Folk rock singer and song-writer, uncomfortably badged as "Britain's answer to Bob Dylan". Leitch was born in a tenement in Maryhill (Glasgow), the son of a lathe operator, although the family moved to Hatfield (England) in 1956. His hits include Catch the Wind (1965), which launched his career, Colours (1965), Mellow Yellow (1966), Jenifer Juniper (1968) and Hurdy Gurdy Man (1968). The subtle drug references in his lyrics endeared Donovan to the hippie movement. His career continued though the 1970s and picked up again with re-issues of his old songs in the 1990s.
Donovan bought the Waternish Estate on Skye, hence the name of his eldest daughter Ione Skye. In 1997, his son, also Donovan Leitch, a successful model and musician, married the Scots model Kirsty Hume (b.1976).
