Curved Air
Encyclopedia
Curved Air are a pioneering British
progressive rock
group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classic
, folk
, and electronic
sound. The resulting sound of the band was a mixture of progressive rock
, folk rock
, and fusion
with classical elements. Along with High Tide and East of Eden
, Curved Air were one of the first rock bands after It's a Beautiful Day
and The United States of America
to feature a violin. Considered (according to AllMusic) "one of the most dramatically accomplished of all the bands lumped into Britain's late-'60s prog explosion", Curved Air released eight studio albums (the first three of which broke the UK Top 20) and had a hit single with "Back Street Luv" (1971) which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart
.
(who studied violin at Dartington College and the Royal College of Music
) and Francis Monkman
, a member of the Royal Academy of Music
. While wandering an outlet store of the Orange Music Electronic Company, Monkman was intrigued by the sound of Way testing out his first electrically amplified violin, and the two "got to talking." They discovered they had a lot in common, and in 1969 invited pianist Nick Simon who, along with bassist Rob Martin and drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa
, completed the line-up of Sisyphus. "Darryl and Nick were very much into Spirit
. One could cite them as a formative influence for Curved Air", Monkman later remembered. Much of the early Curved Air songs were written for Sisyphus, among them "Young Mother in Style" and "Screw".
Sisyphus was hired to provide accompaniment for Galt McDermott's new play, "Who the Murderer Was," at the Mercury Theatre
in Notting Hill Gate
, serving as the pit band. Mark Hanau, an aspiring band manager at the time, saw the show and decided he wanted to manage Sisyphus. He felt that Sonja Kristina, an aspiring folk musician who he had seen in the London stage production of Hair
, was the missing ingredient in the group. On January 1, 1970, Hanau contacted her through Roy Guest. She listened to a cassette of the band's music and was impressed. Upon Kristina's joining and Nick Simon's departure, the band changed their name to Curved Air, after the album A Rainbow in Curved Air
by contemporary composer
Terry Riley
. The name was suggested by Monkman who, having played in the first London performance of In C
, was a great fan of Riley. The band's new sound immediately came together, and the five-piece Curved Air was born, Sonja Kristina being both the band's voice and its sex symbol.
, the five-piece launched a well-received U.K. tour, supporting Black Sabbath
at one point. The band toured with their own sound engineer, Sean Davies (later the producer for Way's post-Curved Air band, Wolf), which allowed them to achieve a better on-stage sound mix than other groups with unusual combinations of instruments. Curved Air publicist Tony Brainsby
fanned the stirring hype, a bidding war for the band ensued, and in summer 1970 Curved Air signed with Warner Bros.
, becoming the first British band on the company's roster. The band received a much-publicized advance of £100,000 and their debut album Airconditioning
was released in November to enormous hype surrounding its being issued as the first commercially available LP picture disc. The album reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart
, even though an accompanying single, "It Happened Today," failed to chart.
With Ian Eyre replacing bassist Martin, the band released "Back Street Luv
" which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart
to become the band's most successful single
to date. The Second Album
peaked at number 11. A non-LP follow-up single, "Sarah's Concern," went by unnoticed.
The band played three U.S. tours but never achieved more than a cult following there. By the end of 1972 Monkman was a self-admitted "nervous wreck" and his colleagues too were on the verge of physical and mental breakdown. In the course of constant touring drummer Pilkington-Miksa has actually become ill and for several months Barry De Souza (Lou Reed
, Jeff Beck
, Kate Bush
), who band members knew from studio work, sat in for him. It was De Souza who played with Curved Air at the 1971 Beat Club German T.V performance of "Back Street Luv", the televised version of which became well known. In late 1971 the band joined The Faces, Soft Machine
, Marc Bolan
, David Bedford
to do a Christmas radio show for the BBC.
