Ian Melrose was born in Middlesbrough, England. As a youth he moved back to Ayr in Scotland with his scottish parents and younger brother. Ian's father was/is a member of the Scottish fiddle ochestra, so traditional music was always "present". His early influences were the famous figures from the "British school of guitar-playing" i.e. Davey Graham, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and John Martyn. After doing a degree in Law(!) and German at Keele university he moved to Berlin in 1981, where he started off doing solo work. In 1982 he founded TWILIGHT; an acoustic folk-jazz trio which, thanks to the unusual arrangements, was winner of the 1985 folk group competition at the Edinburgh folk festival. A record deal with the Scottish company LISMOR followed.
As a founder member of the German folk-pop band BE MINE OR RUN and as guitarist and arranger with the Celtic project NORLAND WIND (featuring Thomas Loefke and Kerstin Blodig) he has made a name for himself on the German acoustic scene. He has done extensive tours of Germany, Holland and Norway and has done studio jobs for many well-known artists. He played the Dresden international guitar festival in May 1998 with Alex de Grassi and Detlev Bunk. A tour through Germany in 1996 with NORLAND WIND brought the contact to Noel & Padraig Duggan of CLANNAD; who in turn suggested Ian for the job of lead guitarist with CLANNAD for the May tour of Ireland, Great Britain and Holland. They were obviously pleased with him and offered him the rest of the "World Tour ’96", which included Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
As a founder member of the German folk-pop band BE MINE OR RUN and as guitarist and arranger with the Celtic project NORLAND WIND (featuring Thomas Loefke and Kerstin Blodig) he has made a name for himself on the German acoustic scene. He has done extensive tours of Germany, Holland and Norway and has done studio jobs for many well-known artists. He played the Dresden international guitar festival in May 1998 with Alex de Grassi and Detlev Bunk. A tour through Germany in 1996 with NORLAND WIND brought the contact to Noel & Padraig Duggan of CLANNAD; who in turn suggested Ian for the job of lead guitarist with CLANNAD for the May tour of Ireland, Great Britain and Holland. They were obviously pleased with him and offered him the rest of the "World Tour ’96", which included Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
