Brian McNeill

Brian McNeill
McNeill performing in August 2006
Background information
Born	(1950-04-06) 6 April 1950 (age 66) Falkirk, Scotland
Genres	Folk rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Violin, guitar, viola, mandolin, concertina, hurdy-gurdy
Years active	1969–present
Associated acts	Battlefield Band
Website	Official website

Brian McNeill (born 6 April 1950, Falkirk, Scotland) is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and musical director. He was a founding member of Battlefield Band which combined traditional Celtic melodies and new material.

McNeill learnt music on the violin before taking up electric guitar. McNeill now sings and plays a range of instruments including guitar, fiddle, viola, mandolin, concertina, and hurdy-gurdy. He played fiddle with Battlefield Band from its formation in 1969 until 1990.

In the 1990s he toured extensively with the Scottish ensemble Clan Alba and did joint tours with guitarist Tony McManus and with Iain MacKintosh. More recently he has collaborated and toured with fellow member of Clan Alba, Dick Gaughan.

As a novelist he has published two books, The Busker and To Answer the Peacock. He has also produced an acclaimed audio-visual show about Scottish emigration to America, The Back o' the North Wind.

Apart from his visible contributions, McNeill is influential in Scotland and abroad as a producer. He has many production credits in the UK and North America including "Emigrant and Exile" for Eric Bogle with John Munro and two CDs for fiddler John Taylor. He is also a prolific songwriter.

McNeill's highly accomplished songs often feature lyrics based on Scottish historical themes, and he continually has celebrated the culture of his fellow Scots, including those who have emigrated to North America. His album ''The Back o' the North Wind'' features songs about industrialist Andrew Carnegie and the man who initiated the conservation movement in the United States, John Muir.