Silly Wizard Live - Donald McGillavry

[@JimmySteller]

Andy M. Stewart was one of the first Celtic musicians that I listened to, and he continues to be the foremost figure in my mind who represents that genre. The world is a smaller place without him in it.

[@fjeldfross9327]

Did once a roadtrip across scottland with my best friends. One was already sick with cancer at this time, she passed last year. We enjoyed our trip with all our hearts, scotland is breathtakenly beautiful. My friend looked like a scottish girl with her bright red hair (nickname "Merida") and she felt at home in scotland. In the first few seconds of this song I saw and smelled her hair, she sitting on the shore of Loch Lomond, lost in the view of rain, clouds, sun, green hills and grey water. Thanks. It a very precious image. But now I need tissues.

[@duncanlaing6078]

Wee kants

[@purplelibraryguy8729]

Silly Wizard were the best. I listen to lots of Scottish and Irish music, there's plenty of good musicians out there, but none of them can blaze through a tune and get my feet moving like Silly Wizard. They had the incredible speed but also the musicality . . . just amazing. I'm sorry about Andy Stewart.

[@cindysnow802]

This song is proof of musical wizardry. How can they play so fast?!

[@canalinhom9371]

Cindy Snow wow your comment got a heart !

[@steffenrosmus1864]

Miller genuine draft!!!!

[@тоткоторый-д6ц]

Whiskey

[@spartacusoconnell3701]

The Irish taught them just after they showed them how to make whiskey !!!

[@benanderson3029]

R.I.P. Andy. one of the best ever.

[@steffenrosmus1864]

One of ?? THE BEST!!@@@

[@maryhahn7370]

The Best

[@mayurpoddar5647]

Hi

[@SlightlySusan]

He really is a fabulous song writer. Lots of people talk about how he is one of the best writers at capturing the traditional spirit. My kids (31, 29 and 24) used to dance to this song when they were tiny.

[@destonlee2838]

The song was written in 1819 by James Hogg. It is a remarkable counterfeit itself, a fabulous story behind it

[@davygameroficial]

​​@@destonlee2838 bro this man is already dead the comment is 13 years old man, and your comment already have 4 mouths 😮

[@destonlee2838]

@@davygameroficial thanks for clearing that up computer chippy.

[@maccarr9923]

@@davygameroficialI feel like the idea with commenting on old stuff like this more for the sake of other people coming along and reading than necessarily reaching the OP

[@davygameroficial]

@@maccarr9923 6 mouths late and im still very active

[@Villagejonesy]

I gave to that fundraiser. I know he died very soon after I gave to it. I thought: if the family uses it for their funeral expenses, or even if they just use my money to treat themselves to a nice dinner out to remember Andy by, that's all right with me. I hope they did. I'm so grateful to Andy and the band for all the great music they gave us. RIP.

[@alexmorris452]

Another bit of gold dust , what a band , and now of course Johnny a nd Andy are no longer with us , that’s the pity …….

[@janiceharrison7799]

Loved these guys! They were the best deliverers of traditional Scottish music.

[@joesmith-t2z]

Silly Wizard was about my favorite Celtic band and Donald Mc Gillivray was about my favorite Silly Wizard song. een if i can't understand half of it. if there is a heaven, God for sure brought these men aboard!

[@fionawynn1674]

Andy M Stewart - the greatest of his generation. A life cut short xxx

[@mezzoly]

The most beautiful voice in Scotland, if not the world. I mean it.

[@Xyalon]

Yet another beauty from probably one of the best Scottish Folk bands to this date. Definitely the most incredible Male Scottish voice out there. Silly Wizard are more assuredly up there. It's amazing, and saddening, however that when reading the comments, all those who claim to have some sort of Irish descent yet can't tell the difference between Scottish and Irish. Accents, language - you name it.

[@NoRefillsLeft]

August 2, 2009, 6:40 p.m. - 10,000 views! Thanks for watching. :)

[@paulgarrett2779]

I saw Silly Wizard 4 times, and those concerts remain the best folk music experiences of my life. Then saw Andy 2 more times after the band broke up. My children were even born to recordings of Silly Wizard. I hadn't known that Andy was ill and had to give up performing, so the announcement of his death came as a great shock! I feel blessed to have heard him perform live so often, and will continue to treasure the recordings of his music. The music world has lost a major talent and a remarkable performer. My condolences to his family and friends.

