Humblebums The Humblebums were a Scottish folk rock band, based in Glasgow. Its members included Billy Connolly, who later became a renowned stand-up comedian and actor; guitarist Tam Harvey; and singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. The band was active from ...

and

Stealers Wheel Stealers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock/ rock band formed in 1972 in Paisley, Scotland, by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Their best-known hit is "Stuck in the Middle with You". The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed bri ...

, among them the covers for ''

City to City ''City to City'' is the second solo studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, released on 20 January 1978 by United Artists Records. It was Rafferty's first solo release in six years—and first release of any kind since 1975� ...

'' and '' Night Owl''. Rafferty's early solo song "Patrick" is about Byrne.

Reviews

* Ross, Raymond J. (1983), ''Directed Irony'', which includes a review of ''The Slab Boys'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...

'' No. 11, New Year 1983, pp. 45 & 46,

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, John 1940 births Scottish people of Irish descent Living people Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from Paisley, Renfrewshire People from Renfrewshire Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 21st-century Scottish painters 21st-century Scottish male artists Scottish scenic designers Scottish contemporary artists People educated at St Mirin's Academy 20th-century Scottish male artists