Donovan

radio2

Born 10 May 1946.

Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist

Please Note: you do not have javascript enabled. Video content requires javascript to be enabled.

Donovan chats to Jools Holland

Donovan talks to Jools Holland on Later...

Featured on BBC MUSIC SHOWCASE
 

Biography

Donovan (born Donovan Phillips Leitch, 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist. Initially labelled as an imitator of Bob Dylan, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music (notably calypso). He has variously lived in Scotland, London, and California, and, since at least 2008, has lived in County Cork, Ireland with his family. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan shot to fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with a series of live performances on the pop TV series, Ready Steady Go!.

Having initially signed with Pye Records in 1965, he recorded a handful of singles and two albums in the folk music vein, but after signing a new contract with U.S. CBS/Epic Records his popularity spread to other countries. After extricating himself from his original management contract, he began a long and successful collaboration with Mickie Most, one of the leading British independent record producers of the era, scoring a string of hits in the UK, the US, Australia[citation needed] and other countries.

Wikipedia This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. If you find the biography content factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. Find out more about our use of this data.

Links & Information

Latest News Stories

News from the BBC

  1. Folk awards celebrate family duo

    Tue 8 Feb 2011 12:09

    Mother and daughter act Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson scoop two prizes at the BBC...
  2. Lifetime folk award for Donovan

    Tue 18 Jan 2011 11:29

    Singer-songwriter Donovan will receive the lifetime achievement award at the Radio 2...
  3. Acoustic Festival Of Britain 2010

    Wed 17 Feb 2010 17:26

    The Acoustic Festival Of Britain comes to Uttoxeter Racecourse in May 2010, with Sandi...

BBC Reviews

  1. A Gift From A Flower To A Garden 2009

    Review of A Gift From A Flower To A Garden

    Reviewed by Sid Smith

    One can't help but be touched by many of these amiable, sparsely furnished folk tunes.
  2. Beat Cafe 2004

    Review of Beat Cafe

    Reviewed by Mick Fitzsimmons

    A willingness to experiment is something which has always come easy to Donovan...

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.