Findlay Napier is a Scottish singer-songwriter and teaching artist from Glasgow, born in 1978. He performs and records in the United Kingdom and is associated with Cheerygroove Records.

Career

Napier first makes his name touring and recording with the traditional Scottish folk band Back of the Moon, where he is a member. He later works in Queen Anne’s Revenge and in Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers, projects in which his songwriting takes a more central role.

His writing is described by The Sunday Herald as following a tradition of songcraft and wit associated with Difford and Tilbrook. He is also regarded as a strong live performer on the Scottish music scene.

Hosting and live events

Napier hosts Glasgow’s open mic night at Bar Bloc and also presents Celtic Connections’ Late Night Sessions. He runs the Hazy Recollections concert series, which showcases new roots music.

VIP: Very Interesting Persons

One of his projects is VIP: Very Interesting Persons, created after he begins an Advanced Mentoring project with Boo Hewerdine through Creative Scotland. The album contains ten songs based on real-life characters, and it is co-written and produced by Hewerdine. It features performances from Louis Abbott of Admiral Fallow, Gillian Frame, Roy Dodds, Hamish Napier and Danish multi-instrumentalist Gustaf Ljunggren.

The first song Napier and Hewerdine write together is After the Last Bell Rings, which is widely covered. Another song from the project, Heddy Lamaar, is about the actress associated with the invention of Bluetooth and WiFi. The album also includes songs about Valentina, the first woman in space; a conman said to have sold the Brooklyn Bridge; the ghost of a pugilist; the pilot who discovers Angel Falls; and the Japanese soldier who continues fighting into the 1970s.