Sandy Denny

Marc Ellington, American folk singer who became the laird of a Scottish estate – obituary

• Marc Ellington, who has died aged 75, was an American folk rock musician and Vietnam draft evader who became one of Scotland’s leading building conservationists through his restoration of the derelict Towie Barclay Castle. He was a man of warmth and generosity, and his journey from hippiedom to the heart of the Scottish Establishment as Deputy Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire was completely unforced. He was as at home with Prince Charles as he was recording with Fairport Convention or holidaying with David Bowie – whose singing, Ellington’s insouciant young daughters remarked, “wasn’t very good”. Ellington made a success of his music without becoming a household name. As a singer/songwriter and guitarist, he made his first recordings in London in 1968, and five albums and eight more singles followed by 1975.