The story of SKY continued
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Sky3 was released in May and would rise to number 8 in the UK album charts. Fans would notice quite quickly that there had been a definite change in style since the previous album and Monkman’s departure. Sarabande would be the only overtly classical piece on the album and it would be apparent that Gray was far more the jazz pianist than the classical harpsichordist like his predecessor. This was not necessarily a bad thing and it could be said that Gray’s lighter style was well suited to the musical direction in which the band now seemed to be taking. Chiropodie No. 1 from Flowers and Peek was a bright and breezy opener that had as strong a melody as anything from the previous two albums. Westwind was a Peek composition not dissimilar in many ways to Sahara and Connecting Rooms was a poetic and slightly wistful piece from Tristan Fry. Gray’s Sister Rose was quite funky, while Meheeco, co-written with Flowers, was as cheeky and energetic as the title would suggest. All in all, the album was a worthy release and it formed the backbone of yet another round of touring that saw the band take in Australia in April and the UK in June.
1982 would see the band releasing their fourth album (the first with a subtitle). Sky4: Forthcoming consisted of mainly classical pieces, although the definition was stretched somewhat to include Hoagy Carmichael’s Skylark and To Yelasto Pedi by Mikis Theodorakis. Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries would prove to be a step too far and would generally be acknowledged as sky’s most unsuccessful adaptation. The album did, however, contain a great arrangement of Masquerade by Khatchaturian and a re-recording of March to the Scaffold, by Berlioz, which had originally formed the B-side of Dies Irae. Released in April, the album would peak at a respectable number 7.
In October, sky would tour Australia and record a live album. The album, which would be released the following year, would comprise several sky classics and six new group compositions. What is interesting, however, is the fact that just prior to going off on tour, sky went into Abbey Road studios and recorded demo versions of this new material. The result, although never commercially available, was of the usual high standard associated with all sky’s recordings and features one track, On The Rebound, their own arrangement of pianist Floyd Cramer's 1961, which although also performed live on tour, didn't make it onto the live album.
Sky Five Live was released in January 1983 and achieved a relatively disappointing chart peak of number 24. A double album, it opens with The Animals, an epic 19-minute piece that somehow manages to convey the character of several wild and exotic animals. This is followed, most appropriately, by Tristan’s Marimba solo, The Swan. Peek contributes two up-tempo numbers, imaginatively titled KPI and KPII, whilst Williams contributes one of his occasional compositions, the atmospheric Antigua. Perhaps the best of the new pieces is Gray’s Love Duet, a number that seems to hark back to the earlier style of the first two albums. Evident throughout this piece is Gray’s use of the revolutionary interface system that allowed an acoustic instrument (in this case the harpsichord) to be linked to the Oberheim OB-Xa synthesiser. In the days before MIDI, this set-up enabled sensors attached to the harpsichord’s keys to trigger the corresponding notes on the synthesiser. The effect is dramatic and could be heard initially on the intro to Toccata, as played by Francis Monkman. Gray was also to use it during the solo on Hotta; this time causing his grand piano to trigger a Roland JP8.
In December, chapter 2 of the sky story came to a close, with the release of their sixth album, simply entitled Cadmium. It was unusual for sky to release an album at the end of the year and it was equally unusual for the album not to chart. Opening, in seasonal fashion with Prokofieff’s Troika and closing with Gray’s sequel-tastic Son of Hotta (with solos all round), creatively the album was reasonably good and is notable for being the first to include pieces commissioned from another writer; in this case Peek’s old Quartet band-mate and producer extraordinaire Alan Tarney. On the 18th of December, John Williams made what would be his last appearance with the band, in concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The concert, which would end with a beautiful rendition of Carillon, played by the band members entirely on percussion, was recorded by the BBC and shown on BBC1 on Christmas Eve. Right from the outset, Williams had made it clear that sky was, for him, a five-year project. And so, as 1983 drew to a close and with their second founding member departing, sky found themselves facing a somewhat uncertain future.