By the time of the third album release serious musical differences within the band emerged. According to Sonja Kristina's Cherry Red interview (2007), Francis was fascinated with overtones and natural harmonies, and "His other obsession is/was jamming... real 'out there' cosmic rock jamming. And that is not Darryl at all... He's a very disciplined perfectionist, he likes things to be as precise and exquisite as possible. Whereas Francis is completely the opposite way; he just wants to play and things just come out of the cosmos". As Monkman explained,
This division was reflected in the arrangement of tracks on Second Album and Phantasmagoria; side A of both albums was occupied by music composed by Darryl Way, while side B was devoted solely to Monkman's compositions, with no true collaboration between the two writers. While working in the studio the band was in a dire condition. "I remember the moment when Clifford Davis, our manager after Mark Hanau, spelled out what we were going to have to do just to get somewhere near even. We felt burned out", Monkman later said. He had to wear earplugs to go on the tube and went to a naturopath three times a week. Phantasmagoria
was recorded with bassist/guitarist Mike Wedgwood
, who replaced Eyre. The album's title was drawn from the Lewis Carroll
poem of the same title. The album came out in April 1972 and reached number 20 in the U.K. Curved Air split up, Way formed Darryl Way's Wolf
, Pilkington-Miksa joined Kiki Dee
's band, and Monkman moved into session work and was later to play in, among others, the supergroup Sky
.
(electric guitar), and Eddie Jobson
(keyboards, violin). Jobson had come from a band called Fat Grapple, who had been one of Curved Air's support acts on tour. This new band played a much more conventional brand of rock than Curved Air, with almost none of the classical influences of that group. However, on the suggestion of manager Clifford Davis, they continued using the name Curved Air so as to give them a commercial leg up. Kristina later commented:
The use of the Curved Air name was not enough, however. Whereas all three of Curved Air's albums had broken the UK top 20, the new band's sole album, Air Cut
, failed to even chart. Due to artistic differences with Jobson, Kirby Gregory and Jim Russell both left the group to form Stretch
. Warner Brothers realized that the current Curved Air was in essence not the same band they had signed, and so the remaining trio recorded a demo tape for the label. The demos failed to convince Warner Brothers, and they discontinued the contract. (These demos were later issued as part of the Lovechild
record.) With no contract and only half a lineup, in summer 1973 Curved Air broke up. Jobson replaced Eno in Roxy Music
, while Wedgwood joined Caravan
.
bill, in September 1974 the band's mainstays (Kristina, Way, Monkman, and Pilkington-Miksa) reunited for a three-week tour of the UK, put together by Darryl Way's manager, Miles Copeland III
. The reunion interrupted Way's new band, Stark Naked and the Car Thieves, and since the bass slot for Curved Air needed filling, Way brought along the new band's bassist, Phil Kohn.
The reunion tour saw Sonja Kristina playing up her role as Curved Air's sex symbol far more dramatically than she had before. Between the band's previous breakup and the reunion tour she had worked as a croupier at the London Playboy Club
and, influenced by the outfits the job required her to wear, she began wearing "see-through" style costumes which highlighted her sexuality.
A live album and single were recorded during the reunion tour, and though they failed to chart, they succeeded in paying off the tax bill. With their debts paid, Monkman and Pilkington-Miksa had no more reason to remain in the band. And so, Curved Air broke up for the third time in as many years.
. Though more members of this new lineup came from Stark Naked and the Car Thieves than Curved Air(Kristina being the only member not from the former band), they decided to adopt the Curved Air name for the same reasons that the Kristina/Wedgwood-led band had done the same thing. With Darryl Way at the helm, this new band often employed the same classical and folk influences as the original band(and even played one or two of the original band's songs at each of their shows), but their core sound was rooted in pop, rhythm and blues, and hard rock. Miles Copeland III, still serving as Curved Air's manager, put the group on his own label, BTM.
The band kicked off with a European tour, which started poorly. Way, a notorious perfectionist, grew impatient with the struggling of his bandmates, especially novice drummer Copeland. Then, for reasons no one could pinpoint, the musicians suddenly "clicked" with each other and the band caught fire, quickly becoming a popular and acclaimed live act.
