The MacDonald Brothers

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The MacDonald Brothers
The MacDonald Brothers
Background information
Origin	Ayrshire, Scotland
Genre(s)	Pop/Rock
Years active	2006–present
Label(s)	The Music Kitchen
Website	http://www.themacdonaldbros.com/
Members
Brian MacDonald Craig MacDonald
Notable instrument(s)
Electric Guitar & Vocals

The MacDonald Brothers are a singing duo from Ayrshire in Scotland, consisting of brothers Brian and Craig MacDonald. They first rose to prominence in the third UK seriesof television talent show The X Factor in 2006,^[1] and have since gone on to release four albums and tour the country to sell-out^{[citation needed]} crowds in Scotland.

The brothers are currently signed with Big Jo-Ke Records in Australia but remain living in Scotland. As well as singing, both Craig and Brian play a range of instruments including the violin, accordion, guitar, mouth organ and piano.^[2]

Contents  [hide] 1 The X Factor 2 Albums 3 Tours 4 SECC, Choices for Life 5 Chart performance 6 Singles 7 References 8 External links

[edit]The X Factor

The MacDonald Brothers appeared in the third series of the hit talent show The X Factorin 2006. Originally auditioning in Glasgow, the pair made it through to the "Bootcamp" stage of the competition and eventually the live shows. They were the last in the Groups category to be voted out, finishing fourth overall. They were mentored in the show by Louis Walsh.

They attracted certain criticism from judge Simon Cowell during the live shows, as he believed they did not merit their place in the show.^[3]

[edit]Albums

After The X Factor, The MacDonald Brothers released their self-titled debut album with Scottish record label, The Music Kitchen. This reached number one in the Scottish charts and number eighteen in the UK charts.^[4]

Their second album, The World Outside, was released on 15 October 2007 and included the song "Runaway (Do You Love Me)", written by Sir Elton John.^[5] This reached number 2 in the Scottish Charts.

Their third album, With Love, was released as a limited edition on February 18, 2008 for Mother's Day. This album contained their own renditions of classic love songs and original material.

Their fourth album, Young Celts, was released on October 13, 2008^[6] and the brothers attempted to set a World Record for the most in-store performances and signings in a week. The album reached number 8 in the Scottish album charts.

The MacDonald Brothers' first overseas album with Big Jo-ke, in conjunction with Sony BMG Australia, was released.^[when?] This album was a compilation of tracks from their first three albums. The duo are scheduled to return to Australia later in 2009 to release their Young Celts album.

[edit]Tours

As well as touring with other X Factor contestants on The X Factor Live tour, the duo supported Westlife on their 2008 tour, Back Home, for the majority of the UK dates.

The duo have since toured themselves completing three sell-out^{[citation needed]} tours around Scotland.

[edit]SECC, Choices for Life

During May 2008, The MacDonald Brothers played four songs at Choices for Life, a concert for primary sevens in schools all over Scotland to help them make the right choices about drugs. They sang an extra two songs, "Flower Of Scotland" and "500 Miles".^{[clarification needed]}

[edit]Chart performance

Year	Album	Chart positions
		UK
2007	The MacDonald Brothers	18 [7]
2007	The World Outside	41
2008	With Love	–
2008	Young Celts	112

[edit]Singles

• You Can Always Come Home Son (2009)
• Runaway (Do You Love Me) (2008)

The MacDonald Brothers chart position is heavily based on Scottish sales as their albums were only promoted in Scotland.

[edit]References

[edit]External links

• Official Site
• Fan Site

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