Biography
Meeting at the intersection of tender sophisti-pop, expansive soft rock, and more fervent college rock, Gary Clark gained recognition through his role in the charting British threesome Danny Wilson and through subsequent efforts as a solo performer, a songwriter and producer available for hire, and a composer of film scores. The ensemble, assembled during the middle of the 1980s, achieved a U.S. Top 30 placement and a U.K. Top Three position with “Mary’s Prayer,” drawn from its first long-player, Meet Danny Wilson, issued in 1987. Titled after the 1952 Frank Sinatra picture, the album’s poised and refined settings displayed the imprint of 1960s soul, Burt Bacharach, and Steely Dan. The outfit issued only one further record, the U.K. Top 30 entry Bebop Moptop, before its participants separated in 1991. Clark put out a comparably textured solo effort titled Ten Short Songs About Love in 1993 and joined two short-lived groups, King L and Transister, before accumulating production credits on behalf of Natalie Imbruglia, Nick Carter, and Melanie C. Concurrently, instances of his compositional work surfaced on albums by Lloyd Cole, Deacon Blue, Liz Phair, and numerous additional artists. In 2007 Clark relocated to Los Angeles, where he supplied material for Demi Lovato’s Billboard 200-topping Here We Go Again (2009) and Delta Goodrem’s Australian number-two Child of the Universe (2012), while remaining in demand for his studio contributions. Following his return to the U.K. in 2014, he formed a collaboration with screen writer and director John Carney; their joint projects encompassed the soundtrack to the successful independent feature Sing Street together with songs created for the movie’s fictional 1980s group. Clark and Carney later reunited for the 2023 picture Flora and Son.
Born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1961, Gary Clark performed with several London-based ensembles during the early 1980s alongside his associate Ged Grimes, including Clark’s Commandos and Dream Kitchen. After resettling in Dundee in 1984, the pair established the trio Spencer Tracy with Gary’s sibling Kit Clark. Bearing partial influence from classic soul and featuring a rich sophisti-pop texture that invited comparisons with acts such as the Big Dish, Deacon Blue, and Prefab Sprout, the group secured a contract with Virgin Records in 1986 yet changed its identity to Danny Wilson—taken from the 1952 Frank Sinatra film Meet Danny Wilson—after objections arrived from the estate of actor Spencer Tracy.
Issued in April 1987, the trio’s opening album, Meet Danny Wilson, was composed in full by Gary Clark, among them the opening single “Mary’s Prayer.” The track registered an unexpected U.S. success, reaching number 23 on the Hot 100, and the band supported Simply Red on an American tour later that year. Although it had not entered the U.S. Top 75, the single climbed to number three in the U.K. upon its 1989 reissue by Virgin U.K. The same year the song appeared in the successful romantic comedy There’s Something About Mary. The album itself attained number 65 in Britain and number 79 on the American album chart. The successor, Bebop Moptop, surfaced on Virgin in July 1989 and contained two compositions by Kit Clark, one of them co-written with Grimes, in addition to further tracks by his brother. While it did not register on foreign charts, it attained a career-best position of number 24 in the United Kingdom.
Citing collective dissatisfaction regarding track selection for a projected third album, persistent uncertainty surrounding the group name, and additional factors, the members parted on amicable terms and issued the compilation Sweet Danny Wilson in 1991. That year Kit Clark released the solo EP Lovedung on Reverb Records, and the material Gary Clark had prepared for the unrealized third Danny Wilson album appeared instead on the complete solo collection Ten Short Songs About Love. Both Kit Clark and Ged Grimes participated on the record. Kit subsequently formed the groups Pony and the Swiss Family Orbison while also issuing solo material, and Ged Grimes pursued work as a music writer in addition to performing with Deacon Blue and assuming the bass chair with Simple Minds in 2010.
