Rory McLeod
McLeod performing in Nimbin, Australia, February 2020
McLeod performing in Nimbin, Australia, February 2020
Background information
Birth nameRory McLeod
BornLondon, England
GenresFolk
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • singer
  • entertainer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • harmonica
  • trombone
  • tap shoes
  • percussion
Years active1975–present
Labels
Websitewww.rorymcleod.com
McLeod showing his trombone talents on stage in Nimbin, Australia, February 2020

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

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

Books

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

He is the father of the actor Solly McLeod.[12]

References

  1. ↑ NME.com
  2. ↑ "London Voices – Rory McLeod – Singer/Musician". The Cockney Rhyming Slang Blog. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Harris, Craig. "Artist Biography by Craig Harris". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Rory McLeod". WOMAD. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 Harris, Craig. "Artist Biography: Rory McLeod". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rory McLeod / bio". Reverbnation. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Denselow, Robin (20 June 2011). "Celebrating Sanctuary festival – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Folk honours its heroes". BBC News Online. 11 February 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Nizlopi – Make It Happen". www.discogs.com. Discogs. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Rory McLeod Digital Song Book". Talkative Music. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  12. ↑ Potton, Ed (1 May 2023). "Move over, Poldark! Meet Solly McLeod, TV's new period pin-up". The Times. Retrieved 1 May 2023.


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