Sky (band) 1.History, 1.1. Formation, 1.2. The first two albums , Sky and Sky 2 (1978-1980)

Sky (band)

1.History.

1.1. Formation.

The seeds of what would become Sky began in 1971 when John Williams - already a world-famous classical guitarist - released Changes, his first recording of non-classical music (and the first on which he played electric guitar). Among the musicians working on the album were Herbie Flowers and Tristan Fry (the latter an established session drummer who was also the timpanist for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields). The three musicians became friends, kept in touch and continued working together on various projects.

Fry and Flowers (along with Francis Monkman, a harpsichord player best known for being a founder member of the progressive rock/fusion band Curved Air) were performers on Williams' 1978 album Travelling, another cross-genre recording which was a substantial commercial success. The success of Travelling inspired Williams and Flowers to set up their own long-term cross-genre band. Fry and Monkman were swiftly recruited, and the first Sky lineup was completed with the addition of the versatile Australian session guitarist Kevin Peek. Peek was equally adept at classical guitar and pop/rock styles, having built up a reputation both as a chamber musician and as a long-standing member of Cliff Richard's band (as well as for Manfred Mann, Lulu, Tom Jones, Jeff Wayne, Shirley Bassey and Gary Glitter).

The band began writing and recording instrumental music drawing on their collective experience of classical, light pop, progressive rock, light entertainment and jazz] (arguably building on the rock-classical fusion developed earlier in the 1970s by the orchestral band Esperanto). After a protracted search for a record company, Sky eventually signed with the small European label Ariola Records.

1.2. The first two albums , Sky and Sky 2 (1978-1980)

Sky's self-titled debut album (released in 1979) was highly successful in Britain and Australia, quickly reaching gold record status and eventually topping out as a platinum record. Although the band was run democratically, and all members contributed music and/or arrangements, the presence of John Williams in the lineup was regarded as the band's biggest selling point (and was emphasised in publicity). Williams' concurrent solo instrumental hit - "Cavatina - Theme from The Deer Hunter" - also helped to raise the band's profile. However, this was counterbalanced by some negative reviews from critics accustomed to Williams' classical performances, who remained unimpressed by his new direction with Sky.

The band toured the UK in summer and autumn 1979, particular triumphs being sold-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and the Dominion Theatre in London (the latter a five-night sellout).

In 1980, Sky recorded and released their second album, Sky 2 - a double album which repeated on and built upon its predecessor's success (becoming the tenth highest selling album in Britain that year). The album included Monkman's side-long rock suite "FIFO" (a piece inspired by computer processing, on which Monkman played electric guitar in addition to keyboards) and four classical pieces including three established chamber music pieces (played entirely straight) and the band's souped-up electric treatment of Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor". The latter was released as a single (under the name of "Toccata") and reached number 6 in the national pop charts, giving the band the opportunity of performing on Top Of The Pops.