Phil Cunningham (folk musician)
Encyclopedia
Phil Cunningham, MBE
, born 1960 in Edinburgh
, Scotland
is a Scottish folk musician and composer.
and violin
from a very young age. He attended school in Portobello
, and was raised Mormon
, attending church regularly and playing organ. However, by age fifteen due to issues with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he left, and now describes himself as a spiritualist.
At the age of 16, he joined his older brother Johnny
in the folk group Silly Wizard
, where he played accordion, tin whistle
, harmonium
, guitar
, synthesizer
, and he sang. He also wrote many of the group's songs. After the breakup of Silly Wizard, Phil and Johnny recorded two albums and toured with Irish
siblings Mícheál Ó Domhnaill
and Triona Ni Domhnaill as the quartet Relativity
. Phil has since had a successful solo career, releasing the albums Airs & Graces and The Palomino Waltz, and several collaborations with Scottish folk musician Aly Bain
. He has produced several albums with American folk singer Connie Dover
. In recent years, Phil has also composed classical music and music for theater and television, with 1997 seeing the premiere of his Highlands and Islands Suite at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. In 2002, Phil was awarded the MBE
for services to Scottish music. He was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Letters
at Glasgow Caledonian University
's graduation ceremony on the 27th November 2007.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, born 1960 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
is a Scottish folk musician and composer.
Biography
Phil played accordionAccordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
from a very young age. He attended school in Portobello
Portobello
-Places:England* Portobello, West Midlands* Portobello Road, London* Portobellow, an estate in Wakefield, West YorkshireIreland* Portobello, Dublin, IrelandNew Zealand* Portobello, New ZealandPanama* Portobelo, PanamaScotland* Portobello, Edinburgh...
, and was raised Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
, attending church regularly and playing organ. However, by age fifteen due to issues with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he left, and now describes himself as a spiritualist.
At the age of 16, he joined his older brother Johnny
Johnny Cunningham
Johnny Cunningham was a Scottish folk musician. He was a founding member of Silly Wizard, as well as a member of Relativity, The Raindogs, and Nightnoise. Throughout his career, Cunningham was also a fiddler, composer and producer. His younger brother, Phil Cunningham, is a multi-instrumentalist...
in the folk group Silly Wizard
Silly Wizard
Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones and Bob Thomas...
, where he played accordion, tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, and he sang. He also wrote many of the group's songs. After the breakup of Silly Wizard, Phil and Johnny recorded two albums and toured with Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
siblings Mícheál Ó Domhnaill
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill was an Irish singer, guitarist, and composer, who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century...
and Triona Ni Domhnaill as the quartet Relativity
Relativity (band)
Relativity was a Scotch-Irish quartet formed in 1985 consisting of two Scottish brothers and an Irish brother and sister. The four members of the band were brothers Phil Cunningham and John Cunningham , from the influential Scottish band Silly Wizard, and Irish sister and brother Tríona Ní...
. Phil has since had a successful solo career, releasing the albums Airs & Graces and The Palomino Waltz, and several collaborations with Scottish folk musician Aly Bain
Aly Bain
Aly Bain MBE is a Shetland fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. Bain is now considered one of the finest fiddlers in the Scottish tradition. In the early days of his career he formed part of the band The Humblebums with two other ‘unknowns’ Gerry Rafferty and...
. He has produced several albums with American folk singer Connie Dover
Connie Dover
Connie Dover is an American singer-songwriter who primarily writes and performs Celtic music and American folk music. Born in Arkansas and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, she started her career playing bluegrass before joining Celtic band Scartaglen in the early 1980s...
. In recent years, Phil has also composed classical music and music for theater and television, with 1997 seeing the premiere of his Highlands and Islands Suite at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. In 2002, Phil was awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to Scottish music. He was awarded an honorary
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
at Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland.The university was constituted by an Act of Parliament on 1 April 1993 as a result of a merger between Glasgow Polytechnic and The Queen's College, Glasgow....
's graduation ceremony on the 27th November 2007.
Silly Wizard
- Caledonia's Hardy SonsCaledonia's Hardy SonsCaledonia's Hardy Sons is an album by Silly Wizard originally released in 1978, and re-released in 1989 under Shanachie Records Corp label.-Track listing:#"Mo Chuahlag Laghach "#"The Isla Waters"#"The Twa Brithers"...
(1978) - So Many Partings (1980)
- Wild and Beautiful (1981)
- Kiss the Tears Away (1983)
- A Glint of Silver (1986)
- Live Wizardry (1988)
With Aly Bain
- The Pearl (1995)
- The Ruby (1997)
- Another Gem (2000)
- Spring The Summer Long (2003)
- Best of Aly and Phil (2004)
- Roads Not Travelled (2006)
- Portrait (2010)
With Connie Dover
- Somebody (1991)
- The Wishing Well (1994)
- If Ever I Return (1997)
- The Border of Heaven (2000)