Celtic Music: Silly Wizard

Silly Wizard started in Edinburgh in 1971 with Gordon Jones, Bob Thomas, and Johnny Cunningham. They didn't play too far from home early on because Johnny was still in school. Their first tour was in France in 1972, followed by touring around the UK with Maddy Taylor. The four recorded an album with Maddy, but then she left the group and the album was never released.

The original three members joined with Andy M. Stewart on vocals and banjo. Alasdair Donaldson, Neil Adams, and Freeland Barbour worked with the band for a while, then Martin Hadden on bass and Johnny Cunningham's brother Phil joined with his acccordion after they left. They toured and recorded as a six-piece band for a while. Bob Thomas left before the group recorded So Many Partings as a five-piece group.

Johnny Cunningham left to live in the States, and Dougie MacLean joined for a short while, including the time Wild and Beautiful was recorded. They were a four-piece band for a while, then Johnny, who often sat in when the group was near his home, rejoined. Their ninth and final album, A Glint of Silver was recorded in 1986 and their final show was at one of Bill and Andy Spence's Old Songs events in Vooheesville, NY in April 1988.

Andy M. Stewart has gone on to a successful solo career, while Johnny also played solo and sometimes with Phil. Phil Cunningham has performed with many musicians, including releasing some albums with Shetland Islands fiddler Aly Bain, formerly with Boys of the Lough. Johnny died of a heart attack in December 2003.

Members of Silly Wizard performed with Phil Cunningham and Friends at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow in 2007 (photo, above right). An album of digitally remastered live recordings from the 1980s, Live Again, has been in the works, but no release date has been set.