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Alasdair George S. Clayre (9 October 1935 – 10 January 1984) was a British man of many talents: author, broadcaster, singer-songwriter, and academic. He was educated at Oxford University and was a Prize Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Clayre took his own life in 1984 by jumping in front of a train.

Clayre was born in Southampton on 9 October 1935. He won a scholarship to Winchester College, where he became head boy, and a further scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford where, as an undergraduate, his intellect was compared to that of Isaiah Berlin. He graduated with a congratulatory first class degree - the highest class of degree awarded at Oxford (see British undergraduate degree classification) - and won a Prize Fellowship to All Soul's College - one of the highest academic honours in the United Kingdom.

Clayre recorded two albums of songs including many of his own compositions: Alasdair Clayre (Elektra Records) and Adam and the Beasts (Folkways Records). He also appears on the Elektra folk song compilation A Cold Wind Blows. His English translation of La Colombe (The Dove) by Jacques Brel has been recorded by Judy Collins and Joan Baez. Another of his compositions, Train Song, has been recorded by Vashti Bunyan, while Adam and the Beasts has been recorded by Barry Dransfield.

He was married to Felicity Bryan for six years from 1974.

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alasdair Clayre", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0