Scottish trio Danny Wilson formed in Dundee in 1984 and were originally known as Spencer Tracy until they signed to Virgin Records in 1986 and were obliged to change their name after objections from the estate of the actor Spencer Tracy.
Throughout their career, the line-up of brothers Gary and Kit Clark and their friend Ged Grimes was supplemented as required by session musicians, usually drummers.
The band’s debut album Meet Danny Wilson was released in 1987 and provided the single Mary’s Prayer which was a surprise US Top 40 hit and peaked at #3 in the UK.
The album generated two more singles, Davy and the superb A Girl I Used To Know, but neither matched the success of Mary’s Prayer.
A second album, Bebop Moptop was released the following year, yielding the singles Never Gonna Be The Same and The Second Summer of Love which reached #23 in the British charts.
Three more singles followed – If Everything You Said Was True, If You Really Love Me (Let Me Go) and I Can’t Wait – but despite Virgin’s promotional efforts, none of them were hits.
By the time the band began to demo the third Danny Wilson album in 1991, all three members had written more songs than would fit onto the album.
Kit Clark made an attempt to solve the situation by persuading Virgin to let him record a solo album but was rebuffed – following this, he decided to leave the band which effectively broke up the band.
The song Mary’s Prayer enjoyed a mini-revival through its inclusion on the soundtrack to the hit film There’s Something About Mary in 1998. The band reunited for the first time in 25 years playing Mary’s Prayer at the opening ceremony of the Ryder Cup in Glasgow on 24 September 2014.
Gary Clark
Vocals, guitar, keyboards Kit Clark
Vocals, guitar, keyboards Ged Grimes
Bass, keyboards, vocals
Video
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A second album, Bebop Moptop was released the following year, yielding the singles Never Gonna Be The Same and The Second Summer of Love which reached #23 in the British charts.