Their studio efforts were another story, however. Phil Kohn left and the band, unable to replace him in time for the sessions for Midnight Wire
, relied on guest musicians to play both bass and keyboards. Norma Tager, a friend of Kristina’s, penned the lyrics to the "Midnight Wire" songs. Kohn was shortly replaced by Tony Reeves
, formerly of Colosseum
and Greenslade
, but the recording sessions for both Midnight Wire and 1976's Airborne
were expensive and highly stressful for everyone involved. Both albums - as well as "Desiree", a single drawn from Airborne - failed to break the charts.
Citing dissatisfaction with BTM Records' inability to support Curved Air financially, Way departed. Though Alex Richman from the Butts Band stepped in on keyboards, the loss of the band's de facto
leader was a blow. This line-up's last-ditch attempt at a hit single, a cover version of "Baby Please Don't Go", was another flop. After months of gradually losing steam, Curved Air broke up so quietly that, by Sonja Kristina's recollections, most of the music press wrote off the band's absence as a "sabbatical". Copeland formed The Police
, Reeves returned to work as a producer and played in semi-pro band Big Chief along with Jacques, and Kristina and Way both pursued solo careers. Kristina and Copeland maintained the close personal relationship they'd formed while bandmates and were married in 1982.
released the band's first compilation, "The Best of Curved Air", in April 1976, though it naturally only contained material from the band's four Warner Bros. albums.)
In 1984 Darryl Way asked Sonja Kristina to provide vocals to several of his solo recordings, two of which, "Renegade" and "We're Only Human", were released as a single under the Curved Air name. A third track, a cover of "O Fortuna", was released as a Sonja Kristina solo track on the b-side to "Walk on By", but was withdrawn due to objections from the Carl Orff
estate. Yet another track, "As Long as There's a Spark", was originally recorded by Way and Kristina, but released as a Darryl Way solo track, with Way performing the vocals himself. Way and Kristina followed these recordings with a short tour in 1988, again under the Curved Air name.
In 1990 the original Kristina, Way, Monkman and Pilkington-Miksa quartet gave a one-off reunion concert at the London's Town & Country
, supported by Noden's Ictus. The performance, recorded by Francis Monkman, was captured on the Alive, 1990
album, released in 2000.
should be approached and wasn't prepared to compromise, so our ways had to part", commented Way. Sonja Kristina confirmed, "Francis was in at the beginning but had extremely different ideas from Darryl about how he wanted this new Curved Air to prepare and develop. Eventually, he withdrew. We continued with Darryl at the helm as our musical director and producer." The new line-up played in Southern England, Italy and Malta
in 2008.
In 2008 a CD/box set Reborn was released, with 12 re-recorded Curved Air tracks and two new songs ("Coming Home" and "The Fury"). Two of the oldies, "Melinda" and "Elfin Boy", were reworked and produced by Marvin Ayres
. As Way explained, the band had two reasons for this: they were never satisfied with the way those tracks were originally recorded and they wanted to have the product that they owned and were in control of. "Reborn was our way of preparing for the live work", Sonja Kristina added. On Friday, June 13, Curved Air performed at the Isle Of Wight Festival
to a generally positive response.
For the 2009 dates in Japan on January 16 and 17 at Club Citta, Kawasaki
, the guitarist was Kit Morgan who replaced Christie. On 9 August 2009, Eddie Jobson stood in for Darryl Way at a one-off gig in Chislehurst
. For their dates in October 2009, Way was indisposed, and Paul Sax (violin) and Robert Norton (keyboards) stood in for him. "Robert Norton is exceptional - as is Paul Sax, a master violinist -one of the first entrants to the Yehudi Menuhin school - a passionate and brave performer very well qualified to step into Darryl's light. All the band are brilliant players and inspiring people. Chris Harris is literally our root on bass and Kit Morgan the fire on guitar. Great chemistry and communication", Sonja Kristina commented. This lineup (Kristina, Pilkington-Miksa, Harris, Morgan, Sax and Norton) continues to gig as Curved Air. The band played at the London High Voltage Festival
2011 (July 23–24), alongside Spock's Beard
, Jethro Tull
, Dream Theater
, and Queensrÿche
, among others.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classic
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
sound. The resulting sound of the band was a mixture of progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, and fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
with classical elements. Along with High Tide and East of Eden
East of Eden (rock band)
East of Eden was a British progressive rock band, who had a Top 10 hit in the UK with the single, "Jig-a-Jig", in 1971. The track became something of a stylistic albatross around the band's neck, since it did not resemble their usual sound or anything else they normally played...
