Colin MacIntyre
Dumfries, January 2014
Background information
Also known as	Mull Historical Society, INK
Born	(1971-04-08)8 April 1971 (age 53)
Origin	Isle of Mull, Scotland
Years active	2000–present
Labels	B-Unique Blanco Y Negro Xtra Mile Recordings
Website	colinmacintyre.com

Colin MacIntyre (born 8 April 1971) is a Scottish musician and novelist. A singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, he has released five albums under the nameMull Historical Society^[1] as well as two albums under his own name. His most successful album, Mull Historical Society'sUs (2003), reached number 19 in theUK Albums Chart. Hisdebut novel,The Letters of Ivor Punch, was published in 2015.

MacIntyre's fatherKenny Macintyre was born inOban then moved toMull, an island off the west coast of Scotland. He was a bank clerk, a gift-shop operator and thenBBC Scotland's Political Correspondent for ten years.^[2][3] His paternal grandfather, Angus Macintyre, was a poet^[4] and his brotherKenny Macintyre is a radio journalist for BBC Scotland Sport.^[5]

MacIntyre was born on 8 April 1971^[6] on Mull. He wanted to be a musician from a young age and grew up listening to his uncle'scovers band. He formed a covers band of his own called Trax, later renamed Love Sick Zombies, while still at Tobermory Primary School.^[7] He was influenced by his art teacher atTobermory High School, and considered going to art school. He also attendedOban High School.^[8] In the late 1980s he and his brother moved to Glasgow, where he attendedGlasgow Caledonian University,^[8] trained withQueen's Park F.C., worked for a stockbroker, and then for telephone companyBT's192 directory enquiries service for three years.^[7][9]

MacIntyre coined the name Mull Historical Society after seeing an advert for an organisation which has since changed its name to the Mull Historical and Archaeological Society.^[10][11] His first album under the name,Loss in 2001, was inspired by his upbringing on Mull^[5] and the sudden death of his father in 1999.^[3] It containssamples from aCaledonian MacBrayne ferry and the waves inCalgary Bay in Mull.^[5]Q magazine namedLoss as one of its top 50 albums of 2001.^[12] "Public Service Announcer" is about MacIntyre's time atBT, and is based on the rhythm of a telephone ring tone.^[13] "Barcode Bypass" is about a small shopkeeper threatened by thesupermarkets.^[14] "Watching Xanadu", a song about watching the filmXanadu,^[2] was included onSTV'sScotland's Greatest Album as one of the top tracks of the 2000s.^[15] In 2000-01 Mull Historical Society playedsupport forElbow andthe Strokes,^[2] and in 2002 forR.E.M.,the Delgados andThe Polyphonic Spree.^[16] MacIntyre was named as "Scotland's Top Creative Talent" at theGlenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards in 2002.^[14]

The second album,Us, came out in 2003 to generally positive reviews;^[17]NME called it "a joyous slice of orchestral prozac".^[18] The track "The Supermarket Strikes Back" is a sequel to "Barcode Bypass" fromLoss.^[19][14] After the album his record label,Warners, dropped him.^[20] The third Mull Historical Society album,This Is Hope, was released onB-Unique Records in 2004. It was inspired by a two-month visit to the United States, ending inNew Orleans. One of its songs is about the death ofDavid Kelly,^[1] and the album also includes a recording of MacIntyre's grandmother.^[20] The covers ofLoss andThis Is Hope, and several of the videos and stage sets from this era, feature 'The Giant Dog With The Wig', which MacIntyre created usingMS Paint.^[21][22] In January 2005, Mull Historical Society was voted the twelfth-greatest Scottish band of all time byThe List magazine.^[23]

"Watching Xanadu", fromLoss, 2001

A sample from near the start of "Watching Xanadu"

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"You're a Star", fromThe Water, 2008

A sample from near the start of "You're a Star"

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MacIntyre releasedThe Water under his own name in 2008. He had written the album inNew York, his wife's home city.^[4] It was produced byNick Franglen fromLemon Jelly; MacIntyre had produced the first three albums himself.^[24] The last track, "Pay Attention to the Human", features a poem written and performed byTony Benn.^[25][26] In 2009,Irvine Welsh used the track "You're a Star" fromThe Water in his comedyGood Arrows.^[27] MacIntyre's fifth albumIsland, the second under his own name, was released in the UK in 2009. It features Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) on backing vocals on "Out Stealing Horses"^[28] and was recorded in MacIntyre's old primary classroom in Tobermory.^[29] In 2012, MacIntyre returned as Mull Historical Society for his sixth albumCity Awakenings, which is aboutLondon, New York andGlasgow.^[30] In early 2014 MacIntyre gigged as Mull Historical Society again, playingLoss in its entirety, to promote thebest-of album which was released in 2015.^[5] In June 2014 MacIntyre's project INK released its first single, "Control".^[31]Dear Satellite, a new Mull Historical Society record, was released in April 2016.^[32] The latest Mull Historical Society album,In My Mind There's A Room, was released in July 2023.^[33]

MacIntyre's first novel,The Letters of Ivor Punch, was published in May 2015 byWeidenfeld & Nicolson. It is set on Mull.^[34]

• Official website

• Living people
• Scottish multi-instrumentalists
• People from the Isle of Mull
• Scottish male singer-songwriters
• Scottish singer-songwriters
• 1971 births
• Scottish novelists
• 21st-century Scottish novelists
• Scottish male novelists
• 21st-century British male writers
• British Telecom people
• 21st-century Scottish singers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from January 2014
• Use dmy dates from February 2014
• Articles with hCards
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