David McWilliams was quiet and self-effacing. He was ill at ease in the world of showbusiness and he had an intense dislike for the glitter and hype of the music industry. He was more at home playing in the Fourways Inn, Ballymena, than in the Royal Albert Hall. Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Vol.80, no.9. 2 March 1968. p.44 . Retrieved 13 September 2020. The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Days of Pearly Spencer". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 January 2020.

a b c d e f Stuart Bailie. "Stuart Bailie: The Great Northern Songbook – 3. The Days of Pearly Spencer". BBC . Retrieved 22 June 2014. McWilliams was born in the Cregagh area of Belfast and moved to Ballymena at the age of three. [1] He began playing guitar and writing songs in his early teens. After leaving Ballymena Technical College in 1963, he started an apprenticeship at the Shorts missile factory in Antrim, and also started a local dance band, the Coral Showband. [1] [2] [3] He was a well-respected football player, and had a trial with Linfield as a goalkeeper. [2] [4] On one occasion at a party in London, David McWilliams accidentally broke a prized Appalachian lap dulcimer owned by Billy Connolly. Mortified, he asked how he could best make amends. Connolly replied that a copy of his latest album for his brother, a keen fan, would be more than adequate.Before the year 1967 was out, he had recorded three albums of his own compositions, an extraordinary feat of creativity given that some of today's top artists take three years to record one album.

The recording was produced by Mike Leander who formed a sweeping orchestral arrangement for the song. Leander had previously provided arrangements for such records as " She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles and Marianne Faithfull's " As Tears Go By." [4] Days of Pearly Spencer" (or in later releases " The Days of Pearly Spencer") is a 1967 song written and originally performed by Northern Irish singer-songwriter David McWilliams, [1] [2] and included on his second album David McWilliams Vol. 2. [3] Although it charted in several countries in continental Europe and in Australia, the original version was not a chart success in either the United Kingdom or Ireland. The song was rerecorded by McWilliams with a new arrangement in his album Working for the Government (1987). In 1992, a cover version by English pop singer Marc Almond reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and number eight in Ireland. As well as being an accomplished musician, David McWilliams was a talented footballer who, in different circumstances, might have joined a Cregagh-born contemporary, George Best, in the professional ranks. Signed by Linfield FC from amateur side Harryville, he immediately became the first-team goalkeeper. Unfortunately, an ankle injury kept him out of the game for four months by which time his musical career had taken off. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol.9, no.20. 16 May 1992. p.27 . Retrieved 31 January 2020.A daughter of the late, lamented Ulster singer David McWilliams has recorded her own moving version of her father's most famous song to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the day it was released on the crest of an unprecedented wave of publicity.

The video clip created for the song contains footage of the singer playing his guitar on the wharf close to the Oudegracht, the main canal in the centre of Utrecht, the Netherlands, easily recognizable for those who live(d) in that city. His début single God and My Country was issued in 1966, and in 1967 The Days of Pearly Spencer was released. Featuring distorted vocals through the use of a megaphone as in The New Vaudeville's Band Winchester Cathedral, the record won David McWilliams much-deserved recognition.Days of Pearly Spencer (song by David McWilliams) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com . Retrieved 12 September 2020. Ned Raggett (29 October 1991). "Tenement Symphony – Marc Almond". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 June 2014.