McCully/Mackay

The South African Rock Encyclopedia > Rock Legends > 2000s > McCully/Mackay

Legends Of South African Prog Rock

Biography

November 2025

McCully/Mackay is a progressive rock duo formed by South African producer Tully McCully and British-born keyboardist Gordon Mackay. Their music blends technical mastery with emotional depth, drawing on decades of experience across rock, classical, and cinematic composition.

Tully McCully

Tully McCully is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer whose name is woven into the fabric of South African rock. He founded the band McCully Workshop, which became a local staple with its blend of rock, pop, and progressive influences. The band’s 1975 concept album “Ages“ remains a landmark in South African prog rock, showcasing McCully’s ambition and range. As the owner of Spaced Out Sound Studios, he produced and engineered for artists such as Lesley Rae Dowling, Crocodile Harris, Zayn Adam, and Falling Mirror, helping shape the sound of South African music from the 1970s onward.

Gordon Mackay

Gordon Mackay is a classically trained British musician whose electric keyboard and fiddle work brought a distinctive voice to the Johannesburg prog rock scene. He performed alongside his brother Duncan Mackay and contributed to Duncan’s 1974 solo album “Chimera“, a cult masterpiece of progressive rock. Gordon’s career spans live performance, studio work, and composition for film, television, and ballet. His style combines classical discipline with improvisational flair, often weaving cinematic textures into rock frameworks.

Their Collaboration

Gordon joined McCully Workshop in 2014, and after several years of performing together, the two musicians launched McCully/Mackay as a dedicated project. Their music is described as complex, arresting, and at once personal and universal, reflecting their shared love of storytelling through sound. The duo draws inspiration from the golden era of 1970s progressive rock, channeling the spirit of artists like Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Rick Wakeman, with layered arrangements, virtuosic solos, and a flair for theatrical composition.

Together, McCully and Mackay offer a fusion of South African rock heritage and British musical sophistication, creating music that is both grounded and exploratory. Their credentials go back half a century, and their current work continues to evolve with the same passion and precision that defined their early milestones.

Discography

Albums

Singles

• Unicorns Are Screaming (radio edit) (January 2021)
• Flowers in the Dirt (January 2022)
• The Mystery Man (May 2022)
• The Elixir of Life (September 2022) see comments
• Garden of the Snake (July 2023)
• Where Are Your Heroes Now? (April 2025)
• The Quest Trilogy (EP) (November 2025):
  1. The Gates of Thor
  2. The Riddle
  3. The Quest

Videos

Musicians

• Tully McCully: vocals, drums, bass, guitars
• Gordon Mackay: keyboards, violin, vocals

Comments

“The Elixir of Life” was written by Tully in 1969 when he was 16 years old and never fully realised until recorded in 2022 by McCully/Mackay. It was released as a streaming single in September 2022, and appeared on the “Garden Of The Snake” album in August 2023.

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