During intervals with the bands King L—who delivered the album Great Day for Gravity in 1995—and Transister—whose self-titled record appeared in 1997—both featuring bassist Eric Pressly, and the latter also including vocalist Keely Hawkes, Gary Clark grew steadily occupied as a producer and songwriter. He fulfilled both functions on the track “Breed” for Lauren Christy, which was placed on the platinum-certified soundtrack to 1997’s Batman & Robin. He received a songwriting credit on that year’s Drag by k.d. lang as well as on releases by Donna Lewis and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (including the single “Lost Weekend”) before the decade closed. Clark and Pressly supplied a remix of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Wishing I Was There,” which led to Clark co-writing eight songs with the artist that were included on her 2001 album White Lilies Island; he likewise co-produced the set and contributed instrumental performances. In the same year he shared credit with Ricky Ross on two compositions for Deacon Blue’s Homesick. In 2002 his name appeared among the composer credits on projects by Julia Fordham and Nick Carter, among others. The following year brought collaborations with Liz Phair, Melanie C, and Mark Owen. He rejoined Imbruglia for 2005’s Counting Down the Days.
Clark shifted temporarily to Los Angeles beginning in 2007. Among the notable outcomes of that period was his production and co-writing of “Got Dynamite,” featured on Demi Lovato’s 2009 album Here We Go Again, which topped the U.S. chart. That year he also contributed to two songs on Imbruglia’s Come to Life, including “Want,” whose additional co-writers included Coldplay’s Chris Martin. “Kill of the Night,” a composition he created with Gin Wigmore and Julian Hamilton for Wigmore’s 2011 album Gravel & Wine, prompted extensive requests for television, film, and advertising placements, while he co-wrote eight tracks—producing five of them—on Delta Goodrem’s Child of the Universe, which rose to number two in her home country of Australia in 2012.
In 2014 Clark returned to his native city, whereupon Danny Wilson reconvened briefly for a private performance at a friend’s wedding. That September the group delivered “Mary’s Prayer” at the opening ceremony of golf’s Ryder Cup in Glasgow before the participants resumed their individual endeavors.
Gary Clark subsequently joined filmmaker John Carney—director of Once—to compose songs for a coming-of-age comedy-drama centered on an imaginary 1980s band. Released in 2016, Sing Street presented a soundtrack containing more than half a dozen original numbers alongside period hits by artists such as Duran Duran, Joe Jackson, and Hall & Oates. The film received numerous award nominations, among them a Golden Globe nod for Best Motion Picture and a Critics’ Choice nomination for Best Song for “Drive It Like You Stole It,” a track that secured several victories from smaller critics’ organizations. A stage-musical version of Sing Street opened off-Broadway in 2019. Clark later supplied music for the television series Modern Love, for which Carney directed selected episodes, including co-writing and performing the theme. Carney and Clark collaborated once more on 2023’s Flora and Son, another Carney tribute to music and working-class life, this time starring Eve Hewson, daughter of Bono. In the intervening period Clark and Emma Thompson, responsible for book and lyrics, completed work on a stage-musical adaptation of the film Nanny McPhee.
Born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1961, Gary Clark performed with several London-based ensembles during the early 1980s alongside his associate Ged Grimes, including Clark’s Commandos and Dream Kitchen. After resettling in Dundee in 1984, the pair established the trio Spencer Tracy with Gary’s sibling Kit Clark. Bearing partial influence from classic soul and featuring a rich sophisti-pop texture that invited comparisons with acts such as the Big Dish, Deacon Blue, and Prefab Sprout, the group secured a contract with Virgin Records in 1986 yet changed its identity to Danny Wilson—taken from the 1952 Frank Sinatra film Meet Danny Wilson—after objections arrived from the estate of actor Spencer Tracy.
Issued in April 1987, the trio’s opening album, Meet Danny Wilson, was composed in full by Gary Clark, among them the opening single “Mary’s Prayer.” The track registered an unexpected U.S. success, reaching number 23 on the Hot 100, and the band supported Simply Red on an American tour later that year. Although it had not entered the U.S. Top 75, the single climbed to number three in the U.K. upon its 1989 reissue by Virgin U.K. The same year the song appeared in the successful romantic comedy There’s Something About Mary. The album itself attained number 65 in Britain and number 79 on the American album chart. The successor, Bebop Moptop, surfaced on Virgin in July 1989 and contained two compositions by Kit Clark, one of them co-written with Grimes, in addition to further tracks by his brother. While it did not register on foreign charts, it attained a career-best position of number 24 in the United Kingdom.
