Scottish rock guitarists

Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician best known for his work as the singer, flautist, acoustic guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member of the rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist who also plays harmonica, keyboards, bass guitar, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone and a variety of whistles. His solo work began with Walk into Light in 1983; since then he has released another five albums, including the sequel to the 1972 Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick, titled TaaB 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock? (2012).

Alexander Young (28 December 1938 – 4 August 1997), better known as George Alexander, was a Scottish singer, songwriter, saxophonist, bassist, guitarist and session musician. He was an elder brother of George Young, the rhythm guitarist and founding member of the Easybeats, as well as Malcolm and Angus Young, founding members of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, and the younger brother of Stephen Young, the father of Stevie Young, who is also a member of AC/DC.

James McLeish Reid (born 29 December 1961) is a Scottish singer/songwriter and the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid in 1983.

Charles Burchill (born 27 November 1959) is a Scottish musician and composer, best known as the guitarist of Simple Minds. He is one of the founders of the group.

Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has performed guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing.

Graeme Hunter Kelling (4 April 1957 – 10 June 2004) was a Scottish musician and the original guitarist with the Scottish pop band Deacon Blue.
Born in Paisley, Scotland, Kelling was brought up in Mount Vernon in the East End of Glasgow and educated at the High School of Glasgow. Born into the Plymouth Brethren sect, he turned away from it in order to travel and to follow music. In the early 1980s he worked in the Glasgow rock music scene as both bandmember (Tune Cookies, On a Clear Day, Precious, and The Painted Word) and session guitarist. Having joined Deacon Blue in 1984 (while the band was still called "Dr Love"), Kelling went on to co-write their 1987 single "Loaded" and the B-side "Ronnie Spector" (the latter from the second single release of "Dignity"). He played on the first four Deacon Blue albums – Raintown, When the World Knows Your Name, Fellow Hoodlums and Whatever You Say, Say Nothing – before the band's first split in 1994.Following the end of his first stint with Deacon Blue, Kelling ran a recording studio and wrote soundtrack and incidental music for film and television. He also took on work as a prose writer, contributing restaurant reviews to The List and travel writing to Peter Irvine's guide book Scotland the Best. Kelling rejoined Deacon Blue in May 1999, and despite being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer early in 2000, continued working with the band for the next five years (contributing to the albums Walking Back Home and Homesick).Kelling died in 2004 in Glasgow at the age of 47. He was survived by his wife (television producer Julie Smith) and two children, Alexander and Grace.

John "Ian" Bairnson (3 August 1953 – 7 April 2023) was a Scottish musician, best known for being one of the core members of the Alan Parsons Project. He was a multi-instrumentalist, who played saxophone and keyboards, although he was best known as a guitarist. He was also known for preferring the sound of a sixpence to a plectrum. In addition to his work with Parsons, Bairnson was also a member of the band Pilot and played guitar on four Kate Bush albums, including the guitar solo on her 1978 debut single, "Wuthering Heights".

John Francis McElhone (born 21 April 1963, Glasgow) is a Scottish guitarist and songwriter.
He played with three bands who have enjoyed a top-20 presence in the UK Singles Chart; the new wave bands Altered Images and Hipsway, and the alternative/pop rock band Texas; both bands have had top-20 UK Albums Chart hits.
He is one of four children of Scottish Labour MPs Frank and Helen McElhone. He is the father of child actor Jack McElhone, who co-starred with Gerard Butler and Emily Mortimer in the 2004 film Dear Frankie.