Future bandmates would take to calling Cunningham 'leadfinger' in jest that the bizarre air rifle injury had somehow come to influence his guitar style.
Cunningham himself states that the name Leadfinger was also chosen for his new project as an homage to Mississippi Delta blues legend Lead Belly, his original intention being to perform solo under the name.
Cunningham continues a great tradition of Scottish Australian rock musicians and songwriters in Australia following in the steps of the Young family (members of AC/DC, The Easybeats), Jimmy Barnes, Bon Scott, Colin Hay, Karl Broadie, James McCann and others.
Leadfinger mine the deep seam[9] of underground guitar music back through the 70s rock and punk eras to the classic Rolling Stones and Dylan records of the late 60s and beyond.
Their music embodies a soulful and classic kind of rock and roll and is based around the songwriting of singer/guitarist Stewart Cunningham and the use of vintage gear and amplification.
The first ever Leadfinger gig took place at Wollongong's long standing underground venue The Oxford Tavern in February 2006 and featured in Cunningham's own words "...a musician used to playing with a band fumbling through a set of songs in a shocked and disjointed manner".
Finally at the Oxford Tavern on New Year's Eve 2006 the first full line-up of Leadfinger was completed with the addition of Wayne Stokes (ex-Thumlock) on electric bass guitar.
This initial three-piece line-up of Leadfinger would only play live sporadically in its time together, including the official launch gig for The Floating Life album at the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney on 29 July 2007.
They managed to record a batch of new songs in two inspired sessions at an old farmhouse in the Tongarra dairy country below Macquarie Pass south of Wollongong.
The current and most well-known Leadfinger line-up came together in late 2008 with the addition of second guitarist Michael Boyle (ex-Mudlungs) and a new rhythm section of Adam 'Reggie' Screen on electric bass guitar and Dillon Hicks (ex-Zambian Goat Herders).
A newfound camaraderie and commitment that was missing from the previous line-up enabled the band to play live more regularly and pursue a more definite musical direction.
Of the album's title track Patrick Emery wrote via Australian Mess+Noise music website "...Rich Kids Can't Play Rock 'n' Roll but Leadfinger can!"
[citation needed] Songs like "The Wandering Man," "Gimme the Future," "Pretty Thing" and "The Other Ones" that became the backbone of the album were all based on simple three-chord progressions that were given a distinct tone and twist by the involvement of the 12-string sound.
[citation needed] Most great rock 'n’ roll is made out on the fringes but this latest album from Australian veteran Stewart 'Leadfinger' Cunningham packs such a punch that it deserves to come out from the underground.
Gimme The Future sports searing guitar work that threatens to shred speakers, and Cruel City pumps with the kind of intensity once found on Radio Birdman records.
(4 Stars)[10]To promote the album Leadfinger embarked on an Australian tour[11] in March and April 2013 supporting fellow Citadel label mate and legendary Detroit-born musician Deniz Tek (ex-Radio Birdman/New Race).
The highlight of this release being an electric 12-string guitar version of live favourite, "You Wear it Well," a song by Rod Stewart from his 1972 Never A Dull Moment album.
Silver & Black was recorded in late 2020 at Garth Porter-owned Rancom Street Studio (Botany, NSW) with Brent Clark producing.
The new album received positive critical reviews, being hailed as a "magnum opus" by Col Gray writing for the i-94 Bar underground music site:
If you thought “Friday Night Heroes” was good, “Silver & Black” goes one step further, and stands as Leadfinger's magnum opus – and it should rightfully open new doors for the band.