[@тоткоторый-д6ц]

Andy passed away, RIP. And all the guys genious

[@barbarajaniszyn8890]

There will never be another man like Andy M Stewart...

[@roberttamatea1996]

Absolutely Love these Guys. Ive enjoyed growing up listening to Silly Wizard R.I.P Andy

[@bargainbassist]

Such losses are heartbreaking. I had an audiocassette (remember those?) in 1983, a personal recording I'd made of a solo radio concert by Johnny Cunningham. Absolute gold. Great music, with hold-your-sides humor. My girlfriend at the time borrowed it, loved Johnny's humor and played it repeatedly. Sadly, she lost it. I still lament nearly 30 years later. Some things are irreplaceable.

[@ianyoung7077]

God, they were good. I saw them at the first Vancouver folk festival, along with the my home town team, the Tannahil Weavers, so long ago that many of the other festival performers claimed to have been best mates of Robert Johnson, including one geezer with an outrageously well synchronised tap dancing puppet tied to the neck of his guitar. There were a number of power outages during the weekend and it fell to the Scots, who didn't need this new fangled electricity to keep the party alive. Shared a dram or two of Buchanan's whisky with the boys, with a backdrop of downtown Vancouver glinting in the sunlight and still remember their evening set with love. As one confused local woman asked loudly "is this music?". Silly Wizard was a rubbish name for a band though.❤

[@charliemurraybeattie3573]

Sorry to hear about Andy passing away, I knew him when I lived in Edinburgh when I was with band Brody , Johnny Ramsay left Brody to take over as their sound engineer, and I got to know the boy's. Well if their is a heaven, Johnny Cunningham and Andy will be we entertaining with much laughter and fantastic music, much missed here.

[@Allentaorluath]

SAD to hear after Ansvering an old 2 year´s Comment !

[@paullavan6098]

I only heard yesterday that Mr Stewart had died. RIP mate, you had real talent. I will listen to your songs as long as I live. God bless.

[@webmouse3]

I saw Silly Wizard live back in the 80s. Fun, funny and stirring songs. Sad I am to hear of Andy Stewart's passing.

[@CindySweetwater]

Ahhh, this is footage from the movie Silly Wizard released. One of my friends was in the audience...... Music history and enough musical brilliance and power to enrapture many more generations of celtic music fans and artists.

[@rakaniac]

Silly Wizard reste un de mes groupes préférés en Ecosse. Les frères Cunningham de très grands musiciens et Andy un magnifique chanteur dont j'aimais beaucoup la voix. J'ai continué a écouter ses disques quand il a chanté en solo. Très triste qu'il ne soit plus là.

[@duncanlaing6078]

Aye the auld alliance

[@hoterebel]

Ce groupe est venu chanter dans mon village de 300 hab. en 1979, ou 1980 je crois!!! eh oui j'étais enfant mais jamais je ne n'oublierai !! Que d'émotion pour mon 1er concert ! J'ai encore le disque ! : « So many partings » Trop fun de re écouter leur album now Thank you so much ! I'm listenning scotch music since 2 weeks now and I love it so much

[@SuperPeader]

RIP Andy. One of my favorites who blazed a path for Scottish folk music. Great voice, great stage presence and a great performer.

[@tjaehnigen]

I remember seeing them, only but once, in washington dc in 1986? What an incredible, incredibly infectious show. To hsve heard them for maybe 6 or 7 years and then seeing them live. It's like seeing a storm on tv and seeing a storm for real, the wind is howling, the light is only from the lightning in the sky, your skin is wet and cold and your heart is beating like it is on fire...man alive what an experience!

[@icewaterchrist]

I was fortunate enough to see Silly Wizard once in the early 80s at New York's Bottom Line with Robin Williamson filling out the bill. They blew me and my friends away with their energy and spirit. I'll always regret not keeping better track of Andy and seeing him when he came around. So go see your favorites, they won't last forever!!

[@davenuttall9365]

Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for the translation too. Silly Wizard was a big part of my childhood and I'm passing it on to my young kids.

[@paulmcgillivray8318]

Sorry to hear of Andy Stewart passing away. The Silly Wizards music has been a tradition in our family for many many years. RIP

[@PeterPlaysgamez]

are you related to the real donald macgillivray?

[@paulmcgillivray8318]

@@PeterPlaysgamez no the character in the song is a fictional character Andy wrote about for the song.

