Nick Keir

{{Short description|Musical artist (1953–2013)}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}

{{more citations needed|date=June 2012}}

{{infobox musical artist

| name = Nick Keir

| birth_place = Edinburgh, Scotland

| birth_date = 14 March 1953

| death_place =

| death_date = 2 June 2013 (aged 60)

| genre = Folk

| occupation = Musician, singer-songwriter

| past_member_of = Finn McCuill

The McCalmans

The Tolkien Ensemble

| website = {{URL|https://nickkeir.com/}}

| associated_acts = The McCalmans

The Tolkien Ensemble

}}

Nick Keir (14 March 1953 – 2 June 2013){{Cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-nick-keir-musician-60-1-2965297|title=Obituary: Nick Keir, musician, 60 - The Scotsman|date=11 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111105150/http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-nick-keir-musician-60-1-2965297|access-date=26 September 2021|archive-date=11 November 2013}} was a Scottish musician from Edinburgh, Scotland, who is best known for his work with The McCalmans.{{cite book|last=Strong|first=Martin Charles|title=The great Scots musicography: the complete guide to Scotland's music makers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRQ5AQAAIAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Mercat|isbn=9781841830414|page=49}} More recently Keir emerged as a singer-songwriter, producing three solo albums and performing as a soloist with The Tolkien Ensemble. Keir regularly played in both Scotland and Denmark at folk festivals and on tours, both with The McCalmans and also at solo gigs.

Keir studied at Stirling University, where he founded Finn MacCuill, a folk-rock band, which for a while expanded into The Finn MacCuill Folkshow, a small touring theatre group, for which he wrote the scripts. In the late 1970s, Keir joined 7:84 Theatre Company Scotland as a writer and musician, and soon after joined The McCalmans Folk Group.{{Cite web|title=McCalmans Home Page|url=http://www.the-mccalmans.com/|access-date=2021-07-30|website=www.the-mccalmans.com}}{{Cite web |title=Nick Keir - 1953 - 2013 |url=https://musicscotland.com/products/nick-keir-1953-2013 |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=Music Scotland |language=en}}

Keir later played with Stephen Quigg (a former member of The McCalmans) in a duo as well as being a soloist. Other collaborations included work on The Complete Works of Robert Tannahill and appearing regularly with the Holbaek Ensemble in Denmark in a programme of Scots and Baroque Music. Keir mostly played the acoustic guitar and the penny whistle, although he was proficient in many other instruments.

Keir died of cancer on 2 June 2013 at the age of 60, after being diagnosed the year previously.{{Cite web|title=Obituary: Nick Keir, musician, 60|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-nick-keir-musician-60-2469430|access-date=2021-07-30|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Death of Nick Keir 1953-2013 |url=https://www.greentrax.com/ |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=Greentrax Recordings |language=en}} A compilation album of his greatest hits was released in 2017 to commemorate his life and career.{{Cite web |title=Nick Keir 1953-2013 – A double album reflecting the talents of Nick Keir |url=https://www.greentrax.com/ |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=Greentrax Recordings |language=en}}