Danny Wilson was a Scottish pop band formed in Dundee in 1984. The band was best known for its 1988 UK number 3 hit single "Mary's Prayer". The band served as a launchpad for the career of Gary Clark, who also played in the 1990s bands King L and Transister before becoming a successful songwriter for other artists including Natalie Imbruglia, Liz Phair, Nick Carter, k.d. lang and former Spice Girls Melanie C and Emma Bunton. Other former members of the band have played in Simple Minds, Deacon Blue and Swiss Family Orbison. History Background and early history Gary Clark and Ged Grimes grew up together in Dundee, Scotland and played together in school bands. Influenced by soul and pop artists such as Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Burt Bacharach, and Hal David, they eventually moved to London, where they played in the bands Perfect Strangers and Dream Kitchen during the early 1980s. Neither band met with success: circa 1984, while still in London, Clark and Grimes noticed that talent scouts and journalists were beginning to follow the soul and pop scenes in Scottish cities. Returning to Dundee, they teamed up with Gary Clark's younger brother Kit Clark to form a new band called Spencer Tracy (after the film star of the same name). Initially spotted by music journalist Bob Flynn, during a very sparsely attended gig in Edinburgh and after a glowing review piece by Flynn in Melody Maker which attracted much attention from record labels, Spencer Tracy signed to Virgin Records in 1986. After objections from the estate of the actor Spencer Tracy, the band was obliged to change its name. Gary Clark recalls this as "a real last-minute crazy, fearful moment... The album was done, the artwork was done... We were just told, 'If you try and use this, you will be sued.' And so the label just went 'Nope. Change it. Now.'" For their new name, the band chose Danny Wilson, taken from a 1952 Frank Sinatra film called Meet Danny Wilson (itself a favourite film of the Clark brothers' father). The band remained a trio throughout its lifetime, hiring in other members (drummers in particular). Lead vocals were shared between the Clark brothers: Gary, as the band's main songwriter, took the majority of these, but over time Kit would sing more of them. Meet Danny Wilson The band's debut album Meet Danny Wilson, written entirely by