Ivan Drever is a Scottish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He often tours with fiddler Duncan Chisholm who founded the Celtic rock band Wolfstone which Drever joined in 1990 but left in later years. Drever has mixed traditional folk with some rock and roll sounds.
Drever spent his childhood as one of ten children on Sanday, one of the islands of Orkney in Scotland. Interest in music was clear from a young age with Drever winning youth talent shows at 12. He enjoyed country music and Jim Reeves. In 1974 he founded the band 'Knowe O'Deil' and stayed until the late 1980s. In the 1990s Drever moved to Easter Ross and joined Wolfstone. Drever spent many years in the Scottish town of Inverness which inspired many songs. His album 'Waterfront' is named after a favourite bar and restaurant there. Drever has 4 children, including musician Kris Drever.[1]
In 1989 he released his debut album, Homeland. In 1990 Drever joined Wolfstone where he played guitar, cittern, whistle, mandola and pipes as well as providing lead vocals and songwriting but pursued a flourishing career of solo and duo work. In 1998 Drever and Duncan Chisholm released their own album, Lewis Blue. In the early 1990s Drever released a duo album with fellow Wolfstone member, Struan Eaglesham. 'Long December Night' is a recent duo album (also released as DVD) with Duncan Chisholm. Apart from his continuing collaboration with Duncan Chisholm, Drever has often joined up with other musicians, either as a duo with Bruce MacGregor, as Band with "The Vast Majority" or with former Wolfstone members Mop Youngston and Andy Murray as "The Black Sheep" in 2007. Due to Mop Yongston's illness, they could not continue touring. This project, however, has been revived as the Ivan Drever Band. The current line-up now includes Finlay Wells (bass), Iain Coates (drums) and Andy Murray (guitar).[2] In 1998, he took a side-project from Wolfstone with the album This Strange Place, although this album was marketed as a Wolfstone album. That same year, he and Duncan Chisholm issued their collaboration album, The Lewis Blue.
The Ivan Drever Band is a folk-meets-rock band featuring Ivan Drever, Andy Murray, Finlay Wells and Iain Coates.[3] They have released an EP with 5 songs: Every Beat of the Drum, Harbour Lights, Ballad of Jimmy Fry, Walk Beside Your Shoes and Stranger's Tongue.[3] A full album, 'Sea Air', is to be released soon after their current tour of the UK and Denmark.
The Knowe O'Deil (with Ian Cooper)
with Dick Clarke
with Struan Eagelsham
with Wayne Mackenzie
with Duncan Chisholm