1982 would see the band releasing their fourth album (the first with a subtitle). Sky4: Forthcoming consisted of mainly classical pieces, although the definition was stretched somewhat to include Hoagy Carmichael’s Skylark and To Yelasto Pedi by Mikis Theodorakis. Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries would prove to be a step too far and would generally be acknowledged as sky’s most unsuccessful adaptation. The album did, however, contain a great arrangement of Masquerade by Khatchaturian and a re-recording of March to the Scaffold, by Berlioz, which had originally formed the B-side of Dies Irae. Released in April, the album would peak at a respectable number 7.
In October, sky would tour Australia and record a live album. The album, which would be released the following year, would comprise several sky classics and six new group compositions. What is interesting, however, is the fact that just prior to going off on tour, sky went into Abbey Road studios and recorded demo versions of this new material. The result, although never commercially available, was of the usual high standard associated with all sky’s recordings and features one track, On The Rebound, their own arrangement of pianist Floyd Cramer's 1961, which although also performed live on tour, didn't make it onto the live album.
Sky Five Live was released in January 1983 and achieved a relatively disappointing chart peak of number 24. A double album, it opens with The Animals, an epic 19-minute piece that somehow manages to convey the character of several wild and exotic animals. This is followed, most appropriately, by Tristan’s Marimba solo, The Swan. Peek contributes two up-tempo numbers, imaginatively titled KPI and KPII, whilst Williams contributes one of his occasional compositions, the atmospheric Antigua. Perhaps the best of the new pieces is Gray’s Love Duet, a number that seems to hark back to the earlier style of the first two albums. Evident throughout this piece is Gray’s use of the revolutionary interface system that allowed an acoustic instrument (in this case the harpsichord) to be linked to the Oberheim OB-Xa synthesiser. In the days before MIDI, this set-up enabled sensors attached to the harpsichord’s keys to trigger the corresponding notes on the synthesiser. The effect is dramatic and could be heard initially on the intro to Toccata, as played by Francis Monkman. Gray was also to use it during the solo on Hotta; this time causing his grand piano to trigger a Roland JP8.
In December, chapter 2 of the sky story came to a close, with the release of their sixth album, simply entitled Cadmium. It was unusual for sky to release an album at the end of the year and it was equally unusual for the album not to chart. Opening, in seasonal fashion with Prokofieff’s Troika and closing with Gray’s sequel-tastic Son of Hotta (with solos all round), creatively the album was reasonably good and is notable for being the first to include pieces commissioned from another writer; in this case Peek’s old Quartet band-mate and producer extraordinaire Alan Tarney. On the 18th of December, John Williams made what would be his last appearance with the band, in concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The concert, which would end with a beautiful rendition of Carillon, played by the band members entirely on percussion, was recorded by the BBC and shown on BBC1 on Christmas Eve. Right from the outset, Williams had made it clear that sky was, for him, a five-year project. And so, as 1983 drew to a close and with their second founding member departing, sky found themselves facing a somewhat uncertain future.
In early 1984, sky once again hit the road - this time as a quartet. Promoting Cadmium in Australia, Peek, Flowers, Fry and Gray were joined for the first time by a couple of guest musicians, who were drafted in, in the nicest possible way, to fill the Williams-shaped void. On saxophone and flute, was Ron Aspery. On guitar, was Lee Fothergill. That they added an extra dimension to the live sound cannot be denied, and yet it also seemed that sky were now beginning to drift further away from their original brief. A single, the band’s rendition of Lennon/McCartney’s The Fool on the Hill was released in April ’84 and was included on the band’s first compilation album, Masterpieces. This was seen, by many, as anything but a good sign.
By now, Peek had returned to live in Australia and their next album, their first for new label Epic, was recorded at his own studios in Perth. Released in April 1985, The Great Balloon Race was creatively quite adventurous, with a whole host of guest musicians and an opening track that seemed to be a poem (performed by composer Tony Hymas) based upon Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The album also featured a beautiful Steve Gray composition entitled Night Sky. Perhaps the most remarkable piece on the album, however, was the title track. Composed by Flowers it featured a robotic drum beat and Techno-style keyboard riffs. It couldn’t have sounded much less like sky, but was a good example of how these guys could predict future musical trends! Despite this, however, the record was not a success and became the second sky album not to chart.
