Rory McLeod (singer-songwriter)
Rory McLeod | |
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 McLeod performing in Nimbin, Australia, February 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Rory McLeod |
| Born | London, England |
| Genres | Folk |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | www |
Rory McLeod (born 1955) is a British folk singer-songwriter from London.[1] He grew up in Camberwell before moving to South Ruislip and later West Kilburn.[2] His career has included being a fire eater and circus clown[3] and his performances include storytelling in the tradition of the traveling minstrel or troubadour, and playing a wide range of instruments including guitar, harmonica, trombone and his personally-made stomp box. WoMAD have said: "With Rory McLeod, you get the music of the world in one suitcase.[...] You can hear flamenco, calypso, blues and Celtic influences in his music, all wrapped together in an inimitable style".[4] He has recorded and toured with (then) fellow Cooking Vinyl artist Michelle Shocked.[4][5]
He also performed on Puddle Dive, the 1993 album by fellow singer-songwriter, Ani DiFranco. In 1996, McLeod's song Invoking the Spirits, which was inspired by time he spent in Zimbabwe, was a BBC Radio 4 "pick of the week".[5] McLeod played the theme tune for the TV animation series, Creature Comforts.[6] Martin Newell has described McLeod as "a feral folk musician of enormous talent",[7] and writing in The Guardian Robin Denselow called him a "rousing harmonica player and guitarist".[8]
In 2002, McLeod was the winner of the Best Live Act title at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[9]
McLeod played harmonica on Nizlopi's 2008 album, Make It Happen.[10]
Discography[edit]
- Albums
- Angry Love (1985)
- Kicking The Sawdust (1986)
- Footsteps and Heartbeats (1989)
- Travelling Home (1992)
- Have Mercy with Henry Heggen, Dick Bird, Brian Barnett and Steve Baker (1993)
- Lullabies for Big Babies (1997)
- Mouth to Mouth (2000)
- Brave Faces (2005)
- Songs for Big Little People (2007)
- Swings and Roundabouts (2010)
- The Glee and the Spark (2016)
- GUSTO (2019)
- Contributing artist
- Woody Lives! with Bert Jansch, Dick Gaughan, Rab Noakes, Rod Clements and Ray Jackson (1987)
- The Rough Guide to English Roots Music (1998, World Music Network)
Books[edit]
In 2020, McLeod published The Rory McLeod Digital Songbook, containing the lyrics of 148 of his songs, and the chords of 34 of these.[11]
Personal life[edit]
He is the father of the actor Solly McLeod.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ NME.com
- ^ "London Voices – Rory McLeod – Singer/Musician". The Cockney Rhyming Slang Blog. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Harris, Craig. "Artist Biography by Craig Harris". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Rory McLeod". WOMAD. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ a b Harris, Craig. "Artist Biography: Rory McLeod". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Rory McLeod / bio". Reverbnation. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ^ Newell, Martin (4 July 2016). "Martin Newell's Joy of Essex – Will Latitude be as muddy as Glastonbury?". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ Denselow, Robin (20 June 2011). "Celebrating Sanctuary festival – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Folk honours its heroes". BBC News Online. 11 February 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Nizlopi – Make It Happen". www.discogs.com. Discogs. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ "The Rory McLeod Digital Song Book". Talkative Music. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ Potton, Ed (1 May 2023). "Move over, Poldark! Meet Solly McLeod, TV's new period pin-up". The Times. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
External links[edit]
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| National | |
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- 1955 births
- Living people
- British male singer-songwriters
- Musicians from the London Borough of Brent
- Musicians from the London Borough of Camden
- Musicians from the London Borough of Hillingdon
- Musicians from the London Borough of Southwark
- Singers from the London Borough of Brent
- Singers from the London Borough of Camden
- Singers from the London Borough of Hillingdon
- Singers from the London Borough of Southwark
- People from Camberwell
- People from Kilburn, London
- Singer-songwriter stubs
- British musician stubs