Ian Anderson (musician)
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Ian Scott Anderson (born August 10, 1947 in Dunfermline, Fife), is a Scottish singer, songwriter, guitarist and flautist, and is best known as the head of the rock band Jethro Tull.
Anderson has managed to carve of himself a most original artistical image. In one sentence, he could be described as the mad one-legged long-bearded flute player of a rock band. He has been the backbone of Jethro Tull since its inception in 1967, while being able to record a small number of solo projects. 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. As a composer he successfully fused very diverse styles (folk, jazz, blues, rock and pop), creating a decidedly personal sound. His lyrics are frequently complex, being one of the reasons behind the popularity of the band. The most frequent topic of his compositions is a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek criticism of society and many of its absurd self-imposed rules (Sossity, You're a Woman; Hymn 43; Thick as a Brick). Frequently he combined such lyrics with other themes and motifs: folk, mythological, fantastic (The Minstrel in the Gallery, Jack-in-the-Green, Broadsword and the Beast). In recent years he seems to favour capturing snapshots of his daily life (Old Black Cat, Rocks on the Road). Anecdotically, he also collects photo cameras, chiefly Leicas.
He is also capable on several other instruments, including acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone, Hammond organ, drums, keyboards, trombone, harmonica, a variety of whistles, and violin.
Anderson also owns forty-three salmon farms; although he sold off most of his salmon interests in the late 1990s, including most of his Strathaird concern[link]. Anderson has never taken or cleared his driving test.
He is a survivor of deep vein thrombosis and has done several public service announcements to raise awareness of the disease.
In an interview on the 25th anniversary edition of Aqualung in 1996, Anderson told the interviewer that he had once made what he thought was a good-spirited comment about the music of Led Zeppelin; his comment was along the lines of "combining my lyrics and Led Zeppelin's music would make for a great little rock 'n' roll band". He admitted that it was somewhat insensitive because Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant wrote many of the lyrics to his band's songs. Whether they have reconciled remains unknown.
Anderson is among those being awarded honorary degrees by Heriot-Watt University in July 2006 with a doctorate of Literature in recognition of his contribution to popular and rock music. He will be presented with his honorary degree at ceremonies in Edinburgh on 11 July.
Anderson got an Ivor Novello Award in 2006 for his whole musical career.
Anderson is DJ for Planet Rock and presents his own show Under The Influence every Sunday, 7 - 9 pm.
Solo discography
For his records with Jethro Tull, see Jethro Tull Discography
| Year | Album | Info | Chart Statistics | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 |  |
|
| Chrysalis Records | |
| 1995 |  |
|
| EMI | |
| 2000 |  |
|
| Fuel 2000 | |
| 2003 |
|
|
| RandM Records | |
| 2005 |  |
| ZYX Music |
External links
- [Home page]
- [Confessions of a DVT Victim and Ten Tips for Survival]
- [Bio from Official J-Tull Website]
- [}}}] at NNDB
- [Site of Dutch fan, with annotations of Tull music]
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