Guest Artist Bio
Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson, known throughout the world of rock music as the flute and voice behind the legendary Jethro Tull, celebrated his 40th year as a recording and performing musician in 2008.
He was born in 1947 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. He was a fine-art student before deciding to attempt a musical career.
The band Jethro Tull formed in 1968 out of the amalgamation of the John Evan Band and McGregor's Engine, two blues-based local groups in the United Kingdom. Still enjoying an ongoing career, Jethro Tull has released 30 studio and live albums, selling more than 60 million copies since the band first performed at London's famous Marquee club. After performing more than 2,500 concerts in 40 countries over three decades, the band still plays typically 100 concerts each year for fans worldwide.
Widely recognized as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, Anderson remains the pre-eminent master of the popular and rock genres of flute playing – and, so far, no pretender to the throne has stepped forward. He also plays ethnic flutes and whistles together with acoustic guitar and the mandolin family of instruments, providing the acoustic textures which are an integral part of the Jethro Tull repertoire.
Anderson has so far recorded four diverse solo albums in his career: 1983's Walk Into Light; the flute instrumental Divinities album for EMI's Classical Music Division in 1995 which reached the top spot in the relevant Billboard chart,; and the more recently recorded acoustic collections of songs The Secret Language of Birds and Rupi’s Dance.
Anderson lives on a farm in the southwest of England, where he has a recording studio and office. He has been married for 25 years to Shona, who is also an active director of their music and other companies. They have two children, James and Gael, who work in the music and TV/film industries respectively.
His hobbies include the growing of many varieties of hot chile peppers, the study and conservation of the 26 species of small wildcats of the world and collecting mechanical watches and vintage cameras.
In 2006, he was awarded a Doctorate in Literature from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, the Ivor Award for International Achievement in Music and, in the 2008 New Years Honours List, an MBE for services to music.
Ian owns no fast car, never having taken a driving test, and has a wardrobe of singularly uninspiring and drab leisurewear. He still keeps a couple of off-road competition motorcycles, a few sporting guns and a saxophone, which he promises never to play again.
He declares a lifelong commitment to music as a profession, being far too young to hang up his hat or his flute, although the tights and codpiece have long since been consigned to some forgotten bottom drawer.
More information online: jethrotull.com.