Editing Silly Wizard

{{short description|Scottish folk band}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2010}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Silly Wizard
| image               = File:Silly Wizard2007.JPG
| caption             = Members of Silly Wizard perform at [[Celtic Connections]] with [[Phil Cunningham (folk musician)|Phil Cunningham]] and Friends, February 2007
| background          = group_or_band
| origin              = [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]]
| genre               = [[Celtic music|Celtic]], [[Traditional music|traditional]]
| years_active        = 1970–1988
| label               = [[Transatlantic Records|Transatlantic]], Highway, [[Shanachie Records|Shanachie]], [[Green Linnet Records|Green Linnet]]
| website             = [http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/silly_wizard.html Silly Wizard's "Official" History Pages]
| current_members     = 
| past_members        = [[Andy M. Stewart]] (deceased)<br/>[[Johnny Cunningham]] (deceased)<br/>[[Phil Cunningham (folk musician)|Phil Cunningham]]<br/>[[Martin Hadden (folk musician)|Martin Hadden]]<br/>[[Bob Thomas (musician)|Bob Thomas]]<br/>[[Gordon Jones (folk musician)|Gordon Jones]]<br/>[[Bill Watkins (musician)|Bill Watkins]]<br/>[[Chris Pritchard (folk singer)]]<br/>[[Madelaine Taylor]]<br/>[[Neil Adam (musician)|Neil Adam]]<br/>[[Freeland Barbour]]<br/>[[Alastair Donaldson]] (deceased)<br/>[[Dougie MacLean]]
}}

'''Silly Wizard''' were a [[Music of Scotland|Scottish folk]] band that began forming in [[Edinburgh]] in 1970.  The founder members were two like-minded university students—[[Gordon Jones (folk musician)|Gordon Jones]] (guitar, [[bodhran]], vocals, bouzouki, mandola), and Bob Thomas ([[guitar]], mandolin, mandola, [[banjo]], 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 [[Edinburgh]] 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' Doon, [[Scotland]], 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]] (1957–2003) ([[fiddle]], [[viola]], [[mandola]], vocals)<ref name="Cunninghams">{{cite web|url=http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/johnny.html|title=Johnny Cunningham 1957–2003: Defining Wizardry|author=Laurie Devine|date=July 1993|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204214401/http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/johnny.html|archivedate=4 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/silly_wizard.html Silly Wizard's "Official" History Pages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404210030/http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/silly_wizard.html |date=4 April 2013 }}</ref> 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 [[Edinburgh]].<ref name="musicianguide">{{cite web|url=https://musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003226/Silly-Wizard.html|title=Silly Wizard Biography|accessdate=14 Jan 2022}}</ref>  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]] XTRA label.<ref name="musicianguide" />  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.<ref name="musicianguide" />

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 guitar|bass]], harmonium) in September 1974 and [[Andy M. Stewart]] (vocals, [[tin whistle]], [[tenor banjo]]) in December 1974. In March 1975, Silly Wizard began work on their next album. The band was then joined by Freeland Barbour ([[accordion]], 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 (folk musician)|Phil Cunningham]] ([[accordion]], [[tin whistle]], [[Pump organ|harmonium]], [[synthesizer]], [[octave mandolin]], vocals), then sixteen years old.<ref name="Cunninghams"/>  At the same time Alastair "Ali" Donaldson left and was replaced by Martin Hadden ([[bass guitar|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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/silly_wizard.html|title=Silly Wizard|author=Gordon Jones|accessdate=17 Apr 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404210030/http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/silly_wizard.html|archivedate=4 April 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and was replaced for six months by [[Dougie MacLean]].<ref name="musicianguide" />

===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]] in April 1988. [[Johnny Cunningham]] died on 15 December 2003 in [[New York City|New York]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Harris |first=Craig |title=Johnny Cunningham |publisher=AllMusic|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-cunningham-mn0000817836/biography |accessdate=11 September 2014}}</ref>

[[Andy M. Stewart]] died in hospital in Melrose, Roxburghshire, [[Scotland]] on 27 December 2015 as a result of medical difficulties that arose after failed spinal surgery in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/14170174.Tributes_paid_to_Silly_Wizard_folk_legend_Andy_M_Stewart/ | title=Tributes paid to Silly Wizard folk legend Andy M. Stewart|newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]|location=Glasgow|accessdate=30 December 2015}}</ref>

==Artistry==
===Musical style===
Silly Wizard played a variety of Scottish folk music, both instrumental and vocal, from fast [[jig]]s and [[reel (dance)|reels]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/hall-of-fame/silly-wizard/|title=SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC HALL OF FAME: Silly Wizard|accessdate=14 Jan 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://folking.com/silly-wizard-live-again-reviewed-by-pete-fyfe/|title=SILLY WIZARD – ‘Live’ Again – Reviewed by Pete Fyfe|date=8 Jul 2012}}</ref>

==Honours==
* In [[Scots Trad Music Awards]], 2003 Silly Wizard were nominated for the best folk band award.
* Members of Silly Wizard played at [[Celtic Connections]] in February 2007.
* In December 2012, Silly Wizard was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/hall-of-fame/performers/|title=SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL MUSIC HALL OF FAME: Performers|accessdate=14 Jan 2022}}</ref>

==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]]''
* 1986 ''[[A Glint of Silver]]''
* 1988 ''[[Live Wizardry|Live Wizardry - Best of Silly Wizard in Concert]]''
* 2012 ''Live Again'' (Recorded 1983)
* 2016 ''The Early Years'' (studio album){{cn|date=October 2018}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.sillywizard.co.uk/ Silly Wizard official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130404210030/http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/silly_wizard.html Silly Wizard's former official history pages]
* [https://archive.today/20130105090102/http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/the-rovers/ The Rambling Rovers]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000817010704/http://www.andymstewart.com/  Andy M Stewart's Home Page]
* [http://www.johnnycunningham.com/  Johnny Cunningham's Home Page]
* [http://www.philcunningham.com/  Phil Cunningham's Home Page]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071201185716/http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/gordon.html  Gordon Jones]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130915071906/http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/martin.html Martin Hadden]
* [http://Keltcom.com/  Bill Watkins Home Page]
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Scottish folk music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1970]]