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Ian Anderson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE
(born 10 August 1947) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist
of British rock
band Jethro Tull
.
, Scotland
. He was influenced by his father's big band
and jazz
record
s and the emergence of rock music
, though disenchanted with the "show biz" style of early American rock and roll
stars like Elvis Presley
.
His family moved to Blackpool, Lancashire in 1959, where he gained a traditional education at Blackpool Grammar School,. In a recent interview, Anderson stated that he was asked to leave Grammar School for refusing to submit to corporal punishment (still permitted at that time) for some serious infraction. He went on to study fine art at Blackpool College of Art from 1964 to 1966.
and the New Musical Express
during his lunch breaks that gave him the inspiration to play in a band.
In 1963, he formed The Blades from among school friends: Barriemore Barlow
(drums), John Evan
(keyboards), Jeffrey Hammond
(bass) and Michael Stephens (guitar). This was a soul
and blues band, with Anderson on vocals and harmonica – he had yet to take up the flute.
At this time Anderson abandoned his ambition to play electric guitar, allegedly because he felt he would never be "as good as Eric Clapton
". As he himself tells it in the introduction to the video "Live at the Isle of Wight
", he traded his electric guitar in for a flute which, after some weeks of practice, he found he could play fairly well in a rock and blues style. According to the sleeve notes for the first Tull album, "This Was", he had been playing the flute only a few months when the album was recorded. His guitar practice was not wasted either, as he continued to play acoustic guitar, using it as a melodic as well as rhythmic instrument. As his career progressed, he added soprano saxophone
, mandolin
, keyboards and other instruments to his arsenal.
His famous tendency to stand on one leg while playing the flute came about by accident. As related in the "Isle of Wight" video, he had been inclined to stand on one leg while playing the harmonica, holding the microphone stand for balance. During the long stint at the Marquee Club
, a journalist described him, wrongly, as standing on one leg to play the flute. He decided to live up to the reputation, albeit with some difficulty. His early attempts are visible in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
film appearance of Jethro Tull. In later life he was surprised to learn of iconic portrayals of various flute playing divinities, particularly Krishna
and Kokopelli
, which show them standing on one leg.
While Anderson has recorded a small number of critically acclaimed projects under his own name, and frequently makes guest appearances in other artists' work, he has been identified in the public eye as the frontman of Jethro Tull for 44 years.
This is undoubtedly because a signature motif of Anderson's career has been a highly distinctive stage image, which has often been counter to the prevailing rock music culture. While he has habitually drawn inspiration from British folklore – at different times deploying stylistic elements of mediæval jester, Elizabethan minstrel
, English country squire
and Scottish laird
– at other times he has appeared as astronaut
, biker, pirate and vagrant
. His personae often involve a large degree of self-parody.
As a flautist, Anderson is self-taught; his style, which often includes a good deal of flutter tonguing and occasionally singing or humming (or even snorting) while playing, was influenced by Roland Kirk. In 2003 he recorded a composition called Griminelli's Lament in honour of his friend, the Italian flautist Andrea Griminelli
. In the 1990s he began working with simple bamboo flutes. He uses techniques such as over-blowing and hole-shading to produce note-slurring and other expressive techniques on this otherwise simple instrument.
Anderson plays several other musical instrument
s, including acoustic and electric guitar, bass, bouzouki
, balalaika
, saxophone
, harmonica
, and a variety of whistles
.
He has recorded several songs on which he plays all the instruments as well as carrying out all the engineering and production (such as 1988's "Another Christmas Song"). Anderson's music blends styles such as folk
, jazz
, blues
, rock and pop
. His lyrics are frequently complex, (mostly) tongue-in-cheek criticism of the absurd rules of society
and/or religion ("Sossity, You're a Woman"; "Hymn 43"; "Thick as a Brick
"). He often combines lyrics with other leitmotifs such as folk, mythological, fantastic
("The Minstrel in the Gallery", "Jack-in-the-Green", "Broadsword and the Beast"). In the 1990s and 2000s, Anderson's songs often capture 'snapshots' of his daily life ("Old Black Cat", "Rocks on the Road").
, on 11 July 2006.
