Andy M. Stewart

Andrew McGregor "Andy" Stewart (8 September 1952 – 27 December 2015) was a Scottish singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, formerly the frontman for Silly Wizard. He was born in Alyth, Perthshire. With Silly Wizard he not only sang, but also played the tenor banjo, mandolin and tin whistles. Stewart toured with Silly Wizard until the band broke up in 1988. Since then, he recorded four solo albums, as well as three with Manus Lunny. Several of Stewart's songs have become well-known within the folk community, including "The Ramblin' Rover", "Golden, Golden", "The Queen of Argyll" and "The Valley of Strathmore". In addition, his renditions of classic Robert Burns songs have been well received.Failed spinal surgery in 2012 left Andy paralyzed from the chest down. He died from a stroke on 27 December 2015, aged 63.