David McWilliams (musician)

David McWilliams ( born July 4, 1945 in Belfast, † January 8, 2002 in Ballycastle ) was a British singer, songwriter and guitarist.

McWilliams was born in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast. 1948 attracted the parents Sam and Molly with him to Ballymena where he spent his childhood and training as an engineer made ​​in a torpedo factory. After David had recorded a demo tape, he was spotted by Mervyn Solomon as a talent and, conveys to his brother Philip, holders of both the Major Minor Records label as well as the pirate radio station Radio Caroline. His debut single God and My Country was published in 1966.

His biggest hit, The Days of Pearly Spencer, who is from his second album from 1967, did not reach the British Top Ten in the original version; it was not until 1992 Marc Almond with his cover version. However, the bonuses were for this, as McWilliams had lost through mismanagement, the license rights to his music now. In Germany, the song was only in 1976, thanks to a republishing way into the charts.

As quiet and modest artist David McWilliams was not happy on the stage and in the spotlight, but declined in the 1960s with the Dubliners on tour and appeared in the 1980s, sometimes at folk festivals.

After several more minor hits such as Three O'Clock Flamingo Street, Can I Get There by Candlelight, Hiroshima or Letter to My Love was always silent about David McWilliams, his death by heart attack on January 8, 2002, just short of the Irish press commented. He left behind two ex-wives and eight children.

Until his death, he had recorded more than ten albums, three of them alone until the end of 1967.