He remains widely regarded as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, and the only one who uses it as his main instrument. He is also considered the first rock musician to utilize a classical
orchestral instrument and develop music to use it as a lead instrument. Other flute players to gain recognition now include Walter Parazaider
of Chicago
, Burton Cummings
of The Guess Who
, Ian McDonald
of King Crimson
, Ray Thomas
of The Moody Blues
, Thijs van Leer
of Focus
, Chris Wood
of Traffic
, Andrew Latimer
of Camel
, Jerry Eubanks of The Marshall Tucker Band
and Peter Gabriel
during his years with Genesis
, however none but Gabriel and Wood gained anything close to the amount of recognition utilizing the instrument.
Anderson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours
.
He will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Letters) from Abertay University in July 2011.
song "On Tuesday" from their album Pop Goes the World (1987), and on the Blackmore's Night
song "Play, Minstrel, Play" from their debut album Shadow of the Moon
(1997).
Ian Anderson appears as a guest on the song "All Along You Knew" from The Big Prize
, the second album by Canadian rock band Honeymoon Suite
. This followed Jethro Tull's 1984 tour on which Honeymoon Suite was one of the opening acts. Also in 1984, Ian Anderson, along with Martin Barre
, Dave Pegg
and Peter-John Vettese
recorded A Classic Case
with the London Symphony Orchestra
, performing a selection of music from Jethro Tull. He was also a DJ on Planet Rock
, presenting his own two-hour show Under The Influence. He also appeared on stage with Joe Bonamassa
playing A New Day Yesterday at the Hammersmith Apollo
in May 2010.
Anderson performs as a special guest on two Uriah Heep
live albums: Acoustically Driven
and Electrically Driven, on both performing the same two songs of Uriah Heep repertoire: Circus and Blind Eye.
Ian Anderson plays flute on the track "Portmeirion" on Fairport Convention
's 2001 album 'XXXV'. Anderson has performed with Fairport Convention
at their annual Cropredy Festival
on several occasions since the mid-1980s, when their bass player Dave Pegg
was also a member of Jethro Tull
.
Anderson produced Steeleye Span
's 1974 album Now We Are Six
, as well as appearing on and producing Steeleye Span member Maddy Prior's first solo album "Woman In The Wings", for which Jethro Tull made most instrumental contributions.
In April 2011, Anderson performed a flute duet with Astronaut Cady Coleman, then aboard the International Space Station, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin
.
, a photographer who is credited with writing most of the lyrics to the song "Aqualung
".
Anderson subsequently married Shona Learoyd in 1976, described by Rolling Stone
magazine as a "beautiful convent-educated daughter of a wealthy wool manufacturer". She had studied ballet for 10 years, though Anderson met her when she was working as a press officer at Jethro Tull's then record-label Chrysalis Records
. She later became involved with the band's on-stage special effects.
The couple have lived in a 16th-century redbrick farmhouse on the 500 acres (2 km²) Pophleys estate in Radnage
Buckinghamshire
, England, and on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. They currently live in Wiltshire, England. They have two children: James Duncan Anderson, also a musician; and Gael, who works in the film industry and is married to the actor Andrew Lincoln
.
Anderson is a survivor of deep vein thrombosis
, and has done several public service announcement
s to raise awareness of the disease.
Among his interests Anderson lists protecting wild cats, especially those that have been rescued from harsh captivity; camera
s, chiefly Leicas; Indian cuisine
– he has written a beginner's guide, thus far published only on the Internet.
Anderson describes himself as being "somewhere between Deist
and Pantheist
" religiously, according to his foreword to the pamphlet for his 2006 St. Brides charity concerts for the homeless.
Anderson has never taken the driving test
, though he lists off-road motorcycling among his interests.
farms in New England. His Strathaird concern, based on his estate on the Isle of Skye was worth £10.7 million in the late 1990s, when parts of it began to be sold off. He currently owns a group of companies which reported a gross profit of £1.8 million in 2004, when the Sunday Herald
newspaper reported:
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 10 August 1947) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
of British rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
.
Early life
Ian Anderson was born the youngest of three children. His father, James Anderson, ran the RSA Boiler Fluid Company in East Port, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. Anderson spent the first part of his childhood in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was influenced by his father's big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
record
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
s and the emergence of rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, though disenchanted with the "show biz" style of early American rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
stars like Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
.
