Danny Wilson (band)
Encyclopedia
Danny Wilson were a New Wave
group
formed in Dundee
, Scotland
.
(vocalist
/guitarist
/keyboardist
) and Kit Clark (guitarist) formed a band with friend Ged Grimes in 1984, initially under the name Spencer Tracy. However, after objections from the estate of Spencer Tracy
, they changed their name to Danny Wilson, as taken from the 1952 Frank Sinatra
film, Meet Danny Wilson
.
Initially spotted busking
around Dundee, they signed to Virgin Records
in 1986. The following year they released the album
, Meet Danny Wilson; the lead single
, "Mary's Prayer" was initially unsuccessful in the United Kingdom
, but it eventually became a Top 30 hit
on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
chart
later that year. Buoyed by this success it was re-released in 1988, and reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart
. The band released its second and final album, Bebop Moptop
the following year, including the hit single "The Second Summer Of Love", which reached number 23. They broke up in 1991.
Following the break-up of Danny Wilson, Gary Clark embarked on a solo
career. He was in the bands King L and Transister
, before turning his attention to writing
and producing
other artists
, such as Natalie Imbruglia
, Liz Phair
, Nick Carter
, Ashley Parker Angel
, k.d. lang
, Ferras
and Spice Girls
Melanie C and Emma Bunton
. He is currently living in Los Angeles
, California
.
Kit Clark continues to perform with his band, Swiss Family Orbison. Having spent time as a music
writer for computer games, Grimes is currently the bass player for Simple Minds
(and has also played with another high-profile Scottish rock band, Deacon Blue
).
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
formed in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
History
Having been initially formed in the early 80's performing under the names Perfect Strangers and then Dream Kitchen, brothers Gary ClarkGary Clark (musician)
Gary Clark is a Scottish musician who formed a band with his brother Kit Clark, and long time friend, Ged Grimes in 1984, initially under the name of Spencer Tracy...
(vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
/guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
) and Kit Clark (guitarist) formed a band with friend Ged Grimes in 1984, initially under the name Spencer Tracy. However, after objections from the estate of Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, they changed their name to Danny Wilson, as taken from the 1952 Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
film, Meet Danny Wilson
Meet Danny Wilson (film)
Meet Danny Wilson is a 1952 film starring Frank Sinatra and Shelley Winters. The movie was directed by Joseph Pevney and written by Don McGuire...
.
Initially spotted busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
around Dundee, they signed to Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
in 1986. The following year they released the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Meet Danny Wilson; the lead single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Mary's Prayer" was initially unsuccessful in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but it eventually became a Top 30 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
later that year. Buoyed by this success it was re-released in 1988, and reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The band released its second and final album, Bebop Moptop
Bebop Moptop
Bebop Moptop was the second album from Scottish pop group Danny Wilson.- Track listing :# "Imaginary Girl"# "The Second Summer of Love"# "I Can't Wait"# "If You Really Love Me "# "If Everything You Said Was True"# "Loneliness"...
the following year, including the hit single "The Second Summer Of Love", which reached number 23. They broke up in 1991.
Following the break-up of Danny Wilson, Gary Clark embarked on a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career. He was in the bands King L and Transister
Transister
Transister is an alternative rock band, formed in late 1995 in Los Angeles, by music industry veterans from both the United States and the United Kingdom. Despite only having released one album to moderate sales, their work has been featured on a number of film soundtracks...
, before turning his attention to writing
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and producing
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
other artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, such as Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
, Liz Phair
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
, Nick Carter
Nick Carter (musician)
Nickolas Gene "Nick" Carter is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, entertainer and actor. He is best known as a member of the pop group, Backstreet Boys. He went on to release a solo album called Now Or Never during their hiatus. He has made occasional television appearances and...
, Ashley Parker Angel
Ashley Parker Angel
Ashley Parker is an American singer and actor also known as Ashley Parker Angel.-Early years:Ashley Parker was born Ashley Ward Parker, the child of Darren and Paula Parker, and raised in the town of Redding, California. His grandparents are of German and Irish descent...
, k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Ferras
Ferras
Ferras Alqaisi , known as Ferras, is a Jordanian-American Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who has signed with EMI as part of Capitol Records.-Career:Ferras grew up feeling out of place in a small Illinois town called Gillespie...
and Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
Melanie C and Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
. He is currently living in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Kit Clark continues to perform with his band, Swiss Family Orbison. Having spent time as a music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
writer for computer games, Grimes is currently the bass player for Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
(and has also played with another high-profile Scottish rock band, Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". The band consists of vocalist Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond....
).
Albums
- Meet Danny WilsonMeet Danny WilsonMeet Danny Wilson was the debut album from the Scottish pop group Danny Wilson. It became a significant hit in America, on the strength of the hit single, "Mary's Prayer."- Track listing :# "Davy" # "Aberdeen"...
(1987) - Bebop MoptopBebop MoptopBebop Moptop was the second album from Scottish pop group Danny Wilson.- Track listing :# "Imaginary Girl"# "The Second Summer of Love"# "I Can't Wait"# "If You Really Love Me "# "If Everything You Said Was True"# "Loneliness"...
(1989) - Sweet Danny Wilson / Three-In-A-Bed Romp (1991)
Singles
- "Mary's Prayer" (1987/1988)
- "Davy" (1987/1988)
- "A Girl I Used to Know" (1988)
- "The Second Summer Of Love" (1989)
- "Never Gonna Be the Same" (1989)
- "I Can't Wait" (1990)
- "If You Really Love Me (Let Me Go)" (1991)