Citing collective dissatisfaction regarding track selection for a projected third album, persistent uncertainty surrounding the group name, and additional factors, the members parted on amicable terms and issued the compilation Sweet Danny Wilson in 1991. That year Kit Clark released the solo EP Lovedung on Reverb Records, and the material Gary Clark had prepared for the unrealized third Danny Wilson album appeared instead on the complete solo collection Ten Short Songs About Love. Both Kit Clark and Ged Grimes participated on the record. Kit subsequently formed the groups Pony and the Swiss Family Orbison while also issuing solo material, and Ged Grimes pursued work as a music writer in addition to performing with Deacon Blue and assuming the bass chair with Simple Minds in 2010.
During intervals with the bands King L—who delivered the album Great Day for Gravity in 1995—and Transister—whose self-titled record appeared in 1997—both featuring bassist Eric Pressly, and the latter also including vocalist Keely Hawkes, Gary Clark grew steadily occupied as a producer and songwriter. He fulfilled both functions on the track “Breed” for Lauren Christy, which was placed on the platinum-certified soundtrack to 1997’s Batman & Robin. He received a songwriting credit on that year’s Drag by k.d. lang as well as on releases by Donna Lewis and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (including the single “Lost Weekend”) before the decade closed. Clark and Pressly supplied a remix of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Wishing I Was There,” which led to Clark co-writing eight songs with the artist that were included on her 2001 album White Lilies Island; he likewise co-produced the set and contributed instrumental performances. In the same year he shared credit with Ricky Ross on two compositions for Deacon Blue’s Homesick. In 2002 his name appeared among the composer credits on projects by Julia Fordham and Nick Carter, among others. The following year brought collaborations with Liz Phair, Melanie C, and Mark Owen. He rejoined Imbruglia for 2005’s Counting Down the Days.
Clark shifted temporarily to Los Angeles beginning in 2007. Among the notable outcomes of that period was his production and co-writing of “Got Dynamite,” featured on Demi Lovato’s 2009 album Here We Go Again, which topped the U.S. chart. That year he also contributed to two songs on Imbruglia’s Come to Life, including “Want,” whose additional co-writers included Coldplay’s Chris Martin. “Kill of the Night,” a composition he created with Gin Wigmore and Julian Hamilton for Wigmore’s 2011 album Gravel & Wine, prompted extensive requests for television, film, and advertising placements, while he co-wrote eight tracks—producing five of them—on Delta Goodrem’s Child of the Universe, which rose to number two in her home country of Australia in 2012.
In 2014 Clark returned to his native city, whereupon Danny Wilson reconvened briefly for a private performance at a friend’s wedding. That September the group delivered “Mary’s Prayer” at the opening ceremony of golf’s Ryder Cup in Glasgow before the participants resumed their individual endeavors.
Gary Clark subsequently joined filmmaker John Carney—director of Once—to compose songs for a coming-of-age comedy-drama centered on an imaginary 1980s band. Released in 2016, Sing Street presented a soundtrack containing more than half a dozen original numbers alongside period hits by artists such as Duran Duran, Joe Jackson, and Hall & Oates. The film received numerous award nominations, among them a Golden Globe nod for Best Motion Picture and a Critics’ Choice nomination for Best Song for “Drive It Like You Stole It,” a track that secured several victories from smaller critics’ organizations. A stage-musical version of Sing Street opened off-Broadway in 2019. Clark later supplied music for the television series Modern Love, for which Carney directed selected episodes, including co-writing and performing the theme. Carney and Clark collaborated once more on 2023’s Flora and Son, another Carney tribute to music and working-class life, this time starring Eve Hewson, daughter of Bono. In the intervening period Clark and Emma Thompson, responsible for book and lyrics, completed work on a stage-musical adaptation of the film Nanny McPhee.
Albums
