Mackay was born on 23 July 1946 in
Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England, and grew up in central London, attending
Westminster City School where he was a chorister in the choir of
St Margaret's, Westminster. A classically trained
woodwind player, he studied music and English literature at the
University of Reading. While at university, he played with a band called the Nova Express and, together with future
Roxy Music publicist Simon Puxley, formed part of a performance art group called Sunshine. He also struck up a friendship with
Winchester art student
Brian Eno. , Canada, 1974 In January 1971, Mackay became a member of the
art rock band Roxy Music (formed November 1970) after answering a
Melody Maker advertisement placed by singer
Bryan Ferry; he soon brought Eno into the group to handle "Synthesiser and Tapes". Prior to signing with E.G. Management, Mackay taught music full-time at
Holland Park School and part-time at Bishop Thomas Grant Catholic Comprehensive to support himself. He played
oboe and
saxophone in Roxy Music, becoming known for his
Chuck Berry-inspired
duckwalk during saxophone solos, notably on the raucous track "Editions of You". With his pronounced
quiff,
Star Trek sideburns and
Motown-inspired stage costumes, Mackay made a vital contribution to the unique Roxy Music "look"—much of which functioned as a retro-futurist throwback to 1950s
rock-and-roll performers. His songwriting credits for Roxy Music include the Top Five hits "
Love Is the Drug" (1975) and "
Angel Eyes" (1979), plus "A Song for Europe", "Three and Nine", "Bitter-Sweet", "Sentimental Fool", "While My Heart is Still Beating" and "Tara", together with the early experimental B-sides "The Numberer" and "The Pride and the Pain". He released two instrumental solo studio albums in the 1970s:
In Search of Eddie Riff (1974), an exploration of his musical roots, and
Resolving Contradictions (1978), based on his impressions of a trip to
China. Both albums featured guest appearances from
Paul Thompson (drums) and
Phil Manzanera (guitar) of Roxy Music. He also composed and produced the music for the hit television series
Rock Follies and ''
Rock Follies of '77, with lyrics by playwright and screenwriter Howard Schuman. Both series sired specially recorded soundtrack albums, the first of which reached number one in the UK Album Chart in March/April 1976. The second contained the single "OK?", which reached number ten on the UK Singles Chart in May/June 1977. Schuman and Mackay reunited in 1983 for the BBC one-off TV drama Video Stars'', with Mackay again providing music. He appeared onscreen in cameo roles in both Schuman projects. Mackay has also worked with
Duran Duran,
Mott the Hoople,
John Cale,
John Mellencamp,
Mickey Jupp,
Yukihiro Takahashi,
Paul McCartney,
Godley & Creme,
Eddie and the Hot Rods,
Tomoyasu Hotei,
Arcadia and
801. He played saxophone on several tracks of Brian Eno's albums
Here Come the Warm Jets and
Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), both released in 1974. In 1981, his book
Electronic Music: The Instruments, the Music & the Musicians was published by
Phaidon. After Roxy Music's dissolution in 1983, Mackay joined with Roxy guitarist
Phil Manzanera to form the Explorers, featuring
Bryan Ferry-soundalike James Wraith on lead vocals. The group released a self-titled album in 1985 and three years later resurfaced as
Manzanera and Mackay. Under this name, they released a further two albums which combined new material with reissued tracks from the Explorers album. From 1988 to 1991, Mackay largely abandoned music to take a three-year
Bachelor of Divinity course at
King's College London. During this time, he played on and produced a Christmas album with the Players, a group of English folk musicians. He has written several themes for British television and radio, such as the memorable theme music for the late 1970s series
Armchair Thriller and
Hazell. at the
LG Arena in
Solihull, 2011 With Ferry, Manzanera and Thompson, he took part in the Roxy Music reunion concerts of 2001, with further scattered live dates in 2003, 2005/6, 2011 and 2022 when Roxy Music celebrated their 50th anniversary. In 2014, he became a founder member of
Clive Langer's new band, the Clang Group, playing two dates in London in October 2014 and recording an EP for
Domino. 2018 saw the completion of his setting of '3Psalms' which started as an experimental project in the mid-1990s, aiming to be a synthesis of Mackay's varied influences—from his classical training to his rock-and-roll, avant-garde electronica, and even his years as a boy chorister. Picking up in 2012, Mackay went back into the studio, scoring strings, choir, synthesisers, guitar and some other rock elements. Fellow Roxy musician Phil Manzanera guested on both the album and the London concert premiering the work, which also featured orchestral reworkings of several Roxy Music tracks under the banner 'Roxymphony'. ==Discography==