David Samuel McWilliams (4 July 1945 – 8 January 2002) was a Northern Irish singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1967 song, "Days of Pearly Spencer".

Life

McWilliams was born in the Cregagh area of Belfast and moved to Ballymena at the age of three. He began playing guitar and writing songs in his early teens. After leaving Ballymena Technical College in 1963, he started an apprenticeship at the Shorts missile factory in Antrim, and also started a local dance band, the Coral Showband. He was a well-respected football player, and had a trial with Linfield as a goalkeeper. Solomon convinced close friend and well established songwriter Dominic Behan to take McWilliams under his wing to the point that McWilliams moved into the Behan family home in West London, an environment within which he was able to focus on songwriting; the impact of Behan's influence is difficult to determine but, it can be seen that McWilliams' live performances became much more self-assured, a key to future success. Following a period of five months in Behan's household, Solomon was able to negotiate a contract with CBS Records, which released his first, unsuccessful single "God and My Country" in 1966, before signing McWilliams to his own new Major Minor label. McWilliams and Behan were to remain close friends until the death of Dominic Behan in 1989.

McWilliams' first album, David McWilliams Singing Songs by David McWilliams, was produced and arranged by Mike Leander, and reached number 38 on the UK Albums Chart. He quickly recorded a second album, David McWilliams Volume 2, which reached number 23 in the same album chart and featured the single "Days of Pearly Spencer".

Exposure on Radio Caroline and through advertisements in the UK music press in the summer of 1967 helped generate interest and sales in continental Europe, and the record was a Top 10 hit in numerous countries including France, Belgium and the Netherlands, selling a million copies worldwide. Reportedly, David Bowie once named McWilliams as his favourite songwriter. A compilation album, The Days of David McWilliams, was issued by RPM Records in 2001.

  • Bucket Full of Dreams (1995) Ja Records (Private release)
  • Using Me (2003) – Blueprint

Soundtrack albums

  • Gold (1972) – Mother (Three tracks: "Go On Back to Momma", "Gold" and "Move over Gabriel")

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="6"| Chart Positions

|-style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="35"|UK

! width="35"|AU<br/>

! width="35"|BEL<br />

! width="40"|GER<br />

! width="35"|NL<br />

! width="35"|FR<br />

|-

|rowspan="1"|1966

|style="text-align:left;"|"God and My Country"/"Blue Eyes"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="1"|1967

|style="text-align:left;"|"Harlem Lady"/"Days of Pearly Spencer"

|51

|32

|2

|47

|8

|1

|-

|rowspan="3"|1968

|style="text-align:left;"|"Marlena"/"How Can I Be Free?"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"This Side of Heaven"/"Mr Satisfied"

| —

| —

| 42

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Who Killed Ezra Brymay?"/"Marlena"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="6"|1969

|style="text-align:left;"|"Fiori nel vento"/"Correrai, Correrai"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Oh Mama Are You My Friend"/"I Love Susie In The Summer"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"The Stranger"/"Follow Me"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Three O'Clock Flamingo Street"/"What's The Matter With Me"

| —

| —

| —

| —

|32

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Un sasso nel cuore"/"Lo Straniero"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Can I Get There By Candlelight?"

| —

| —

| —

| —

|18

| —

|-

|rowspan="2"|1972

|style="text-align:left;"|"Gold"/"Go On Back To Momma"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Maggie's Coming Home"/"Margie"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|1973

|style="text-align:left;"|"Love Like a Lady"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="1"|1974

|style="text-align:left;"|"You've Only Been a Stranger"/"Ships in the Night"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="2"|1977

|style="text-align:left;"|"By The Lights of Cyrian"/"Toby"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Love Walked In (When You Walked Out Today)"/"Don't Need Your Blues"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="1"|1978

|style="text-align:left;"|"Don't Do It For Love"/"Marko the Majician"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="1"|1979

|style="text-align:left;"|"Circles"/"Dusty Bluebells"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="1"|1981

|style="text-align:left;"|"Black Velvet"/"Every Time"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="1"|1987

|style="text-align:left;"|"Working for the Government"/"Listen to the Heart"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="3"|1994

|style="text-align:left;"|"Candlelight" <small>(with , popularly known as Vanessa)</small>

| —

| —

| —

| —

|31

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Circles"/"Laugh at the Clown" (with Michael Robinson)

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

|style="text-align:left;"|"Dream Street Rose"

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

| —

|-

| colspan="8" style="font-size:90%;" | "—" denotes songs that did not chart or not released in the territory

|}

Notes

References

  • with biography, family contributions, videoclips, all lyrics, photos, and music samples