JETHRO TULL star Ian Anderson has revealed he deliberately erased his accent as a child, but still considers himself the epitome of the "dour Scot".
Anderson became famous for playing the flute on one leg while sporting a codpiece as part of the psychedelic, '70s prog rock band.
But the Edinburgh-born musician told the Mail on Sunday that he didn't come out of his shell until he moved to Blackpool with his family when he was 12.
The 69-year-old said: "I started to play music and after a terror-stricken first appearance at the Holy Family youth club in front of a few Catholic schoolgirls, I found my expression and ability to project — something I didn't think I had in me.
"But I spoke with an Edinburgh accent and my classmates called me Jock and thought as little of the Scottish as my primary schoolmates had thought of the few English boys in our class who were constantly teased and bullied."
Though he has lived in Gloucestershire for the past 22 years, he still considers his Scottish roots a big part of his identity.
He said: "I probably epitomise the dour Scot, a Presbyterian, Gordon Brown-like figure who tut-tuts in the background, occasionally gets cheerful if I've had a glass of whisky and sports some of my lunch down my tie."
He also said he wasn't that sociable and doesn't like crowds, saying he and Jethro Tull band members were "like nuns" compared to famous hedonists of the day like Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Elvis Presley.
He has just embarked on a World Tour with the band and will release a remastered version of their second album, Stand Up, next month.
But he said is more than happy to take more of a back-seat these days, compared to son-in-law Andrew Lincoln, star of TV show the Walking Dead.
He added: "I'm used to being ignored when I'm with him. They think I'm his driver or maybe his dad."
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