With the addition of Paul Hart on violin and mandolin and Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, sky toured the album during April and May and then little was heard of the band until November 1987.
With 1987 being the bicentenary of Mozart’s death, sky recorded an album entitled, simply, Mozart, which consisted of their arrangements of several of his symphonic and operatic works. The album (released on the Mercury label) was recorded with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (an orchestra with which Fry had close links) and, despite failing miserably in the UK, it became the band’s most successful album in the USA. Receiving very little in terms of critical or commercial success, Mozart would be sky’s last album.
In 1989, Francis Monkman came very close to returning to the fold, when he was invited to compose a piece for the band. The piece, which he entitled Another Dish For The Roof, would have been in the same vein as FIFO and Where Opposites Meet - a complex and multi-faceted suite, which would have seen the band return to the kind of music which many felt they had neglected in recent years. Although Monkman produced a demo of the suite’s first movement, the project didn’t see fruition and the fans were denied the chance of discovering just how exceptional the project would have been.
Despite the fact that they now had no record company, sky continued to tour, but on a greatly reduced scale. In 1991, now with Paul Hart as a more or less permanent fifth member, they performed live for the cameras at Central TV studios in Nottingham. Several sky classics were given an airing, along with a couple of new compositions. Shortly after this, however, Peek left the band in order to devote more time to his other business interests in Australia. On 11 September 1992, at the Barbican Centre in London, guitarist Richard Durrant made his debut with the band and it was with this line-up that they continued to tour until 1993. In 1995, sky made what was to be their final public appearance, playing at an RAF tribute concert.
Today, sky are remembered for several things - their distinctive lower-case logo; Tristan Fry’s enormous blue drum-kit and Herbie Flowers, sitting on a huge toadstool and playing a tuba that lit up like a Christmas tree! Not so much a symphonic rock band, more a chamber group that had managed to plug itself in; sky gave classical music a new and original slant and achieved the distinction of taking Bach to the top of the popular music charts. As with most bands, they saw their popularity decrease with the passing years and although they never officially split up, it seems incredibly unlikely that they will ever perform again. In most cases, the various band members have either retired or returned to their respective solo careers. Williams, in particular, maintains a high profile, touring the world to great acclaim. Flowers has also toured extensively with Jeff Wayne’s stage version of War of the Worlds and Monkman records albums of harpsichord and organ recitals as well as the occasional foray into the worlds of blues and avant-garde rock.
The saddest postscript to the sky story concerns Steve Gray. For many years, Steve had worked in Germany as a composer and conductor for NDR - the North German Radio Band, based in Hamburg. In September 2008, whilst he was in Germany, Steve contracted pneumonia and, upon his return to the UK, became gravely ill. Sadly, Steve died in hospital, in London, on September 20th, aged just 64.
For a man with such talent, Steve could be extremely self-effacing. In 1983, whilst performing Toccata on a Val Doonican TV show, Steve played a couple of wrong notes during the intro. After the number had finished, the director, aware of Steve’s slip-up, asked him if he’d like to do it again. “No,” replied Steve, with characteristic modesty. “Leave it in.” On another occasion, whilst playing the saxophone during sky’s Drury Lane Christmas concert, he allowed himself to be hit over the head by a member of the road crew who, dressed as Santa Claus, rushed on stage, wielding a giant inflatable hammer! Undoubtedly Steve was one of the finest musicians, composers and arrangers of his generation and yet one got the feeling that he didn’t take himself too seriously.
It is to Steve Gray, therefore, that this article is respectfully dedicated.
Chris Drake.
(My thanks to Peter Lyster-Todd for providing certain details used in this article. Thanks also to Steve Hardy for lending me this computer, without which this article would have been in handwritten form. And no one can read my handwriting - not even me!)
By now, Peek had returned to live in Australia and their next album, their first for new label Epic, was recorded at his own studios in Perth. Released in April 1985, The Great Balloon Race was creatively quite adventurous, with a whole host of guest musicians and an opening track that seemed to be a poem (performed by composer Tony Hymas) based upon Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The album also featured a beautiful Steve Gray composition entitled Night Sky. Perhaps the most remarkable piece on the album, however, was the title track. Composed by Flowers it featured a robotic drum beat and Techno-style keyboard riffs. It couldn’t have sounded much less like sky, but was a good example of how these guys could predict future musical trends! Despite this, however, the record was not a success and became the second sky album not to chart.
