Sky Newcastle City Hall 1st October 1979
Sky were a classical rock band formed by classical guitarist John Williams, bass player Herbie Flowers (former member of Blue Mink and T. Rex) and Francis Monkman (a founder member of Curved Air). They were joined by Tristan Fry on drums and percussion and Kevin Peek on guitars. They release their debut album, simply titled “Sky” in 1979 and toured in support of it, the tour being titled “Sky At Night”. The tour was very successful, including sold-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and five nights at the Dominion Theatre in London. I found it quite a strange event and unlike the normal rock concerts which I was used to at the time. A review on http://www.jacopastorius.co.uk/ describes the Manchester concert in 1979: “As I recall a quiet gig comparatively, the music precise, almost clinical.” which I sort of agree with. 
Sky were very different from other bands who had merged rock with classical. Their debut was promoted with the message: “FIVE OF THE MOST RESPECTED MUSICIANS ON EARTH ARE IN SKY. A group of people that talented can’t be bound by an earth-bound name. SKY. THE BAND. THE ALBUM. REACH FOR IT”. This was true symphonic rock and was massively popular for a number of years. The line-up of Sky changed over the years with John Williams and Francis Monkman both leaving the band in the early 80s and Herbie Flowers continuing with a new line-up. From Wikipedia: “Sky toured the UK again during spring 1993, playing notably smaller venues than they had in the 1980s. The last performance by Sky was at an RAF tribute concert in May 1995. Although Sky never formally disbanded, the band has not returned to active recording and performance.”
Archive for the ‘Sky’ Category
29 Jun
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