Michael Slaven (born 4 December 1961) is a session guitarist and record producer from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. A former gardener at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, Slaven became the guitarist for Bourgie Bourgie in the 1980s, and was briefly a member of

Del Amitri Del Amitri are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1980. Between 1985 and 2002, the band released six studio albums. Their 1995 single " Roll to Me" reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Five Del Amitri albums have ...

. He has worked with Ricky Ross of

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut al ...

, Eighteenth after Trinity and

Pearlfishers The Pearlfishers are a Scottish, Glasgow-based rock band, fronted by the singer and songwriter David Scott David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the seventh person to wal ...

, and wrote the music for the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary p ...

Edinburgh's production of

Stephen Greenhorn Stephen Greenhorn (born 5 September 1964 in Fauldhouse, West Lothian, Scotland) is a Scottish playwright and screenwriter. He is the creator of the BBC Scotland soap opera ''River City''. Theatre Greenhorn’s plays have been produced by a wide ...

's play, Passing Places, which he played live. Slaven later composed the guitar score for

Gregory Burke Gregory Burke (born 1968) is a Scottish playwright and screenwriter from Rosyth, Fife. Early life and education Burke's family moved to Gibraltar in 1979 and returned to Dunfermline in 1984. He attended St John's Primary in Rosyth, St Chris ...

's play, ''

Gagarin Way ''Gagarin Way'' is a play by Scottish playwright Gregory Burke, named after a street in the West Fife village of Lumphinnans, on the edge of Cowdenbeath. The play documents the disappearance of socialism from an area where political radicalism w ...

'', also for The Traverse. Slaven also fronts his own band, The Leopards, who released the album ''They Tried Staying Calm''. The Leopards did two sessions for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

in 1997 and 1998. The Leopards have appeared as live backing band for ex Josef K guitarist Malcolm Ross, and in August 2008, guested for an Edinburgh show with former Josef K vocalist Paul Haig. Slaven produced James Kirk's 2003 album ''You Can Make It If You Boogie'', with the Leopards providing the musical backing.

References

1961 births Living people Scottish rock guitarists Scottish male guitarists Musicians from Glasgow Del Amitri members {{UK-guitarist-stub