Ilham al-Madfai (Arabic: إلهام المدفعي) (born 1942)[1][2] is an Iraqi guitarist, singer and composer.

al-Madfai's synthesis of Western guitar stylings with traditional Iraqi music has made him a popular performer in his native country and throughout the Middle East.

[3] Following a three-year sojourn in Kuwait with the group, al-Madfai moved to England to complete an engineering degree.

While in London, he became a regular at the Baghdad Cafe, where he met fellow musicians Paul McCartney, Donovan and Georgie Fame.

Al-Madfai developed a major following in Iraq in the 1970s, but Saddam Hussein's rise to power in 1979 compelled the artist to leave and take construction jobs around the Gulf for much of the following decade.