His family moved to Blackpool, Lancashire in 1959, where he gained a traditional education at Blackpool Grammar School,. In a recent interview, Anderson stated that he was asked to leave Grammar School for refusing to submit to corporal punishment (still permitted at that time) for some serious infraction. He went on to study fine art at Blackpool College of Art from 1964 to 1966.
Early career
While a teenager, Anderson took a job as a sales assistant at Lewis' department store in Blackpool, then as a vendor on a newsstand. He later said it was reading copies of Melody MakerMelody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
and the New Musical Express
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
during his lunch breaks that gave him the inspiration to play in a band.
In 1963, he formed The Blades from among school friends: Barriemore Barlow
Barriemore Barlow
Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow is an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist for the rock band Jethro Tull, from May 1971 to June 1980....
(drums), John Evan
John Evan
John Evan , played keyboards for Jethro Tull from April 1970 to June 1980. He was educated at King's College London....
(keyboards), Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond sometimes credited as Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, is a former bass guitar player for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull....
(bass) and Michael Stephens (guitar). This was a soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and blues band, with Anderson on vocals and harmonica – he had yet to take up the flute.
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
". As he himself tells it in the introduction to the video "Live at the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
", he traded his electric guitar in for a flute which, after some weeks of practice, he found he could play fairly well in a rock and blues style. According to the sleeve notes for the first Tull album, "This Was", he had been playing the flute only a few months when the album was recorded. His guitar practice was not wasted either, as he continued to play acoustic guitar, using it as a melodic as well as rhythmic instrument. As his career progressed, he added soprano saxophone
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, keyboards and other instruments to his arsenal.
His famous tendency to stand on one leg while playing the flute came about by accident. As related in the "Isle of Wight" video, he had been inclined to stand on one leg while playing the harmonica, holding the microphone stand for balance. During the long stint at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
, a journalist described him, wrongly, as standing on one leg to play the flute. He decided to live up to the reputation, albeit with some difficulty. His early attempts are visible in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is a film released in 1996 of an 11 December 1968 event put together by The Rolling Stones. The event comprised two concerts on a circus stage and included such acts as The Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and Jethro Tull...
film appearance of Jethro Tull. In later life he was surprised to learn of iconic portrayals of various flute playing divinities, particularly Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
and Kokopelli
Kokopelli
Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player , who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture...
, which show them standing on one leg.
Later career
This is undoubtedly because a signature motif of Anderson's career has been a highly distinctive stage image, which has often been counter to the prevailing rock music culture. While he has habitually drawn inspiration from British folklore – at different times deploying stylistic elements of mediæval jester, Elizabethan minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
, English country squire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
and Scottish laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
– at other times he has appeared as astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
, biker, pirate and vagrant
Vagrancy (people)
A vagrant is a person in poverty, who wanders from place to place without a home or regular employment or income.-Definition:A vagrant is "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging;" vagrancy is the condition of such persons.-History:In...
. His personae often involve a large degree of self-parody.
As a flautist, Anderson is self-taught; his style, which often includes a good deal of flutter tonguing and occasionally singing or humming (or even snorting) while playing, was influenced by Roland Kirk. In 2003 he recorded a composition called Griminelli's Lament in honour of his friend, the Italian flautist Andrea Griminelli
Andrea Griminelli
Andrea Griminelli is an Italian flutist.-Education:Griminelli started to play the flute at the age of ten, studying with Jean-Pierre Rampal, who called him an "artist of the highest caliber", and Sir James Galway, who has described him as "the greatest flute player who has come to the forefront of...
. In the 1990s he began working with simple bamboo flutes. He uses techniques such as over-blowing and hole-shading to produce note-slurring and other expressive techniques on this otherwise simple instrument.
Anderson plays several other musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s, including acoustic and electric guitar, bass, bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, balalaika
Balalaika
The balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings.The balalaika family of instruments includes instruments of various sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass...
, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, and a variety of whistles
Whistles
Whistles is a clothing brand with 40 stores across Britain. It was founded in the early 1980s by Lucille and Richard Lewin.In January 2008, Jane Shepherdson, former Topshop director, signed a deal to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Whistles and was appointed the job of chief executive.-Style:In the...
