Donovan

Donovan Leitch was born in Glasgow in May 1946 and moved to Hartfield, England when he was ten. By 1964 he was living in a seaside art studio in St Ives, Cornwall, writing songs and waiting on tables in cafés and occasionally traveling around England to perform at folk clubs with a Kazoo player called Gypsy Dave.

Early in 1965, he attracted the attention of a few people who would help shape his future. Firstly, Geoff Stephens and Peter Eden spotted him performing in Southend and offered to manage him. At their insistence he recorded some demo tracks at a Denmark Street studio which came to the attention of a production staff member of the TV show Ready Steady Go which resulted in slots on the show for three consecutive weeks.

Despite widespread media comments about his similarity in style and appearance to Bob Dylan (right down to the denim cap, harmonica rack and guitar inscribed "This machine kills") Donovan's TV appearances landed him a record deal with Pye. His debut single, Catch The Wind, peaked at Number 4 on the UK Chart in April 1965 and Donovan began performing at concerts with artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Tom Jones.

In July of that year, Donovan made his debut appearances in the US, including a set at the Newport Folk Festival, where (ironically) Bob Dylan was booed by the crowd for performing an electric set. By December, he had fired his managers, signed with Allen Klein in the US and recorded Sunshine Superman with producer Mickie Most - a move away from pure folk to pop. Sunshine Superman hit Number 1 in the USA, earning Donovan his first gold record, and much of 1966 was taken up with a tour of Europe.

December 1966 found Mellow Yellow (with "whispering" vocal assistance from Paul McCartney) at Number 2 in the USA - his second million seller, despite being banned in Boston, MA for allegedly being abortion-themed (?!). The single peaked at Number 8 in the UK. In the wake of The Beatles visit to India, Donovan flew to a Transcendental Meditation course there in 1968, meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and becoming his disciple for a while.

The early 70s found Donovan living in Ireland and touring with an electric backing band called Open Road. After recording with Cozy Powell, Carole King and Peter Frampton he moved to California in 1974. His career remained quiet throughout the 80's, with occasional low-key tours and little in the way of recordings.

The 1990s provided Donovan with a second wind as he became increasingly hip once more with a new wave of bands like the Happy Mondays (not least because Donovan was father-in-law to the band's vocalist Shaun Ryder), and he continued to tour and record into the new millennium.

TRIVIA NOTE
In 1964 while in Manchester, England, to perform at a folk club, Donovan was arrested on a charge of stealing 5,000 cigarettes and some chocolates from a cinema. He spent two weeks on remand in Strangeways Prison.