Colin MacIntyre
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Colin MacIntyre (born 8 April 1971) is a Scottish musician and novelist. A singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, he has released five albums under the name Mull Historical Society<ref name="guardian">Template:Cite news</ref> as well as two albums under his own name. His most successful album, Mull Historical Society's Us (2003), reached number 19 in the UK Albums Chart. His debut novel, The Letters of Ivor Punch, was published in 2015.
Early life and educationEdit
MacIntyre's father Kenny Macintyre was born in Oban then moved to Mull, an island off the west coast of Scotland. He was a bank clerk, a gift-shop operator and then BBC Scotland's Political Correspondent for ten years.<ref name ="top of the world">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="lasting tribute">Template:Cite news</ref> His paternal grandfather, Angus Macintyre, was a poet<ref name="rewriting">Template:Cite news</ref> and his brother Kenny Macintyre is a radio journalist for BBC Scotland Sport.<ref name="arches">Template:Cite news</ref>
MacIntyre was born on 8 April 1971<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on Mull. He wanted to be a musician from a young age and grew up listening to his uncle's covers band. He formed a covers band of his own called Trax, later renamed Love Sick Zombies, while still at Tobermory Primary School.<ref name="track"/> He was influenced by his art teacher at Tobermory High School, and considered going to art school. He also attended Oban High School.<ref name="tes">Template:Cite news</ref> In the late 1980s he and his brother moved to Glasgow, where he attended Glasgow Caledonian University,<ref name="tes"/> trained with Queen's Park F.C., worked for a stockbroker, and then for telephone company BT's 192 directory enquiries service for three years.<ref name="track">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="undercover">Template:Cite news</ref>
Musical careerEdit
MacIntyre coined the name Mull Historical Society after seeing an advert for an organisation which has since changed its name to the Mull Historical and Archaeological Society.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His first album under the name, Loss in 2001, was inspired by his upbringing on Mull<ref name="arches"/> and the sudden death of his father in 1999.<ref name="lasting tribute"/> It contains samples from a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry and the waves in Calgary Bay in Mull.<ref name="arches"/> Q magazine named Loss as one of its top 50 albums of 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Public Service Announcer" is about MacIntyre's time at BT, and is based on the rhythm of a telephone ring tone.<ref name ="guardian review">Template:Cite news</ref> "Barcode Bypass" is about a small shopkeeper threatened by the supermarkets.<ref name="history">Template:Cite news</ref> "Watching Xanadu", a song about watching the film Xanadu,<ref name ="top of the world"/> was included on STV's Scotland's Greatest Album as one of the top tracks of the 2000s.<ref name="stv">In a programme transmitted in November 2011; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2000-01 Mull Historical Society played support for Elbow and the Strokes,<ref name ="top of the world"/> and in 2002 for R.E.M., the Delgados and The Polyphonic Spree.<ref name="crud">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> MacIntyre was named as "Scotland's Top Creative Talent" at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards in 2002.<ref name="history"/>
The second album, Us, came out in 2003 to generally positive reviews;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> NME called it "a joyous slice of orchestral prozac".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The track "The Supermarket Strikes Back" is a sequel to "Barcode Bypass" from Loss.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="history"/> After the album his record label, Warners, dropped him.<ref name="mull">Template:Cite news</ref> The third Mull Historical Society album, This Is Hope, was released on B-Unique Records in 2004. It was inspired by a two-month visit to the United States, ending in New Orleans. One of its songs is about the death of David Kelly,<ref name="guardian"/> and the album also includes a recording of MacIntyre's grandmother.<ref name="mull"/> The covers of Loss and This Is Hope, and several of the videos and stage sets from this era, feature 'The Giant Dog With The Wig', which MacIntyre created using MS Paint.<ref name="leeds">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In January 2005, Mull Historical Society was voted the twelfth-greatest Scottish band of all time by The List magazine.<ref name="list">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> {{#invoke:Listen|main}} MacIntyre released The Water under his own name in 2008. He had written the album in New York, his wife's home city.<ref name="rewriting"/> It was produced by Nick Franglen from Lemon Jelly; MacIntyre had produced the first three albums himself.<ref name=scotsman>Template:Cite news</ref> The last track, "Pay Attention to the Human", features a poem written and performed by Tony Benn.<ref name=telegraph>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="independent">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2009, Irvine Welsh used the track "You're a Star" from The Water in his comedy Good Arrows.<ref name="bollyfirst">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> MacIntyre's fifth album Island, the second under his own name, was released in the UK in 2009. It features Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) on backing vocals on "Out Stealing Horses"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was recorded in MacIntyre's old primary classroom in Tobermory.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2012, MacIntyre returned as Mull Historical Society for his sixth album City Awakenings, which is about London, New York and Glasgow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In early 2014 MacIntyre gigged as Mull Historical Society again, playing Loss in its entirety, to promote the best-of album which was released in 2015.<ref name="arches"/> In June 2014 MacIntyre's project INK released its first single, "Control".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Dear Satellite, a new Mull Historical Society record, was released in April 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The latest Mull Historical Society album, In My Mind There's A Room, was released in July 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Literary careerEdit
MacIntyre's first novel, The Letters of Ivor Punch, was published in May 2015 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. It is set on Mull.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
DiscographyEdit
AlbumsEdit
| Year | Information | UK Albums Chart<ref name="Chart Log UK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Loss
|
43 | |
| 2003 | Us
|
19 | |
| 2004 | This Is Hope
|
58 | |
| 2008 | The Water
|
— | |
| 2009 | Island
|
— | |
| 2012 | City Awakenings
|
163 | |
| 2016 | Dear Satellite
|
— | |
| 2018 | Wakelines
|
— | |
| 2023 | In My Mind There's A Room
|
— |
CompilationsEdit
| Year | Information | UK Albums Chart |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Best of Mull Historical Society & Colin MacIntyre
|
— |
SinglesEdit
| Year | Single | UK Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Barcode Bypass" | 160 | Loss |
| 2001 | "I Tried" | 77 | |
| "Animal Cannabus" | 53 | ||
| 2002 | "Watching Xanadu" | 36 | |
| 2003 | "The Final Arrears" | 32 | Us |
| "Am I Wrong" / "It Takes More" | 51 | ||
| 2004 | "How 'Bout I Love You More" | 37 | This Is Hope |
| 2007 | "Stalker" | — | The Water |
| 2008 | "Famous for Being Famous" | — | |
| "Be My Saviour" | — | ||
| "You're a Star" | — | ||
| 2009 | "Cape Wrath" | — | Island |
| 2012 | "The Lights" | — | City Awakenings |
| "Must You Get Low" | — | ||
| "Must You Make Eyes At Me" | — | ||
| "Christmas is Here Again" | — | non-album single | |
| 2015 | "Keep Falling" | — | The Best of Mull Historical Society & Colin MacIntyre |
| 2016 | "The Ballad of Ivor Punch" | — | Dear Satellite |
| "Sleepy Hollow" | — |