* En anglais uniquement
Scottish soft rock band
Pilot was formed in 1973 by
David Paton (bass and vocals),
Billy Lyall (synthesizer, flute, and vocals), and
Stuart Tosh (drums). They added a few 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 did 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 on recordings for
Alan Parsons, who had produced their first, second, and fourth albums.
Lyall issued a solo album, 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.
Paton and
Bairnson returned in 2002 with Blue Yonder. Twelve years later, they brought
Tosh back into the fold for A Pilot Project: A Return to the Alan Parsons Project -- a set of covers recorded in tribute to
Parsons' creative partner
Eric Woolfson. ~ Greg Prato