Overview of Owen (Onnie) McIntyre

Musician. Born in Lennoxtown (East Dunbartonshire), McIntyre is guitar player and vocalist with the rhythm and blues group Average White Band. The band formed in 1972 in London (England), comprising McIntyre and four other Scottish musicians; namely Alan Gorrie (b.1946), Malcolm "Mollie" Duncan (b.1945), Roger Ball (b.1944), Robbie McIntosh (1950-74), together with Canadian Mike Rosen, soon to be replaced by another Scot Hamish Stuart (b.1949).

After developing a cult following in the UK with their first release Show Your Hand (1973) they quickly moved to the USA where they entered the charts in 1974 with AWB, their so-called White Album, widely regarded as a masterpiece. This reached No.1 in the Billboard charts and included the No.1 single Pick up the Pieces which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975. Other hits included Cut the Cake (1975), Soul Searching (1976), Person to Person (1976), Benny and Us (1977), Feel No Fret (1979), Shine (1980) and Cupid's in Fashion (1982). The band split up in 1983, only to re-group in 1989 with a new line-up which still included McIntyre, Gorrie and Ball, going on to further success with Aftershock (1989), which included Santana vocalist and fellow Scot Alex Ligertwood (b.1946), Live on the Test (1995), Soul Tattoo (1996), Face To Face - Live at the Fillmore (1997), Tonight (2002), Living In Colour (2003), Greatest and Latest (2005) and Soul & The City - Live at B.B. King's (2007). Based in New York, they continue to tour extensively across three continents, including regular visits to Scotland.