Quick Facts
Biography
John Macleod (sometimes spelled McLeod) is a Canadian-born English songwriter and musician.
Career
He moved to Britain in the 1940s, and lived in the Halifax area with his wife before moving to Brighton. In the 1950s, he was a member of the vocal group the Maple Leaf Four, with his brother, baritone Norman, Alan Harvey as tenor and Joe Melia (stagename Joe Ross) as second tenor. The group made regular appearances on British TV, and released at least two albums, Home on the Range and Old Familiar Favourites.
By the early 1960s, Macleod worked on writing advertising jingles. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Macleod co-wrote songs with Tony Macaulay. They had major success with The Foundations, when they recorded "Baby Now That I've Found You", and it topped the UK Singles Chart in November 1967. This was followed by Long John Baldry's "Let the Heartaches Begin", Paper Dolls' "Something Here in My Heart (Keeps A-Tellin' Me No)" and Pickettywitch's "That Same Old Feeling".
The full list of songs that Macleod wrote with Macaulay are:
| Song title | Performer | Peak UK chart position | Date of appearance on chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Baby Now That I've Found You" | The Foundations | 1 | 23 September 1967 |
| "Let The Heartaches Begin" | Long John Baldry | 1 | 28 October 1967 |
| "Back on My Feet Again" | The Foundations | 18 | 20 January 1968 |
| "Something Here in My Heart (Keeps A-Tellin' Me No)" | Paper Dolls | 11 | 9 March 1968 |
| "Any Old Time (You're Lonely and Sad)" | The Foundations | 48 | 1 May 1968 |
| "Mexico" | Long John Baldry | 15 | 12 October 1968 |
| "In the Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)" | The Foundations | 8 | 12 March 1969 |
| "Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now" | Sandie Shaw | – | – |
| "My Little Chickadee" | The Foundations | Note: US release only | – |
| "That Same Old Feeling" | Pickettywitch | 5 | 21 February 1970 |
| "Baby Take Me In Your Arms" | Jefferson (US) | 23 (US release only) | 20 December 1969 |
| "(It's Like A) Sad Old Kinda Movie" | 16 | June 1970 |
In the early 1970s, Macleod presented a series of easy listening instrumental albums comprising cover versions of chart hits, on the Pye label. In 1975 he worked again with his brother Norman, and brother-in-law actor Bill Pertwee, on the music for the Dad's Army stage show, producing an EMI single "Get Out And Get Under The Moon", and writing the B-side number "Hooligans!" – after Bill Pertwee's character Warden Hodge's catch phrase.
Discography
- John Macleod Presents Hits Philharmonic – The London Pops Orchestra (Pye, 1970)
- John Macleod Presents Hits Philharmonic Vol.2 – The London Pops Orchestra (Pye, 1970)
- John Macleod Presents Hits Philharmonic Vol.3 – The London Pops Orchestra (Pye, 1971)
- John Macleod Presents A String Bag of Bones (Pye, 1971)
- "JOHN MacLEOD Presents Hits Philharmonic – London Pops Orchestra LP". Picclick.com. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- "JOHN MacLEOD LONDON POPS ORCHESTRA Hits Philharmonic Vol 2 1970 near mint". eBay. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- "john macleod presents 'hits philharmonic vol.3 | 25850922". En.todocoleccion.net. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- "John Macleod – A String Bag of Bones (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 17 February 2014.