Born on 9 March 1949 in Lennoxtown, Scotland. Brother of Kevin McGinlay. In 1964 he formed The Strollers with his brothers Kevin McGinlay (lead guitar) and Hugh McGinlay (rhythm guitar) plus their cousin Ernie Slater (drums). Then he joined Friendly Persuasion with his brother Kevin, drummer George Wade (ex-The Tardy Host) and guitarist Brian Denniston. After their disbanding the band Salvation formed in June 1970 with his brother Kevin (vocals), Ian Kenny (guitar) and two ex members of Telephone, Nod Kerr (drums) and Mario Tortolano (keyboards). Six months later Ian Kenny was replaced by Brian Denniston and in 1971 Nod Kerr departed to join the Nicholson Brothers (The Poets) and was replaced by Matt Cairns and Mario Tortolano was replaced by Robin Birrel (keyboards). In 1972, the line up changed completely and Robin Birrel and Matt Cairns departed. They were replaced by Billy MacIssac (keyboards) from The Bubbles, Kenny Hyslop (drums) from The Beings, and Jim Ure (Midge Ure) (guitar) from local band Stumble. In 1974 Kevin McGinlay left the group for a solo career and the Salvation changed their name to Slik. Jim McGinlay left Slik in 1977 and was replaced by Russell Webb