, Curved Air were one of the first rock bands after It's a Beautiful Day
It's a Beautiful Day
It's a Beautiful Day is a band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967, the brainchild of violinist David LaFlamme.LaFlamme, a former soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, had previously been in the band Orkustra, and unusually, played a five-string violin...
and The United States of America
The United States of America (band)
The United States of America was an American experimental rock and psychedelic band whose works are an example of early electronic music in rock and roll.-History:...
to feature a violin. Considered (according to AllMusic) "one of the most dramatically accomplished of all the bands lumped into Britain's late-'60s prog explosion", Curved Air released eight studio albums (the first three of which broke the UK Top 20) and had a hit single with "Back Street Luv" (1971) which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Sisyphus
The group evolved out of the band Sisyphus which was formed by Darryl WayDarryl Way
Darryl Way is a British rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their only hit single, "Back Street Luv". He is best known as a violinist although he also played keyboards.He began his musical training at Dartington College of Arts, and later studied at...
(who studied violin at Dartington College and the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
) and Francis Monkman
Francis Monkman
Francis Monkman is an English rock, classical and film score composer, and a founding member of the progressive rock band Curved Air.-Career:...
, a member of the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. While wandering an outlet store of the Orange Music Electronic Company, Monkman was intrigued by the sound of Way testing out his first electrically amplified violin, and the two "got to talking." They discovered they had a lot in common, and in 1969 invited pianist Nick Simon who, along with bassist Rob Martin and drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa
Florian Pilkington-Miksa
Florian Pilkington-Miksa was the drummer in the original line-up of the British rock group Curved Air. He subsequently joined Kiki Dee's band. In 2008 he became a founding member of the most recent incarnation of Curved Air.-References:...
, completed the line-up of Sisyphus. "Darryl and Nick were very much into Spirit
Spirit (band)
Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...
. One could cite them as a formative influence for Curved Air", Monkman later remembered. Much of the early Curved Air songs were written for Sisyphus, among them "Young Mother in Style" and "Screw".
Sisyphus was hired to provide accompaniment for Galt McDermott's new play, "Who the Murderer Was," at the Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...
in Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name.- Location :...
, serving as the pit band. Mark Hanau, an aspiring band manager at the time, saw the show and decided he wanted to manage Sisyphus. He felt that Sonja Kristina, an aspiring folk musician who he had seen in the London stage production of Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
, was the missing ingredient in the group. On January 1, 1970, Hanau contacted her through Roy Guest. She listened to a cassette of the band's music and was impressed. Upon Kristina's joining and Nick Simon's departure, the band changed their name to Curved Air, after the album A Rainbow in Curved Air
A Rainbow in Curved Air
A Rainbow in Curved Air is the third album by experimental music and classical minimalism pioneer Terry Riley. Through the use of overdubbing, the composer, a keyboard virtuoso, plays all the instruments on the title track: electric organ, electric harpsichord , dumbec , and tambourine...
by contemporary composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
. The name was suggested by Monkman who, having played in the first London performance of In C
In C
In C is a semi-aleatoric musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for any number of people, although he suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work"...
, was a great fan of Riley. The band's new sound immediately came together, and the five-piece Curved Air was born, Sonja Kristina being both the band's voice and its sex symbol.
