John Watt is a totally unique character and is arguably Fife's foremost contemporary chronicler in song. His songs have been enjoyed by many over the years but remain fresh and new each time they are aired. They were written over a period of nearly 40 years although the timescale covered in the subject matter is much longer than that.

John Watt is a charismatic character - as zany as many of the characters he writes about - and a prolific writer. In the tradition of the 'people's poets' his subject matter is wide-ranging, taking in all kinds of issues but always with a local flavour and with a streetwise perspective. John is a natural wordsmith and most of the time he has chosen song as the vehicle to bear his words.

Traditional song has had a great influence on John and he has had a greater influence on the Scottish folksong revival than most people would appreciate. The overriding image of John is of fun, but below the surface lies some sharp political observation and social comment. His subject matter might mitigate against his name being mentioned alongside such luminaries as Sorley MacLean, Norman MacCaig and even Robert Burns, but it would be a grave misjudgement of his talent if he was not recognised at this level.

John Watt is a native of Dunfermline, Fife, and lived in Milnathort for many years - until defecting to Kinross! He has been involved in the Scottish folksong movement for over thirty years. A past Chairman of The Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland, he has presented numerous documentaries on radio, including 'Fife Connection', 'Howe of Fife Connection' and 'The Fifty-Fifty Ball'. He has also presented 'Celtic Horizons' for BBC radio and 'Fife's Got Everything' for the Odyssey series produced by Billy Kay. He has lectured for the Association of Scottish Literary Studies on Fife Poets and Song-writers, tutored for The Workers Educational Association in Creative Writing and Musical Appreciation and was Chairman of the Milnathort based Love and Liberty Theatre Company.