With the addition of Paul Hart on violin and mandolin and Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, sky toured the album during April and May and then little was heard of the band until November 1987.
With 1987 being the bicentenary of Mozart’s death, sky recorded an album entitled, simply, Mozart, which consisted of their arrangements of several of his symphonic and operatic works. The album (released on the Mercury label) was recorded with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (an orchestra with which Fry had close links) and, despite failing miserably in the UK, it became the band’s most successful album in the USA. Receiving very little in terms of critical or commercial success, Mozart would be sky’s last album.
In 1989, Francis Monkman came very close to returning to the fold, when he was invited to compose a piece for the band. The piece, which he entitled Another Dish For The Roof, would have been in the same vein as FIFO and Where Opposites Meet - a complex and multi-faceted suite, which would have seen the band return to the kind of music which many felt they had neglected in recent years. Although Monkman produced a demo of the suite’s first movement, the project didn’t see fruition and the fans were denied the chance of discovering just how exceptional the project would have been.
Despite the fact that they now had no record company, sky continued to tour, but on a greatly reduced scale. In 1991, now with Paul Hart as a more or less permanent fifth member, they performed live for the cameras at Central TV studios in Nottingham. Several sky classics were given an airing, along with a couple of new compositions. Shortly after this, however, Peek left the band in order to devote more time to his other business interests in Australia. On 11 September 1992, at the Barbican Centre in London, guitarist Richard Durrant made his debut with the band and it was with this line-up that they continued to tour until 1993. In 1995, sky made what was to be their final public appearance, playing at an RAF tribute concert.
Today, sky are remembered for several things - their distinctive lower-case logo; Tristan Fry’s enormous blue drum-kit and Herbie Flowers, sitting on a huge toadstool and playing a tuba that lit up like a Christmas tree! Not so much a symphonic rock band, more a chamber group that had managed to plug itself in; sky gave classical music a new and original slant and achieved the distinction of taking Bach to the top of the popular music charts. As with most bands, they saw their popularity decrease with the passing years and although they never officially split up, it seems incredibly unlikely that they will ever perform again. In most cases, the various band members have either retired or returned to their respective solo careers. Williams, in particular, maintains a high profile, touring the world to great acclaim. Flowers has also toured extensively with Jeff Wayne’s stage version of War of the Worlds and Monkman records albums of harpsichord and organ recitals as well as the occasional foray into the worlds of blues and avant-garde rock.
The saddest postscript to the sky story concerns Steve Gray. For many years, Steve had worked in Germany as a composer and conductor for NDR - the North German Radio Band, based in Hamburg. In September 2008, whilst he was in Germany, Steve contracted pneumonia and, upon his return to the UK, became gravely ill. Sadly, Steve died in hospital, in London, on September 20th, aged just 64.
For a man with such talent, Steve could be extremely self-effacing. In 1983, whilst performing Toccata on a Val Doonican TV show, Steve played a couple of wrong notes during the intro. After the number had finished, the director, aware of Steve’s slip-up, asked him if he’d like to do it again. “No,” replied Steve, with characteristic modesty. “Leave it in.” On another occasion, whilst playing the saxophone during sky’s Drury Lane Christmas concert, he allowed himself to be hit over the head by a member of the road crew who, dressed as Santa Claus, rushed on stage, wielding a giant inflatable hammer! Undoubtedly Steve was one of the finest musicians, composers and arrangers of his generation and yet one got the feeling that he didn’t take himself too seriously.
It is to Steve Gray, therefore, that this article is respectfully dedicated.
Chris Drake.
(My thanks to Peter Lyster-Todd for providing certain details used in this article. Thanks also to Steve Hardy for lending me this computer, without which this article would have been in handwritten form. And no one can read my handwriting - not even me!)
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1981 tour brochure
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1982 tour brochure
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1983 tour brochure
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SKY music books here
SKY music books here