.
He has recorded several songs on which he plays all the instruments as well as carrying out all the engineering and production (such as 1988's "Another Christmas Song"). Anderson's music blends styles such as folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, rock and pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. His lyrics are frequently complex, (mostly) tongue-in-cheek criticism of the absurd rules of society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
and/or religion ("Sossity, You're a Woman"; "Hymn 43"; "Thick as a Brick
Thick as a Brick
-Differences between various CD releases:By 2011 the album received three major releases on CD: the first release , the MFSL-release , and the 25th Anniversary Edition . Whereas the first release and the MFSL-release run with identical speed, the 25th Anniversary edition runs 0.5% slower...
"). He often combines lyrics with other leitmotifs such as folk, mythological, fantastic
Fantastic
The Fantastic is a literary term that describes a quality of other literary genres, and, in some cases, is used as a genre in and of itself, although in this case it is often conflated with the Supernatural. The term was originated in the structuralist theory of critic Tzvetan Todorov in his work...
("The Minstrel in the Gallery", "Jack-in-the-Green", "Broadsword and the Beast"). In the 1990s and 2000s, Anderson's songs often capture 'snapshots' of his daily life ("Old Black Cat", "Rocks on the Road").
Recognition
In recognition of his life-long contribution to popular music, Anderson received two honours in 2006: the Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement and an honorary Doctorate of Literature at Heriot-Watt UniversityHeriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University is a university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The name commemorates George Heriot, the 16th century financier to King James, and James Watt, the great 18th century inventor and engineer....
, on 11 July 2006.
He remains widely regarded as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, and the only one who uses it as his main instrument. He is also considered the first rock musician to utilize a classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
orchestral instrument and develop music to use it as a lead instrument. Other flute players to gain recognition now include Walter Parazaider
Walter Parazaider
Walter Parazaider is best known for being a founding member and saxophone player for the rock band Chicago. He also plays the flute and other woodwind instruments in the band, including clarinet. On the hit "You're Not Alone," he played backing rhythm guitar.Parazaider began playing the clarinet...
of Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
, Burton Cummings
Burton Cummings
Burton L. Cummings, OC, OM is a Canadian musician and songwriter.He was the lead singer and frequent keyboardist for the Canadian rock band The Guess Who...
of The Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
, Ian McDonald
Ian McDonald (musician)
Ian McDonald is an English multi-instrumental musician, best known as a founding member of progressive rock group King Crimson, formed in 1969, and of the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. He is well-known as a rock session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist...
of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, Ray Thomas
Ray Thomas
Ray Thomas is an English musician, best known as the flautist and as a singer and composer in the rock band, The Moody Blues.-Career:...
of The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
, Thijs van Leer
Thijs van Leer
Thijs Van Leer is a Dutch musician, singer and composer, best known for heading the Dutch progressive rock band, Focus, as primary vocalist, Hammond organ player, and flautist. He also yodels and whistles...
of Focus
Focus (band)
Focus is a Dutch rock band which was founded by classically trained organist/flautist Thijs van Leer in 1969, and is most famous for the instrumental pieces "Hocus Pocus" and "Sylvia"...
, Chris Wood
Chris Wood (rock musician)
Christopher Gordon Blandford 'Chris' Wood was a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Dave Mason....
of Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
, Andrew Latimer
Andrew Latimer
Andrew Latimer is an English musician and one of the original members of the progressive rock band Camel. He is mainly a guitarist and singer, but also a flautist and keyboardist....
of Camel
Camel (band)
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important group in the Canterbury scene, they have been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation.-1970s:...
, Jerry Eubanks of The Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band's blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s...
and Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
during his years with Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, however none but Gabriel and Wood gained anything close to the amount of recognition utilizing the instrument.
Anderson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours
New Year Honours 2008
The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008....
.
He will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Letters) from Abertay University in July 2011.
