Donovan Philips Leitch (Glasgow, Scotland, may 10, 1946), better known by the name Donovan, is a Scottish singer-songwriter who became popular in the 1960s. In that time he and his pop songs to folk related considered "the British answer to Bob Dylan", but his songs were much more optimistic and naïever, allowing Donovan to thehippie movement of the time.
Donovan was born in the Scottish Glasgow, but grew up in England. In 1964, at the age of 18, he took a demo on. at the beginning of 1965 he had his first television appearance at the popprogramma "Ready, Steady, Go!". His performance there caught on and he was invited back more often. After these performances was his firstsingle, "Catch the Wind", released, which soon was in the top five of the UK singles chart. From that moment there were comparisons drawn between him and Bob Dylan.A meeting between them both in 1965 was captured in D.A. Pennebakers documentary Don't Look Back, released in 1967.
His second single "Colours" was also a hit, followed by the Buffy Sainte-Marie-cover "Universal Soldier". Donovan went on a concert tour of the United Statesin 1965, where he performed at the Newport Folk Festival . In 1966 , Donovan signed to Epic Records, for which he recorded his breakthrough-LP , Sunshine Superman. Thepsychedelic album, on which he exotic instruments such as the sitar and the conga used, contained among other things the eponymous title track, which on both sides of the Atlantic became a hit. The single Mellow Yellow was a big hit and grew into the song Donovan still years later was identified.
In 1967 he made the double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden off. Donovan traveled to India to study with the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (where The Beatles were also among others). Around that time he became averse to hard drugs. In 1968 , he released The Hurdy Gurdy Man from, an album with more psychedelic and more powerful songs, including the title track and the hit "Jennifer Juniper". In 1969 the album Barabajagal came out, containing the hit "Atlantis". The Jeff Beck Group played on the title track.
In the early 1970s drew Donovan withdrew from public life, in order to return in the 1972 film The Pied Piper. His album Essence to Essence from 1973 was quite poorly received and also his next albums did little. After Lady of the Stars from 1984 he seemed to have stopped recording plates. It was only in 1996 it came back with Sutras, remarkably, produced by Rick Rubin. Beat Cafe came In 2004 , produced by John Chelew and assisted by bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Jim Keltner.
Donovan is married since 1970 with Linda Lawrence, the ex of Rolling Stone Brian Jones. He is the step and adoptive father of their son Julian Brian Jones. He also has two children with Linda Celeste and Oriole Nebula, George, and he has two children with his ex Enid Stulberger, Donovan Leitch Jr. and Ione Skye, both of which have become actor.
Content[]
Discography[Edit][]
U.K. Singles[]
- Catch the Wind/Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do? (1965)
- Colours/To Sing For You (1965)
- Turquoise/Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness) (1965)
- Josie b/w Little Tin Soldier (1966)
- Remember the Alamo/The Ballad of a Crystal Man (Version I) (1966)
- Sunshine Superman (Version I)/The Trip (1966)
- Mellow Yellow b/w Preachin' Love (1967)
- There Is A Mountain b/w Sand and Foam (1967)
Albums[]
- What's Bin Did and what's Bin Hid
- Fairytale (1965)
- Sunshine Superman (1966)
- Mellow Yellow
- A Gift from a Flower to a Garden (1967)
- Donovan in Concert (1968)
- The Hurdy Gurdy Man (1968)
- Barabajagal (1969)
- Open Road (1970)
- H.m.s. Donovan (1971)
- Cosmic Wheels (1973)
- Live in Japan: Spring Tour 1973 (1973)
- Essence to Essence (1973)
- 7-Tease (1974)
- Slow Down World (1976)
- Donovan (1977)
- Neutronics (1980)
- Love Is Only Feeling (1981)
- Lady of the Stars (1984)
- Rising (1990)
- One Night in Time (1993)
- Sutras (1996)
- Rising Again [Live] (2001)
- Greatest Hits Live: Vancouver 1986 [Live] (2001)
- Pied Piper (2002)
- Sixty Four (2004)
- Brother Sun Sister Moon (2004)
- Beat Cafe (2004)
Radio 2 Top 2000[Edit][]
| Number (s) with markings
in the Radio 2 Top 2000 |
' 99 | ' 00 | ' 01 | ' 02 | ' 03 | ' 04 | ' 05 | ' 06 | ' 07 | ' 08 | ' 09 | ' 10 | ' 11 | ' 12 | ' 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantis | 478 | 585 | 591 | 676 | 896 | 690 | 757 | 822 | 1046 | 801 | 1186 | 1295 | 1343 | 1420 | 1567 |
| Colours | - | 1591 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mellow yellow | 1997 | 1894 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sunshine superman | - | 1908 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Universal soldier | 826 | 978 | 1105 | 860 | 944 | 986 | 1154 | 1225 | 1355 | 1143 | 1554 | 1553 | 1754 | - | 1847 |