From formation to first breakup
After a series of intensive rehearsals in Martin's family home in GloucestershireGloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, the five-piece launched a well-received U.K. tour, supporting Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
at one point. The band toured with their own sound engineer, Sean Davies (later the producer for Way's post-Curved Air band, Wolf), which allowed them to achieve a better on-stage sound mix than other groups with unusual combinations of instruments. Curved Air publicist Tony Brainsby
Tony Brainsby
Tony Brainsby was a British publicist of the 1960s. His career spanned over thirty years, in which time he represented several notable rock acts, including Curved Air, The Small Faces, Sonny and Cher, Paul McCartney and Wings, Queen, Ron Wood and David Essex, as well as actress Quinn...
fanned the stirring hype, a bidding war for the band ensued, and in summer 1970 Curved Air signed with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, becoming the first British band on the company's roster. The band received a much-publicized advance of £100,000 and their debut album Airconditioning
Airconditioning
-Side one:#"It Happened Today" – 4:55#"Stretch" – 4:05#"Screw" – 4:03#"Blind Man" – 3:32#"Vivaldi" – 7:26-Side two:...
was released in November to enormous hype surrounding its being issued as the first commercially available LP picture disc. The album reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, even though an accompanying single, "It Happened Today," failed to chart.
With Ian Eyre replacing bassist Martin, the band released "Back Street Luv
Back Street Luv
"Back Street Luv" is a song by British rock band Curved Air, written by band members Ian Eyre, Sonja Kristina and Darryl Way. It was included into the Second Album and released as a single in July 1971 by Warner Bros. Records . On September 18 "Back Street Luv" reached number 4 in the UK Singles...
" which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
to become the band's most successful single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
to date. The Second Album
Second Album (Curved Air album)
Allmusic's review was largely negative, saying that the album lacks the innovation and originality of the band's other releases, replaced by "a crop of relatively straightforward but sonically flat rock songs"...
peaked at number 11. A non-LP follow-up single, "Sarah's Concern," went by unnoticed.
The band played three U.S. tours but never achieved more than a cult following there. By the end of 1972 Monkman was a self-admitted "nervous wreck" and his colleagues too were on the verge of physical and mental breakdown. In the course of constant touring drummer Pilkington-Miksa has actually become ill and for several months Barry De Souza (Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
), who band members knew from studio work, sat in for him. It was De Souza who played with Curved Air at the 1971 Beat Club German T.V performance of "Back Street Luv", the televised version of which became well known. In late 1971 the band joined The Faces, Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
, David Bedford
David Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford , was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music....
to do a Christmas radio show for the BBC.
By the time of the third album release serious musical differences within the band emerged. According to Sonja Kristina's Cherry Red interview (2007), Francis was fascinated with overtones and natural harmonies, and "His other obsession is/was jamming... real 'out there' cosmic rock jamming. And that is not Darryl at all... He's a very disciplined perfectionist, he likes things to be as precise and exquisite as possible. Whereas Francis is completely the opposite way; he just wants to play and things just come out of the cosmos". As Monkman explained,
Basically Darryl and I respect each others' work, but we don't really see eye-to-eye on most things. And we never really got the co-writing thing together. I wanted to get my first 'epic' together, so it looks like a split forming at the time of the Second Album. In fact, the centre was never really solid after Rob left.
This division was reflected in the arrangement of tracks on Second Album and Phantasmagoria; side A of both albums was occupied by music composed by Darryl Way, while side B was devoted solely to Monkman's compositions, with no true collaboration between the two writers. While working in the studio the band was in a dire condition. "I remember the moment when Clifford Davis, our manager after Mark Hanau, spelled out what we were going to have to do just to get somewhere near even. We felt burned out", Monkman later said. He had to wear earplugs to go on the tube and went to a naturopath three times a week. Phantasmagoria
Phantasmagoria (Curved Air album)
Phantasmagoria is a 1972 album by Curved Air. It reached No. 20 in the UK Charts and is notable for its early use of the EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer to process lead singer Sonja Kristina's voice on the second side...
was recorded with bassist/guitarist Mike Wedgwood
Mike Wedgwood
Mike Wedgwood is an English bassist and singer. He is related to the Wedgwood family of pottery fame.Wedgwood joined The Overlanders in 1968 following their biggest hit, a cover of The Beatles song, "Michelle", and remained with them until 1971.Following a stint with Arthur's Mother from 1971–72,...
