Born and raised in the West of Scotland, Neil Clark developed an early interest in the guitar before attending the renowned Glasgow School of Art painting school, graduating in the early 1980’s at a time when Glasgow was experiencing an explosion of musical activity. Embracing this new opportunity, he shifted his focus back to the guitar and became a prolific contributor to many bands in the city, including Newspeak with Alan McGee and Andrew Innes before meeting Lloyd Cole and Blair Cowan through a mutual friend. The three recruited drummer Stephen Irvine and bass player Lawrence Donegan to form Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.

Touring extensively and releasing three studio albums - Rattlesnakes, Easy Pieces and Mainstream - The Commotions enjoyed considerable success before disbanding in 1990. They reunited in 2004 for a number of sold out concerts in the U.K. and Ireland marking the twentieth anniversary of the release of Rattlesnakes. With interest in the group remaining strong, Universal Music released a 5 CD box set of their complete recordings in June 2015.

In 1991 Neil returned to work with Lloyd Cole in support of the singer's second solo studio album and since then he has remained a regular collaborator in the studio and on tour, playing on the albums Bad Vibes, Love Story, Etc, The Negatives, Music In A Foreign Language, Antidepressant, 2019's Guesswork, and 2023's, On Pain. He has also figured in a number of co-writes and notable performances over the years, including the songs, Are You Ready To Heartbroken, Rattlesnakes and Forest Fire. 

In addition he has worked with a number of artists as a side musician and co-writer on many projects in the U.K., Canada, France and the U.S. - including, The Bathers, Mae Moore, Axelle Renoir, The Negatives, Sleepers, and Clark/Jones/Pottie. 

In 1993 Neil moved to Toronto. As a composer for film and television Clark has enjoyed a productive relationship in Canada with filmmaker and director Terrance Odette, working on two of Odette's films, Heater and Sleeping Dogs, and scoring the documentary TV series, Photograph.

In 2015 Neil studied improvisation and harmony at Berklee College of Music with renowned vibraphonist and educator Gary Burton.