Musical collaborations and other work
Ian Anderson plays flute on the Men Without HatsMen Without Hats
Men Without Hats is a Canadian New Wave group from Montreal, Quebec. Their music was characterized by the distinctive baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers and electronic processing...
song "On Tuesday" from their album Pop Goes the World (1987), and on the Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night is an English-American traditional folk rock duo led by Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night .-Early:...
song "Play, Minstrel, Play" from their debut album Shadow of the Moon
Shadow of the Moon
Shadow of the Moon, released in 1997 on Edel Music, is the first album by musical group Blackmore's Night. It stayed on the German charts for 17 weeks.-Track listing:#"Shadow of the Moon" – 5:06...
(1997).
The Big Prize
The Big Prize is the second album by Honeymoon Suite, released in early 1986. It featured four hit singles, including the band's biggest hit in the U.S., "Feel It Again," and "Bad Attitude," which was notably featured in a sequence in the final episode of Miami Vice three years later...
, the second album by Canadian rock band Honeymoon Suite
Honeymoon Suite (band)
Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to the fact that Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital.-Band history:...
. This followed Jethro Tull's 1984 tour on which Honeymoon Suite was one of the opening acts. Also in 1984, Ian Anderson, along with Martin Barre
Martin Barre
Martin Lancelot Barre is an English rock musician.Barre has been the guitarist for rock band Jethro Tull since 1969. He has appeared on every Jethro Tull album except their debut This Was...
, Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...
and Peter-John Vettese
Peter-John Vettese
Peter-John Vettese , also known as Peter Vettese, is a British keyboardist, songwriter, arranger and record producer....
recorded A Classic Case
A Classic Case
A Classic Case is the 16th album by Jethro Tull, playing with the London Symphony Orchestra, released in 1985. The music was arranged and conducted by David Palmer. The album features band members Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Dave Pegg and Peter-John Vettese.The album was recorded during the...
with the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, performing a selection of music from Jethro Tull. He was also a DJ on Planet Rock
Planet Rock
Planet Rock may refer to:* "Planet Rock" , a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force* Planet Rock: The Album, a 1986 album containing the song...
, presenting his own two-hour show Under The Influence. He also appeared on stage with Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer.-Early life:Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, United States. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician...
playing A New Day Yesterday at the Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
in May 2010.
Anderson performs as a special guest on two Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
live albums: Acoustically Driven
Acoustically Driven
Acoustically Driven is the 8th live album released by British rock band Uriah Heep in 2001. The album was recorded live with an orchestra and choir...
and Electrically Driven, on both performing the same two songs of Uriah Heep repertoire: Circus and Blind Eye.
Ian Anderson plays flute on the track "Portmeirion" on Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
's 2001 album 'XXXV'. Anderson has performed with Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
at their annual Cropredy Festival
Cropredy Festival
Fairport's Cropredy Convention is an annual festival of folk and rock music held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. It has taken place in August since 1976....
on several occasions since the mid-1980s, when their bass player Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...
was also a member of Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
.
Anderson produced Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
's 1974 album Now We Are Six
Now We Are Six (album)
Now We Are Six is an album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span. Its title refers to both its sequence among their albums, and the band's size, in light of the addition of drummer Nigel Pegrum...
, as well as appearing on and producing Steeleye Span member Maddy Prior's first solo album "Woman In The Wings", for which Jethro Tull made most instrumental contributions.
In April 2011, Anderson performed a flute duet with Astronaut Cady Coleman, then aboard the International Space Station, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
.
Family and personal life
From 1970 to 1974, Anderson was married to Jennie FranksJennie Franks
Jennie Franks is an English photographer, actress, and playwright. She may be best known as Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson's first wife, from 1970 to 1974. She is a lyricist and wrote the lyrics to the Jethro Tull song "Aqualung"....
, a photographer who is credited with writing most of the lyrics to the song "Aqualung
Aqualung (song)
"Aqualung" is a song by the English progressive rock band Jethro Tull, and the title track from their Aqualung album. The song was written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson, and his then-wife Jennie Franks....
".
Anderson subsequently married Shona Learoyd in 1976, described by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine as a "beautiful convent-educated daughter of a wealthy wool manufacturer". She had studied ballet for 10 years, though Anderson met her when she was working as a press officer at Jethro Tull's then record-label Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
. She later became involved with the band's on-stage special effects.