[@PeterPlaysgamez]

@@paulmcgillivray8318 I thought he was a british highland sea commander that fought in world war 2

[@devlin0208]

What an underrated awesome band. I met Andy 20+ years ago with Manus Lunny and some others.

[@KeshHarp]

Rest ye gentle Johnny...now walk softly in the land o the leal

[@wolflord9455]

This is one of my favorite songs, I’ve been listening to it since I was like, 6 ^^

[@sarapinsky315]

Was so fortunate to see Silly Wizard several times in concert. So sorry to hear of Andy's passing. He was a fantastic person and singer, and one of the funniest people I ever had the pleasure to meet. May he rest in peace.

[@carolynbecket8701]

So sad to hear about Andy's death. Silly Wizard were my musical introduction to Scotland in 1972 and we had many good times together, particularly in Glenelg. Kept in touch with him long after whenever I was working in the BBC and needed a contact number. A brilliant singer and a great loss.

[@SouthCountyGal]

Silly Wizard's music loomed large in my formative years, and Andy's voice was always a fascination for me. The first we heard of the band was when a friend showed up on our doorstep in a bit of a panic, asking to borrow my mother's bodhran -- Silly Wizard had a concert that night (New England, probably around 1981/2) and some of their instruments had gone missing on the flight over. My mother received one of their albums as a thank you, which is how we heard them for the first time. Thank you for posting this clip, as well as the update on his passing. What a shame that he went through so much suffering.

[@svartalf939]

Thank you very much for this story. Very touching, especially now!

[@SouthCountyGal]

One of my favorite Silly Wizard songs. Thank you for posting it! I am always startled to see how still they are in performance. When you hear their music, it is so full of motion. Economical Scots!

[@chucksheldon7701]

I can't get enough of this band. I was born in the wrong region and time 😢

[@elenavanbc]

so lucky I saw them live in the 80s...unforgettable

[@santadavid3320]

Silly Wizard is still the best Scottish traditional group on recorded music. Andy is sorely missed. Ever since I discovered my Scottish roots from doing my genealogy, I've gotten even deeper into it. Innes, Gordon, McFarlane/McFarland, Drummond, and Stewart, etc, are all in my tree.

[@EverybodyLovesMaria]

Are you kidding??? I ADORE THIS SONG!!! It cheers me up better than any stupid rock-music!..

[@threeravenstribe]

RIP Andy

[@jennyrose9454]

Such a weird bizarre awesome song. Love it

[@trollfinger]

I've only heard of these guys recently. What a great bloody band!

[@ortholev]

Очень красиво! Ths from Moscow!

[@Minecraftmoderz75]

Shedletsky lead me to this song a while ago. Thanks man.

[@JeanneW777]

So sorry to learn of Andy's passing. Heard Silly Wizard play live around the time Donald McGillavry was first released on album at the Blarney Stone in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pa. Another great one gone. So sad. Rest in Peace, Andy.

[@heatherjansen4652]

The voice and band that made me fall in love with traditional music, late at night on the Gene Shay show in Philadelphia. I drove many miles for band and solo shows. May Heaven's Ceilidh be a finer one now that Andy has joined it.

[@moragmacgregor6792]

You KNOW it is. I heard that Jimi sits in on acoustic when he's not on tour

[@killiekentman]

sad to hear of Andy's passing. i was lucky to see them often in Irvine at the folk club. still play their music today. RIP.

[@6spongey98]

I'm very impressed with his fast singing and their speedy playing. Very impressive.

[@jackdunn8136]

Been trying to understand the lyrics for 40 years. That and understand the meaning of highlander.

[@Hao2eu]

at school with the cunninghams it was always known there were into weird folky stuff (unlike most of us who were listening to Zep and Floyd and in my case Arthur Brown) - by the time I was t Uni i started to appreciate just how good they were. Now I wish i had spent morre time listening to them having sessions in the lunchtimes in the school hall...RIP Johnny

[@TheEgil92]

Потрясная песня.

[@trition1234]

man this is so nostalgic~

[@webmouse3]

I met Andy and Manus when they played a gig in Alexandria, VA back in the early 80s. Lovely lads. Andy's death hit me hard. I shall no see his like again.

[@joannamcpeak7531]

Have loved them forever. Saw them in Waterford Virginia long time ago

[@irishclown66]

From Canada ... my roots ..............

[@gaconnochie]

@LouisAndPillz The song both music and words are thoroughly Scottish as is the group singing it. The little bit tune on the accordian which has been woven between the verses is O'Neill's Cavalry March which I presume is Irish.

