- Sky (band)
Sky was a UK-based instrumental group that specialised in fusing a variety of musical styles including light rock, classical and jazz. The band was formed in 1978 with
classical guitar ist John Williams,Herbie Flowers ,Francis Monkman ,Tristan Fry andKevin Peek . The rock-classical segment had been sketched out a few years earlier by the orchestral band Esperanto. After a protracted search for a record company they eventually signed with the small European labelAriola Records . Their self-titled debut album was highly successful in Britain andAustralia . Their follow up double album, "Sky 2", was even more so, being the tenth highest selling in Britain for all of 1980. The band ceased to play in 1994.In 1980 British producer
Martin Lewis conceived of presenting Sky in a concert performance at London'sWestminster Abbey - the 900-year old historic church in the centre of London. The concert eventually took place in February 1981. It was the first-ever rock concert held at the Abbey and it was videotaped for aBBC TV special - subsequently released on home video. The concert was a benefit for thehuman rights organizationAmnesty International and commemorated the organization's 20th anniversary. The landmark event resulted in Sky receiving considerable positive media coverage.The departure of Francis Monkman led to his replacement by Steve Gray who took the band to a more
jazz influenced sound. Subsequent albums saw a gradual dwindling in quality and success. After their sixth album, "Cadmium", John Williams also left the band. Sky were to record only two more albums, "The Great Balloon Race" and "Mozart". The latter was produced with theAcademy of St Martin in the Fields and was their most successful album in theUnited States .The band ceased to play in 1994.
Original personnel
* John Williams - acoustic and
electric guitar s
* Kevin Peek -electric guitar Kevin PeekElectric and Acoustic Guitars (1979-1985)Kevin Peek was born and brought up inAdelaide ,Australia . He left for theUK in 1965 and remained domiciled inLondon until 1982 when he returned to Australia. He studied music from the age of seven - his first studies being in the full range of orchestral percussion instruments plusjazz drumming,vibraphone and generalmusic theory . Studies onguitar commenced when he was twelve and, for a while did this in tandem with continuing studies inpercussion . By the age of fifteen his love of the guitar had completely taken over and Peek ceased any further work on percussion from that time on. After leaving school he worked in Adelaide for a few years playing guitar in various rock and jazz bands until departing for the UK.During his entire time in the UK, Peek worked as a self-employed professional musician - mainly as a recording "session" musician - but also undertook concert tours from time to time. In the course of such work he performed at live concerts, on radio broadcasts, ontelevision broadcasts and on commercial recordings with many orchestras, instrumentalists, groups and singers as well as recording, broadcasting and performing in concert in his own right.Artists he recorded with included:Cliff Richard ,Olivia Newton-John ,John Williams ,The New Seekers ,Lulu ,Cilla Black ,Chris Rea ,Elton John ,Manfred Mann ,Peter Skellern ,Shirley Bassey ,Mary Hopkins ,Rick Wakeman ,Alan Parsons Project ,Jeff Wayne ,Roger Daltrey ,Mel Torme ,The Shadows ,Hank Marvin ,Neil Diamond ,Val Doonican andmany , many others, as well as orchestras such as theLondon Symphony Orchestra and theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra .Peek is currently active within the field of music composition, recording and production for film and television.* Herbie Flowers -
bass guitar ,double-bass ,tuba Herbie FlowersBass (and Tuba, 1979-1994)
Herbie Flowers got involved in music quite during compulsory
National Service . After several years inSingapore he was posted to the RAF Central Band and then gradually got involved in theWest End circuit oftheatre pit work, night clubs, etc., and the occasional recording session. He joinedBlue Mink , a 'session' band, in 1970 and remained for 5 years. He left to tour America withDavid Bowie (Diamond Dogs tour). He wrote and produced the novelty song "Grandad" recorded byClive Dunn , and worked withMarc Bolan andT.Rex . After several years of recording sessions and tours with Sky, Flowers returned to session work. Since the band's demise in the early 1990s Flowers has spent most of his time playing jazz. He also works as a bass guitar teacher atArdingly College , and leads many 'rockshops' at schools, helpingchildren to create and perform their own songs, as well as covering many others.Tristan Fry Drums, Percussion (andTrumpet , 1979-1994)Tristan Fry continues to lead an extremely active session musician's life coupled with his orchestral role as
timpani for theAcademy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra . Fry has played on many film and television background scores in addition to a variety of signature tunes: 'Yes Minister'; 'To The Manor Born'; 'Last Of The Summer Wine';Gandhi ; 'Yentl' and 'Never Say Never Again'.Fulll details of their discography, etc,. can be found on the unofficial website listed below.
References
*"
Guinness Book of British Hit Singles " 7th Edition - 1988External links
* [http://plum.cream.org/sky/ Richard Sliwa's comprehensive unofficial Sky website]
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