He was bassist, and a primary song writer, for Celtic rock band Runrig, alongside his younger brother, Calum Macdonald.
MacDonald previously attended the Glasgow School of Art and had a promising career as a graphic designer until Runrig went 'professional'.
Later putting these skills into practice, he designed the sleeve notes for Runrig's Recovery and Heartland albums.
His father, Donald John MacDonald of North Uist, Outer Hebrides, was a World War II veteran.
This experience partly inspired the 1985 song "The Everlasting Gun", featured on the Heartland album, along with news of the Falklands War.