Chad was born in Manchester and grew up in Edinburgh, where he still lives and works. He graduated from Goldsmiths College, London in 1989. McCail's main interests are the links between sexual repression, violence and totalitarian obedience. He explores these themes by depicting a harmonious world in which repression and violence are absent and also by using storyboards to describe the mechanisms of oppression.

McCail's brightly coloured paintings are influenced by illustrations for children's books and are laid out in a simple and didactic manner. His solo exhibitions include: Systemic, Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sunderland (2010); We are not dead, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow (2006) and Food, Shelter, Clothing, Fuel, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore (2004)