Paul Haig

Paul Haig (born 4 September 1960) is a Scottish indie musician, singer and songwriter. He was originally a member of post-punk band Josef K, active between 1979 and 1982.

Haig was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and grew up in middle class Oxgangs. His father, Edward, was an owner of a fibreglass factory and his mother, Margaret, was a secretary for a dental practice. His earliest memories of music were listening to Beatles records on his parents’ Stereogram. Though not from a musical family, his father bought him his first guitar at age 12. On his father’s advice, he first learned to play by ear, humming the melody until he could work out the parts. After taking a few guitar lessons, he began to teach himself songs by artists like David Bowie and the Velvet Underground, recording himself on guitars and vocals playing their song The Gift. When he played it for friends in one of his first bands, they encouraged him to be the vocalist as they were too shy. His baritone vocal style was influenced by listening to Lou Reed and Jim Morrison at an early age. Haig later attended nearby Firrhill High School along with future Josef K bandmates Malcolm Ross, Ronnie Torrance (his neighbor since age 8) and original bassist Gary McCormack. He reconnected with Ross at a party a couple of years after they had left high school. While chatting, they discovered they shared similar tastes in music, particularly the Velvet Underground. They began to hang out soon after, listening to music and playing guitar which led them to form TV Art, soon renamed Josef K.