Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students— Gordon Jones (guitar, bodhran, vocals, bouzouki, mandola), and Bob Thomas (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, mandolin, mandola,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, concertina). In January 1972, Jones and Thomas formed a trio with their flatmate Bill Watkins (guitar, vocals, fiddle) and performed (occasionally unpaid) under various band names in

folk clubs. In the spring of 1972, Watkins returned to Birmingham and, in June 1972, Chris Pritchard (vocals) came in as his replacement. In July 1972, this newly formed trio were offered their first paid booking at the Burns Monument Hotel, Brig O' Doune,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and needed a band name in a hurry. The name "Silly Wizard" was chosen and the continuing stream of bookings ensured that the name became permanent. In September 1972, the trio recruited

Johnny Cunningham Johnny Cunningham (27 August 1957 – 15 December 2003) was a Scottish folk musician and composer, instrumental in spreading interest in traditional Celtic music. Johnny Cunningham was born on 27 August 1957 in Portobello, Edinburgh. He was r ...

(1957–2003) (

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

mandola The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...

, vocals) and Silly Wizard started to take off.

History

Formation

Thomas credited the name of the band to a flatmate who was writing a book of children's stories, and the group first performed as "Silly Wizard" in summer 1972. Chris Pritchard (vocals) replaced Bill Watkins (vocals, guitar) in 1972. From September 1972 until March 1974, the band organized the Saturday night bookings, and regularly performed at, the Triangle Folk Club in

. In February 1973, vocalist Pritchard left the band and was replaced by Madelaine Taylor (guitar, bodhran, vocals). In October 1973, the band was signed to the

Transatlantic Records Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. The company was established in 1961, primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom ...

XTRA label. An album was recorded but before it could be released, Madelaine Taylor left the band in December 1973. The master tapes were subsequently lost and the album has never been released. Jones, Thomas, and Cunningham began touring as a trio in January 1974, and went on the first of many French tours in April 1974. The band added Neil Adam ( bass, harmonium) in September 1974 and Andy M. Stewart (vocals,

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

tenor banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

) in December 1974. In March 1975, Silly Wizard began work on their next album. The band was then joined by Freeland Barbour (

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, bouzouki) and Alastair "Ali" Donaldson (1955-2013) (bass, flute), who replaced Neil Adam in July 1975 when the latter decided to return to university. Their eponymous LP ''Silly Wizard'' was released on the XTRA label and the band began touring throughout the UK and Europe.

Departure of Barbour; addition of Phil Cunningham

In late 1976, Freeland Barbour left the band and was replaced by Johnny Cunningham's younger brother, Phil Cunningham (

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

octave mandolin The octave mandolin (US and Canada) or octave mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted string instrument with four pairs of strings tuned in fifths, G−D−A−E (low to high), an octave below a mandolin. It is larger than the mandola, but smaller ...

, vocals), then sixteen years old. At the same time Alastair "Ali" Donaldson left and was replaced by Martin Hadden ( bass, guitar, piano). This six-member lineup then recorded the band's second LP, '' Caledonia's Hardy Sons'' (Highway/Shanachie, 1978). Founding member Bob Thomas left just as the group began work on their third LP, ''So Many Partings'' (Highway/Shanachie, 1979).

Departure of Johnny Cunningham

Johnny Cunningham departed the band for the U.S. in 1980 and was replaced for six months by

Dougie MacLean Dougie MacLean, OBE (born 27 September 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Described by AllMusic as "one of Scotland's premier singer-songwriters", MacLean has performed both under his ow ...

Dissolution and aftermath

They continued recording until the late 1980s, when the band decided to dissolve after performing for seventeen years and releasing nine albums. The band played its final performance in

Voorheesville, New York Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is named ...

in April 1988.

died on 15 December 2003 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Andy M. Stewart died in hospital in Melrose, Roxburghshire,

on 27 December 2015 as a result of medical difficulties that arose after failed spinal surgery in 2012.

Artistry

Musical style

Silly Wizard played a variety of Scottish folk music, both instrumental and vocal, from fast

jig The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...

s and

reels A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

to slow airs. While the majority of the items they played were traditional songs or tunes, the band did write many compositions of their own. Phil Cunningham generally wrote instrumental music centered on the accordion, and Stewart wrote several songs in a style often distinctly traditional. Once Stewart's singing and the driving, impassioned instrumentals of the Cunningham brothers had established themselves at its centre, the group's overall sound changed little.

Honours

* In

Scots Trad Music Awards The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and ...

, 2003 Silly Wizard were nominated for the best folk band award. * Members of Silly Wizard played at

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of tra ...

in February 2007. * In December 2012, Silly Wizard was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

* 1976 ''Silly Wizard'' * 1978 '' Caledonia's Hardy Sons'' * 1979 '' So Many Partings'' * 1980 "Take the High Road" (single) * 1981 ''Wild and Beautiful'' * 1983 '' Kiss the Tears Away'' * 1985 ''Live in America'' * 1985 ''Golden Golden'' * 1985 ''

The Best of Silly Wizard ''The Best of Silly Wizard'' is an album by Silly Wizard released in 1985 by Shanachie Records. This album has selections from previous recordings by the band. Track listing #"The Valley of Strathmore" (6:17) #"Donald McGillavry / O'Neill's Ca ...

'' * 1986 ''

A Glint of Silver ''A Glint of Silver'' is an album by Silly Wizard released in 1986 on the Green Linnet Records label. This is final studio album recorded by the band. Track listing #"Roarin' Donald/The Man Who Shot the Windmill/A Glint of Silver (4:19)" #"The ...

'' * 1988 '' Live Wizardry - Best of Silly Wizard in Concert'' * 2012 ''Live Again'' (Recorded 1983) * 2016 ''The Early Years'' (studio album)

References

External links

Silly Wizard official website

The Rambling Rovers

Andy M Stewart's Home Page

Johnny Cunningham's Home Page

Phil Cunningham's Home Page

Bill Watkins Home Page
{{Authority control Scottish folk music groups Musical groups established in 1970