Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Pilot

 
Artist: Pilot
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Group Members:

Ian Bairnson, David Paton, Billy Lyall, Stuart Tosh, William Lyall, Peter Oxendale, Steve Swindells

Similar Artists:

Klaatu, The Nazz, The Move, Jigsaw, Barnaby Bye, Roy Wood, Electric Light Orchestra

Influenced By:

Paul McCartney, The Beatles

Followers:

Denim

Formal Connection With:

Billy Lyall, Stuart Tosh, Ian Bairnson, David Paton, Alan Parsons, Henry Spinetti, Trevor Spencer, Peter Oxendale, Steve Swindells, Bay City Rollers, Kate Bush
See Pilot Lyrics
  • Formed: 1973, Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Disbanded: 1980
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "Magic," "Two's a Crowd," "January"
  • Representative Songs: "Magic," "Just a Smile," "January"

Biography

'70s soft-rockers Pilot originally formed in 1973 with its bandmembers (David Paton on bass and vocals; Billy Lyall on synthesizer, flute, and vocals; and Stuart Tosh on drums) all hailing from Scotland. The group added a few additional members along the way (including two chaps who were former members of teeny boppers the Bay City Rollers, plus session guitarist Ian Bairnson), before issuing their self-titled debut in 1974. The album spawned a Top 20 hit with "Magic," but it was their 1975 single "January" (off their sophomore effort Second Flight) that proved to be the biggest success of the group's entire career, rocketing to the number one spot. Further albums followed (1976's Morin Heights and 1977's Two's a Crowd) as well as a few more moderate-sized hit singles ("Call Me Round," "Just a Smile") before Pilot folded. Tosh soon resurfaced as part of 10cc, as both Paton and Bairnson concentrated on studio work, playing on Kate Bush's 1978 debut, The Kick Inside, as well as recordings for Alan Parsons and Chris de Burgh. Lyall issued a solo album in 1976, Solo Casting (which featured his fellow Pilot bandmates), and later joined the group Dollar, before passing away in December of 1989 from an AIDS-related illness. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Pilot (band)
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Pilot
Origin Edinburgh, Scotland
Genres Pop rock
Years active 1973 – 2002
Labels EMI
Former members
Stuart Tosh
Ian Bairnson
David Paton
Billy Lyall

Pilot was a pop rock musical group, formed during 1973 in Edinburgh, Scotland by the former Bay City Rollers members, David Paton and Billy Lyall.

Contents

Career

Joined by Stuart Tosh and Ian Bairnson, the band recorded several demos during 1973 and 1974.

The 1974 single "Magic" from their first album, produced by Alan Parsons and written by Paton,[1] was a #11 UK and #5 U.S. success and remains a popular song. The song "January" gave them their greatest success in the UK, securing the number one spot in the UK Singles Chart in January 1975. However, the group surprisingly failed to make the Top 30 again.[1] The arranger of "January", Andrew Powell went on to record Kate Bush, and both Paton and Bairnson played on her debut album, The Kick Inside, which included "Wuthering Heights".[2]

The band's other singles chart successes were "Call Me Round" and "Just a Smile" (both 1975).[3] By the time 1977 came around only Paton and Bairnson were left from the original foursome, and they recorded Pilot's final album (the aptly entitled Two's a Crowd) alone.

By 1978, all of Pilot's members had begun other projects, notably Tosh, Paton and Bairnson becoming members of the Alan Parsons Project, and Tosh also working with 10cc.

Lyall died of AIDS-related causes in 1989.

Paton and Bairnson reconvened in 2002, to re-record the original Pilot album Two's a Crowd. The subsequent issue was entitled, Blue Yonder (see below).

In 2007, their successful single "Magic," was used in a Pillsbury television advertisement. In 2009, Selena Gomez recorded her cover version of the song for the Disney Channel, as part of the soundtrack for the Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.

Discography

Singles

  • "Magic" (1974) - UK Number 11
  • "January" (1975) - UK Number 1
  • "Call Me Round" (1975) - UK Number 34
  • "Just a Smile" (1975) - UK Number 31
  • "Canada" (1976)

[3]

Albums

[3]

Compilations and film soundtracks

References

  1. ^ a b Roberts, David (2001). British Hit Singles (14th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 45. ISBN 0-85156-156-X. 
  2. ^ Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 166. ISBN 0-85112-250-7. 
  3. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 426. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pilot (band)".  Read more