Brian McNEILL

BIOGRAPHY:

Falkirk born folk musician who formed legendary Scottish folk act The Battlefield Band in 1969 when he was just 19. McNeill continued to play with his main act until 1983 when he left to concentrate on solo work. However, his first solo release had been in 1978, when he recorded "Monksgate", an album of traditional music from Scotland, Ireland, Wales & Northumbria. In 1981 he and fellow Battlefield Band member Alan Reid recorded the "Sidetracks" album for Topic Records, a move which may have inspired McNeill to go solo. This year also saw him guesting on the Dick Gaughan album, "Handful Of Earth". Singing to Temple, he released "Unstrung Hero" in 1985, but it was to be five more years before the follow up, "The Busker & The Devil's Only Daughter" emerged. This was quickly followed by "The Back O' The North Wind" on his new label, Greentrax, in 1991. In 1994 McNeill helped Robin Laing on his "Walking In Time" album. This was followed by a couple of collaborative albums, "Horses For Courses" with Irishman Tom McDonagh in 1994, and "Stage By Stage" with Ian Mackintosh in 1995 (he had already guested on Mackintosh's 1988 album "Gentle Persuasion"). He also released his own solo album, "No Gods" in this year, as well as playing with the folk supergroup, Clan Alba. Recent years have saw McNeill turn more to novel writing, with two books already published.

RELEASES:

Solo:
"Monksgate" (vinyl album, Escalibur Records, 1978)
"Unstrung Hero" (vinyl album, Temple Records, 1985)
"The Busker & The Devil's Only Daughter" (CD / cassette album, Temple Records, 1990)
"The Back O' The North Wind" (CD / cassette album, Greentrax Records, 1991)
"No Gods" (CD / cassette album, Greentrax Records, 1995)

Collaborations:
Brian McNeill & Alan Reid, "Sidetracks" (vinyl album, Topic Records, 1981)
Brian McNeill & Tom McDonagh, "Horses For Courses" (CD / cassette album, Greentrax Records, 1994)
Brian McNeill & Iain Mackintosh, "Stage By Stage" (CD / cassette album, Greentrax Records, 1995)

Guest performances:
Heather Heywood, "Some Kind Of Love" (vinyl / cassette album, Greentrax Records, 1978)
Dick Gaughan, "Handful Of Earth" (vinyl album, Topic Records, 1981)
Iain MacKintosh, "Gentle Persuasion" (CD / vinyl album, Greentrax Records, 1988)
Horse, "The Same Sky" (CD / cassette / vinyl album, Capitol Records, 1990)
Robin Laing, "Walking In Time" (CD / cassette album, Greentrax Records, 1994)
Tony McManus, "Tony McManus" (CD / cassette album, Greentrax Records, 1995)
Jock Duncan, "Ye Shine Whar Ye Stan!" (CD / cassette album, Springthyme Records, 1997)
Danny Kyle, "Danny Kyle" (CD album, Iona Records, 1998)
Tequila Mockingbird, "Agora Mesmo" (CD album, Tequila Mockingbird Records, 2001)
Wolfstone, "Live - Not Enough Shouting" (CD album, Once Bitten Records, 2001)