Dave Wilson

Scottish Dixieland jazz musician, self-taught banjo, guitar and piano player, tuner and restorer. Born August 4, 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland. Died at his home on May 7, 2013. As a banjo player and guitarist, he shared the bill with Kenny Ball's Jazz Band, Aker Bilk and the Paramount Jazz Band, Bob Wallace and the Storyville Jazz Band, Diz Dizzley, and Sandy Brown. After gigging with Dixieland jazz bands around Glasgow, he joined George Ogilvie's band, performing at festivals in Scotland and Holland, before starting to teach himself the piano. By his late 40s he was performing as a lounge pianist across Glasgow. Eventually establishing his own band The Uptown Shufflers, he held numerous residencies, playing annually at the popular Riverboat Shuffle at the Glasgow International Jazz Festival. In 2001 they were approached by Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian to play on their single I Love My Car from their EP I'm Walking Up To Us. This led to supporting Belle and Sebastian on their 2001 Scottish tour. They also featured on the track The Cat's Pyjamas from Isobel Campbell's 2003 album Amorino, and Nick Cook's 2011 album Down at the Zoo which hit the number one spot on the iTunes children's chart. He crossed paths with Belle and Sebastian again when they filmed the music video for their single Jonathan David in his home. They took a series of eccentric photos of him playing various instruments and featured them in the video. Dave also appeared as a lounge pianist in Victoria Wood's Great Railway Journeys. He featured in the BBC Radio documentary Up to High Doe and made a cameo appearance (alongside other members of his band) on the BBC Television show Dear Green Place, playing a brusque band leader who auditions Henderson who wants to join his band.