, who replaced Eyre. The album's title was drawn from the Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
poem of the same title. The album came out in April 1972 and reached number 20 in the U.K. Curved Air split up, Way formed Darryl Way's Wolf
Darryl Way
Darryl Way is a British rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their only hit single, "Back Street Luv". He is best known as a violinist although he also played keyboards.He began his musical training at Dartington College of Arts, and later studied at...
, Pilkington-Miksa joined Kiki Dee
Kiki Dee
Kiki Dee is an English singer with a career spanning more than 40 years....
's band, and Monkman moved into session work and was later to play in, among others, the supergroup Sky
Sky (band)
Sky was a British instrumental group that specialised in fusing a variety of musical styles including light rock, progressive rock, classical and jazz. The group's best known members were classical guitarist John Williams, bass player Herbie Flowers Sky was a British instrumental group that...
.
The new Curved Air
Having retained a good working relationship, Sonja Kristina and Mike Wedgwood formed a new band with Jim Russell (drums), Kirby GregoryKirby Gregory
Graham "Kirby" Gregory, often credited simply as Kirby is a British musician best known for playing with rock bands Curved Air and Stretch....
(electric guitar), and Eddie Jobson
Eddie Jobson
Edwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...
(keyboards, violin). Jobson had come from a band called Fat Grapple, who had been one of Curved Air's support acts on tour. This new band played a much more conventional brand of rock than Curved Air, with almost none of the classical influences of that group. However, on the suggestion of manager Clifford Davis, they continued using the name Curved Air so as to give them a commercial leg up. Kristina later commented:
What I wanted to do with the band at the time was get more of a rock edge to it, and Kirby's guitar playing really excited me - he was just really wild. And Jim was the same way, a very solid rock drummer. Mike and I really wanted to continue, and it was our manager Clifford Davis who said we would do a better business continuing to call the band Curved Air. So we kept the name and followed along the same pattern as before, as a writer's band. Everybody in the new band contributed material except for Jim Russell, who really wasn't a writer. Before it had mainly been Darryl and Francis, but I had managed to get some of my compositions in.
The use of the Curved Air name was not enough, however. Whereas all three of Curved Air's albums had broken the UK top 20, the new band's sole album, Air Cut
Air Cut
Air Cut is the fourth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1973, following the departure of three of the band's founder members. Only Sonja Kristina and Mike Wedgwood remained in the band from their previous album and Air Cut took them in a more rock-oriented direction.-Reception:While...
, failed to even chart. Due to artistic differences with Jobson, Kirby Gregory and Jim Russell both left the group to form Stretch
Stretch (band)
Stretch were a 1970s British rock band that grew from the collaboration between Elmer Gantry and Kirby . Gantry was previously the frontman of Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera...
. Warner Brothers realized that the current Curved Air was in essence not the same band they had signed, and so the remaining trio recorded a demo tape for the label. The demos failed to convince Warner Brothers, and they discontinued the contract. (These demos were later issued as part of the Lovechild
Lovechild (Curved Air album)
Lovechild is the seventh studio album credited to progressive rock band Curved Air, though only half the tracks are actually performed by the group. The album consists of previously unreleased demos overseen by Clifford Adams in the early 1970s: one by John O'Hara, two by Eddie Jobson, a demo for...
record.) With no contract and only half a lineup, in summer 1973 Curved Air broke up. Jobson replaced Eno in Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, while Wedgwood joined Caravan
Caravan (band)
Caravan are an English band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan. Caravan rose to success over a period of several years from 1968 onwards into the 1970s as part of the Canterbury scene, blending...
.