[@salal2007]

didn't know - I loved Silly Wizard and was so lucky to see them live in VAncouver long time ago...

[@Khaywolf]

When The Wild Oats (a band I was in) did this song, I played didjeridu in a duet with the flute player for the instrumental breaks. I loved doing this.

[@moragmacgregor6792]

Nice

[@smcgilli34]

Just had this excellent song introduced to me! Thanks for posting it!!!

[@ctrlaltdestroypower281]

Rest in perfect peace

[@StevesSlideandJazz]

I heard these blokes in a living room concert in Ojai CA in 1983.

[@NescafeXpress89]

I just can't stop listening to this song... It's just fu**ing addictive

[@CaTheYowes]

You always play things faster live. It's the adrenalin

[@jesumistro4771]

Damn they went fast at the end

[@jimm7803]

Yes the very best!

[@moragmacgregor6792]

Righteous and Fierce!

[@NoRefillsLeft]

Some more info from Google: "James Hogg places his song as belonging to one of the Jacobite risings in 1715 or 1745. A McGillavry of Drumglass was mentioned in a song called the Chevalier's Muster Roll of 1715. In the 1745 rebellion A Colonel McGillavry led the Clan McIntosh. And it was certain Farquhar McGillevrey who slew Colonel Gardener at the battle of Prestonpans. The name is used here as a convenient designation for the Highlanders loyal to the Stuart cause."

[@johnmacleod4481]

Andy M Stewart is a terrifically massive loss to folk and Scottish music he leaves us with a catalogue of songs stories and music which will never fade with age time and relativity to coin the title of one of Phil Cunninghams albums

[@chicharoni2822]

I wish I had the chance to see them. One of my favorite groups. This is done turbo speed!!

[@realmoon]

Very nice. I'm so impressed with how fast they can play O.O

[@justforever96]

Huh; that's very interesting. I heard this song Donald Mcgallavry by a group called "The Empty Hats", which I loved. It sounds exactly like this, excpet the lyrics are different. Is this the original version? It was also funny, my mother is in the other room, and when the song started she says "that sounds like Silly Wizard!". I'd never even heard of them. I guess she saw them live in Montpelier VT, when they first began touring. Funny coincedence!

[@CaTheYowes]

I know. He's just a fabulous song writer. the variety of subjects that he writes about is amazing. My favourite is golden golden

[@jonatkinsonriver1]

Brilliantly mad Thank you 💚

[@orancarter]

So sorry to here of his passing.

[@CoreyPurcellMusic]

Unbelievable!!! I love these guys! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@NoRefillsLeft]

Meine Gefühle genau. :)

[@killiekentman]

thanks a million for posting this. saw them many times in the early days. what a band to watch live in concert.

[@laorlinski3037]

Love it❤

[@PoitinCZ]

I heard this sung in Czech at Keltovani music festival at the weekend...it worked quite well.

[@dangermouse333]

Wonderful.

[@MsMcmoe]

Years ago I bought their Best Of CD having never heard of them but liked the name of the group-it was one of the best decisions ever-I must listen to (and share) this song every St Patricks Day~Thanks for posting this live performance!

[@overundergaming4155]

rip Andy

[@Freerider829]

I like the song

[@dianasnow2866]

I dare anybody to do this to karaoke!

[@limbrat5448]

I've even been practicing, and I wouldn't dare.

[@roberttamatea1996]

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@dianasnow609]

Wow. I have no idea how a human can play that fast without messing it up! Awesome tune.

[@AndrasooPuddle]

There needs to be more Silly Wizard/Andy M Stewart on youtube!

[@LindsayCurran]

Awesome! *****

[@dampierer]

Soys los MEJORES ! Saludos a todas las personas que amamos el FOLK , saludos desde Galicia !

[@phaphoutis]

cheers GREAT brilliant

[@Hwyadylaw]

Silly Wizard : Funny in a SILLY way, and their music is pure WIZARDery.

[@Korth23]

@gryphonvert Silly Wizard "Live Again" - the remastered, repackaged, complete CD of the band's "Live In America" & "Golden, Golden" LPs is out!!! Available only direct from the band at sillywizard.co.uk

[@bobcooter]

Great performance.

[@Bearenf]

thanks silly wizard,god bless you

[@MacccccandJoeeeee]

So cool

[@Benandbjshow]

awesome u put the lyrics

[@Chocmarywarren]

good song to end a concert with!