Bill Wilkie
Bill Wilkie MBE | |
|---|---|
Wilkie playing his accordion outside his shop in Perth city centre | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Wilkie |
| Born | 6 January 1922 Perth, Scotland |
| Origin | Perth, Scotland |
| Died | 1 May 2017 (aged 95) Perth, Scotland |
| Genres | Scottish accordion music |
| Instrument(s) | Piano accordion, acoustic guitar, melodeon, fiddle |
| Years active | 1940s–1990s |
William Wilkie MBE (6 January 1922 – 1 May 2017) was a Scottish musician and businessman. He was regarded as a leader of Scottish accordion music and, in 1949, established the All-Scotland Accordion & Fiddle Festival (now the Perth Accordion & Fiddle Festival), which still takes place today.
Wilkie's career spanned five decades, during which he met and performed for several British prime ministers, including Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Alec Douglas-Home and Margaret Thatcher.