2006 Angel Awards Monaco International Film Festival angel awards

Angel Awards Head of Jury 2006 : DONOVAN

DONOVAN BIOGRAPHY

donovanDuring the mid-`60s, Donovan fully embraced the wide-eyed optimism of the flower- power movement, his ethereal, ornate songs radiating a mystical beauty and childlike wonder. His recordings remain quintessential artifacts of the psychedelic era, capturing the peace-and-love idealism of their time to perfection. And the message of Peace in Donovan's songs is needed today more than ever.

 

Donovan Leitch was born May 10, 1946 in Glasgow and raised outside of London , at 18 he recorded his first demo, and in 1965 was tapped as a regular on the television pop showcase Ready, Steady, Go! He soon issued his debut single "Catch the Wind”.

Donovan`s follow-up single, "Colours," was also a hit, and after making his American debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he issued Fairytale, his second and last LP for the Hickory label. Signing with Epic in 1966, he released his breakthrough album, Sunshine Superman, which in its exotic arrangements and pointedly psychedelic lyrical outlook heralded a major shift from his previous work, the title track topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic , with the enigmatic "Mellow Yellow" reaching the number two spot a few months later. Donovan remained a chart fixture throughout 1967, generating a series of hits including "Epistle to Dippy," "There Is a Mountain," and "Wear Your Love Like Heaven", that year he traveled to India alongside the Beatles to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a journey which inspired him to renounce drug use and encourage his listeners to turn to meditation. The ambitious double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden followed, and in 1968 Donovan resurfaced with The Hurdy Gurdy Man, scoring a Top Five smash with the hallucinatory title cut, the record also yielded the hit "Jennifer Juniper."

The album Barabajagal from 1969 generated the Top 40 hit, "Atlantis". He collaborated with the Jeff Beck on this albums title track “Barabjagal”, with whom he also worked on 1970`s Open Road . He returned to his celtic roots to live in Ireland, and starred in and scored the 1972 film The Pied Piper. Cosmic Wheels and Essence to Essence , appeared the following year. Following 1974`s 7-Tease , he moved to California`s Joshua Tree desert, promo-ing 1976`s Slow Down World.

In 1991 The Happy Mondays titled a song in his honor for their groundbreaking Pills `n` Thrills & Bellyaches, he later toured with the group as well. Five years later, Donovan released his LP, Sutras , helmed by producer Rick Rubin. In 2004, he reappeared with the intimate and stylish Beat Cafe, produced by John Chelew. In 2005, Donovan toured North America in conjunction with the critically-acclaimed 3CD/1DVD deluxe boxed retrospective, Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan (Epic/Legacy) and his highly anticipated biography The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man . (St. Martin's Press).

 

Donovan's lifelong passion in meditation and inner development continues today. He recently joined with award-winning filmmaker David Lynch to bring the peace-promoting benefits of “diving within” to a new generation through the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, a nonprofit organization that provides funds for schools to offer instruction in the stress-reducing, creativity-enhancing Transcendental Meditation technique to middle school and high school students in the U.S. and worldwide

 

October 2006

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Visit the official Donovan website at www.donovan.ie




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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