Reunion
In 1974 Chrysalis sued the band. "We had broken their contract on the advice of Clifford Davis, who said we could prove that they had not been acting in our best interests, but by then he was no longer our manager!" Monkman explained. In order to discharge an enormous unpaid VATVat
Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
bill, in September 1974 the band's mainstays (Kristina, Way, Monkman, and Pilkington-Miksa) reunited for a three-week tour of the UK, put together by Darryl Way's manager, Miles Copeland III
Miles Copeland III
Miles Axe Copeland III is an American entertainment executive, best known for founding I.R.S. Records. His brother, Stewart Copeland, was part of the pop-rock trio The Police, which Miles managed...
. The reunion interrupted Way's new band, Stark Naked and the Car Thieves, and since the bass slot for Curved Air needed filling, Way brought along the new band's bassist, Phil Kohn.
The reunion tour saw Sonja Kristina playing up her role as Curved Air's sex symbol far more dramatically than she had before. Between the band's previous breakup and the reunion tour she had worked as a croupier at the London Playboy Club
Playboy Club
The Playboy Club initially was a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first club opened at 116 E. Walton Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States, on February 29, 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room...
and, influenced by the outfits the job required her to wear, she began wearing "see-through" style costumes which highlighted her sexuality.
A live album and single were recorded during the reunion tour, and though they failed to chart, they succeeded in paying off the tax bill. With their debts paid, Monkman and Pilkington-Miksa had no more reason to remain in the band. And so, Curved Air broke up for the third time in as many years.
Stark Naked, the Car Thieves, and Curved Air
However, Darryl Way and Sonja Kristina remained interested in working together, and so Way brought in two more "Car Thieves", guitarist Mick Jacques and drummer Stewart CopelandStewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
. Though more members of this new lineup came from Stark Naked and the Car Thieves than Curved Air(Kristina being the only member not from the former band), they decided to adopt the Curved Air name for the same reasons that the Kristina/Wedgwood-led band had done the same thing. With Darryl Way at the helm, this new band often employed the same classical and folk influences as the original band(and even played one or two of the original band's songs at each of their shows), but their core sound was rooted in pop, rhythm and blues, and hard rock. Miles Copeland III, still serving as Curved Air's manager, put the group on his own label, BTM.
The band kicked off with a European tour, which started poorly. Way, a notorious perfectionist, grew impatient with the struggling of his bandmates, especially novice drummer Copeland. Then, for reasons no one could pinpoint, the musicians suddenly "clicked" with each other and the band caught fire, quickly becoming a popular and acclaimed live act.
Their studio efforts were another story, however. Phil Kohn left and the band, unable to replace him in time for the sessions for Midnight Wire
Midnight Wire
Midnight Wire is the fifth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1975. It marked another line-up change in the band, with Darryl Way and Sonja Kristina recruiting new musicians after the end of the reunion tour marked by the "Curved Air Live" album...
, relied on guest musicians to play both bass and keyboards. Norma Tager, a friend of Kristina’s, penned the lyrics to the "Midnight Wire" songs. Kohn was shortly replaced by Tony Reeves
Tony Reeves
Anthony 'Tony' Reeves is an English bass guitarist/contrabassist, noted for his "extremely prominent and complex bass sound" and use of electronic effects...
, formerly of Colosseum
Colosseum (band)
Colosseum is a pioneering British progressive jazz-rock band, mixing progressive rock and jazz-based improvisation.-History 1968 - 1971:The band was formed in September 1968 by drummer Jon Hiseman, tenor sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith and bass player Tony Reeves, who had previously worked together...
and Greenslade
Greenslade
Greenslade is an English progressive rock band. It was originally formed in the autumn of 1972 with the following line-up:* Dave Greenslade - keyboards...
, but the recording sessions for both Midnight Wire and 1976's Airborne
Airborne (Curved Air album)
Airborne is the sixth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1976. Like their last few releases, it was not a significant commercial success. After a follow-up non-album single, "Baby Please Don't Go" b/w "Broken Lady", the group disbanded. Drummer Stewart Copeland went on to form The...
were expensive and highly stressful for everyone involved. Both albums - as well as "Desiree", a single drawn from Airborne - failed to break the charts.