The couple have lived in a 16th-century redbrick farmhouse on the 500 acres (2 km²) Pophleys estate in Radnage
Radnage
Radnage is a village and civil parish in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills about two miles north east of Stokenchurch and six miles WNW of High Wycombe....
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England, and on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. They currently live in Wiltshire, England. They have two children: James Duncan Anderson, also a musician; and Gael, who works in the film industry and is married to the actor Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln is an English actor, known for his roles in the TV series This Life, Teachers and Afterlife, and the films Love Actually and Heartbreaker...
.
Anderson is a survivor of deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein. Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected...
, and has done several public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s to raise awareness of the disease.
Among his interests Anderson lists protecting wild cats, especially those that have been rescued from harsh captivity; camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s, chiefly Leicas; Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
– he has written a beginner's guide, thus far published only on the Internet.
Anderson describes himself as being "somewhere between Deist
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
and Pantheist
Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
" religiously, according to his foreword to the pamphlet for his 2006 St. Brides charity concerts for the homeless.
Anderson has never taken the driving test
Driving test
A driving test is a procedure designed to test a person's ability to drive a motor vehicle. It exists in various forms worldwide, and is often a requirement to pass the exam to obtain a driver's license...
, though he lists off-road motorcycling among his interests.
Business activities
Anderson is a successful businessman away from the music industry, and he has owned several salmonSalmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
farms in New England. His Strathaird concern, based on his estate on the Isle of Skye was worth £10.7 million in the late 1990s, when parts of it began to be sold off. He currently owns a group of companies which reported a gross profit of £1.8 million in 2004, when the Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...
newspaper reported:
Solo discography
| Year | Name | Type | Label | Peak chart position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... | Germany | ||||
| 1983 | Walk into Light Walk into Light Walk Into Light is the first solo album released byJethro Tull frontmanIan Anderson.... |
Studio album | Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis... |
202 | 78 | |
| 1995 | Divinities: Twelve Dances with God Divinities: Twelve Dances with God Divinities: Twelve Dances with God is the 2nd solo album by Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson.All 12 tracks are instrumental and are influenced by different ethnical musical traditions: Celtic , Spanish , African and so on.-Track listing:#"In A Stone Circle" – 3:25#"In Sight Of The Minaret" –... |
" | Angel Angel Records Angel Records is a record label belonging to EMI. It was formed in 1953 and specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score... /EMI Records EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
|||
| 2000 | The Secret Language of Birds The Secret Language of Birds The Secret Language of Birds is the 3rd solo album byJethro Tull frontmanIan Anderson.It is named after the dawn chorus, the natural sound of birds heard at dawn, most noticeably in the spring.-Track listing:... |
" | Fuel 2000 Fuel 2000 Formed in 1994, Fuel 2000 Records, part of the Fuel Label Group, has amassed an amazing catalog over 20,000 master recordings making it one of the biggest independent labels specializing in current music and deep catalog... /Varèse Sarabande/Universal Records Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
26 | ||
| 2003 | Rupi's Dance Rupi's Dance Rupi's Dance is a solo album by Jethro Tull frontmanIan Anderson. The album was released around the same timeas Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre's new solo album, Stage Left.... |
" | RandM Records RandM Records RandM Records is a rock record label based in the UKRandM Entertainment was started in 1998, by music industry executives Roy Eldridge and Mike Andrews, who together have a combined 50 year experience in the industry. This was whilst with Papillon which was then part of Chrysalis Group... |
40 | ||
| 2005 | Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull is an album and DVD by Jethro Tull frontmanIan Anderson, featuring the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt, conducted by John O'Hara. The DVD was recorded at the Rosengarten in Mannheim on December 8, 2004.... |
Live album/DVD | ZYX Music ZYX Music ZYX Music is a German record label which was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The label specialized in disco and early house music. Founder Bernhard Mikulski is credited with coining the term Italo disco in the 1980s... |
68 (CD) 3 (DVD) |
External links
- 2006 Ian Anderson Interview
- Confessions of a DVT Victim and Ten Tips for Survival
- Bio from Official J-Tull Website
- Site of Dutch fan, with annotations of Tull music
- Audio interview at BBC Wiltshire
- College Crier's Ian Anderson Interview
- Audio Interview segments with Ian Anderson
- Ian Anderson lengthy Interview