Ian Anderson MBE |
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Anderson performing in Milan, Italy, 2006
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Background information | |
Birth name | Ian Scott Anderson |
Born |
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland |
10 August 1947
Origin | Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
Genres | Progressive rock, folk rock, hard rock, blues rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, singer-songwriter |
Instruments | |
Years active | 1962–present |
Labels | Chrysalis, Fuel 2000, RandM, Angel, EMI |
Associated acts | Jethro Tull, Roy Harper, Dave Pegg, David Goodier, Doane Perry, Peter-John Vettese, Andrew Giddings, Martin Barre, Steven Wilson, Toto, Scott Hammond |
Website | IanAnderson.com |
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist and acoustic guitarist of British rock band Jethro Tull. Anderson plays several other musical instruments, including keyboards, bass guitar, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone, harmonica, and a variety of whistles. His solo work began with the 1983 album Walk into Light, and since then he released another five works, including the sequel to the Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick (1972) in 2012, entitled Thick as a Brick 2.
Ian Anderson was born in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the youngest of three siblings. His father, James Anderson, ran the RSA Boiler Fluid Company in East Port, Dunfermline. Anderson spent the first part of his childhood in Edinburgh. He was influenced by his father's big band and jazz records and the emergence of rock music, but was disenchanted with the "show biz" style of early American rock and roll stars like Elvis Presley.
His family moved to Blackpool, Lancashire, England, in 1959, where he was educated at Blackpool Grammar School. In a 2011 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 while living in St. Annes.