| Rory McLeod | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Rory McLeod |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| Genre: | Folk |
| Years Active: | 1975–present |
| Associated Acts: | Rory McLeod and the Familiar Strangers |
Rory McLeod (born 1955) is a British folk singer-songwriter from London.[1] He grew up in Camberwell before moving to South Ruislip and later West Kilburn.[2] His career has included being a fire eater and circus clown[3] and his performances include storytelling in the tradition of the traveling minstrel or troubadour, and playing a wide range of instruments including guitar, harmonica, trombone and his personally-made stomp box. WoMAD have said: "With Rory McLeod, you get the music of the world in one suitcase.[...] You can hear flamenco, calypso, blues and Celtic influences in his music, all wrapped together in an inimitable style".[4] He has recorded and toured with (then) fellow Cooking Vinyl artist Michelle Shocked.[4]
He also performed on Puddle Dive, the 1993 album by fellow singer-songwriter, Ani DiFranco. In 1996, McLeod's song Invoking the Spirits, which was inspired by time he spent in Zimbabwe, was a BBC Radio 4 "pick of the week".[5] McLeod played the theme tune for the TV animation series, Creature Comforts.[6] Martin Newell has described McLeod as "a feral folk musician of enormous talent",[7] and writing in The Guardian Robin Denselow called him a "rousing harmonica player and guitarist".[8]
In 2002, McLeod was the winner of the Best Live Act title at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[9]
McLeod played harmonica on Nizlopi's 2008 album, Make It Happen.[10]
In 2020, McLeod published The Rory McLeod Digital Songbook, containing the lyrics of 148 of his songs, and the chords of 34 of these.[11]
He is the father of the actor Solly McLeod.[12]