Duncan Maitland

Duncan Maitland is an Irish musician, songwriter and producer. He forms his first band, The Flood, in the UK in 1985, and the group attracts interest from Chrysalis Records. After The Flood dissolves, producer Ronnie Stone suggests him as a replacement for the guitarist who has left the Irish band Picture House. By the end of 1993, Maitland is a full-time member of the band and one of its principal songwriters, and he signs a publishing deal with Chrysalis.

Picture House

Maitland moves to Ireland in 1994. Soon after, the band’s relationship with London Records ends, but it continues to work independently. In 1995, Picture House records the self-financed EP Probably, followed by support slots with The Kinks, Big Country and The Saw Doctors. After a licensing deal with German label Koch International, the band records its debut album Shine Box, which includes Maitland’s song “Fan Club” and “Heavenly Day”, co-written with Pete Glenister. “Heavenly Day” becomes a major Irish radio hit.

The band tours extensively, including support shows with Bon Jovi and a festival appearance in Poland. The following year it continues touring Europe. In 1998, Picture House begins work on its second album Karmarama, for which Maitland writes many of the songs, including “Sunburst”, which becomes the band’s biggest record. In March 1998, the band joins The Corrs on their breakthrough UK tour and later signs with Warner Ireland for the distribution of Karmarama. The album and the single “Sunburst” receive strong acclaim and reach the upper part of the charts. A second single, “All The Time In The World”, co-written by Maitland and Dave Browne, also does well, and the band follows with a run of sold-out shows across Ireland.

In 1999, “Sunburst” is used in a two-year television advertising campaign, and Picture House plays Wembley Arena with The Corrs and Meat Loaf. Maitland then leaves the band after deciding it has reached its limit for further progress.

Solo work and collaborations

After a short break, Maitland works with the Irish band Pugwash, with whom he had briefly worked in 1998. He also starts recording his own material at home and plays solo shows around the country. In 2001, he performs both solo and with Pugwash, and he appears on their second album Almanac. He also writes a soundtrack with Fran King for a short film that wins an award at an Italian film festival. That year, an acoustic version of his song “God Won’t Mind” appears on the Phutloose compilation It’s All Good.

In 2002, Maitland continues gigging and recording, and he shoots a video for “Terry The Toad”. In August that year, he appears at Temple Bar Music Centre for material filmed for a planned DVD project, and the recordings are later used for his live EP Live Alien, released in March 2003 after a nationwide tour with Woodstar.

Later recording and production work

In 2004, Maitland returns to the studio with Pugwash to work on their third album, recording at Abbey Road with XTC’s Dave Gregory and the Section Quartet. Over the next year, he also produces and plays on Fran King’s debut album Beautification, with mastering completed by Jon Astley. During the same period, he writes soundtrack music for the film Detained.

At the start of 2005, Maitland co-writes “Anchor” with XTC’s Andy Partridge and Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh for the finished Pugwash album Jollity. He is also asked to add keyboards to XTC’s “Say It” for the Apple Box release.

Other releases

His later releases include the album Lullabies For The 21st Century and the single “Terry The Toad”.