Book Ian Anderson

Ian Anderson is the singer, flautist and acoustic guitarist who has led Jethro Tull since 1967 and remains its only constant member. Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in August 1947 and raised in Edinburgh before his family moved to Blackpool, he formed the soul and blues group the Blades while still at school, and that band became Jethro Tull. He soon set aside electric guitar for the flute, which turned into the group's signature sound, and his habit of playing it while standing on one leg, often in a long overcoat, made him an unmistakable rock frontman. From the 1969 album Stand Up onward he took over most of the writing and steered the band through folk, hard rock and the progressive style it is best known for. A solo career began with Walk Into Light in 1983 and has since included Divinities: Twelve Dances with God, The Secret Language of Birds, Rupi's Dance, Thick as a Brick 2 and Homo Erraticus. He also plays mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and saxophone, and was made a MBE in 2008 for services to music.