Citing dissatisfaction with BTM Records' inability to support Curved Air financially, Way departed. Though Alex Richman from the Butts Band stepped in on keyboards, the loss of the band's de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
leader was a blow. This line-up's last-ditch attempt at a hit single, a cover version of "Baby Please Don't Go", was another flop. After months of gradually losing steam, Curved Air broke up so quietly that, by Sonja Kristina's recollections, most of the music press wrote off the band's absence as a "sabbatical". Copeland formed The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, Reeves returned to work as a producer and played in semi-pro band Big Chief along with Jacques, and Kristina and Way both pursued solo careers. Kristina and Copeland maintained the close personal relationship they'd formed while bandmates and were married in 1982.
Interim
Curved Air as a group were largely inactive for the next three decades, though a handful of retrospective releases and compilations were released during this time. (Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
released the band's first compilation, "The Best of Curved Air", in April 1976, though it naturally only contained material from the band's four Warner Bros. albums.)
In 1984 Darryl Way asked Sonja Kristina to provide vocals to several of his solo recordings, two of which, "Renegade" and "We're Only Human", were released as a single under the Curved Air name. A third track, a cover of "O Fortuna", was released as a Sonja Kristina solo track on the b-side to "Walk on By", but was withdrawn due to objections from the Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
estate. Yet another track, "As Long as There's a Spark", was originally recorded by Way and Kristina, but released as a Darryl Way solo track, with Way performing the vocals himself. Way and Kristina followed these recordings with a short tour in 1988, again under the Curved Air name.
In 1990 the original Kristina, Way, Monkman and Pilkington-Miksa quartet gave a one-off reunion concert at the London's Town & Country
The Town & Country Club
The Town & Country Club was a 2,100 capacity theatre-style venue in Kentish Town in North London, England. The venue was built in 1934 and was originally an art deco cinema....
, supported by Noden's Ictus. The performance, recorded by Francis Monkman, was captured on the Alive, 1990
Alive, 1990
Alive, 1990 is a recording from the Curved Air reunion concert 23 September 1990. The lineup reunited Sonja Kristina, Francis Monkman, Florian Pilkington-Miksa, and Darryl Way, sixteen years after the last time all four of them played together....
album, released in 2000.
2008 -
In early 2008, the band regrouped. On 4 May 2008, in a message to the Curved Air Yahoo Group, Kristina advised that the new line-up would be herself, Darryl Way (violin), Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drums), Andy Christie (guitar) and Chris Harris (bass). Francis Monkman, who was originally pictured with Kristina, Way and Pilkington-Miksa for the reunion, left the project. "Unfortunately, he didn't have the same vision as the rest of us as to howMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in 2008.
In 2008 a CD/box set Reborn was released, with 12 re-recorded Curved Air tracks and two new songs ("Coming Home" and "The Fury"). Two of the oldies, "Melinda" and "Elfin Boy", were reworked and produced by Marvin Ayres
Marvin Ayres
Marvin Ayres is a british composer / cellist / violinist and producer. He has composed and recorded a diverse selection of minimalist albums, incorporating spatial soundscapes and psycho-acoustics and latterly 5.1 Surround Sound...
. As Way explained, the band had two reasons for this: they were never satisfied with the way those tracks were originally recorded and they wanted to have the product that they owned and were in control of. "Reborn was our way of preparing for the live work", Sonja Kristina added. On Friday, June 13, Curved Air performed at the Isle Of Wight Festival
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
to a generally positive response.
For the 2009 dates in Japan on January 16 and 17 at Club Citta, Kawasaki
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....
, the guitarist was Kit Morgan who replaced Christie. On 9 August 2009, Eddie Jobson stood in for Darryl Way at a one-off gig in Chislehurst
Chislehurst
Chislehurst is a suburban district in south-east London, England, and an electoral ward of the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. For their dates in October 2009, Way was indisposed, and Paul Sax (violin) and Robert Norton (keyboards) stood in for him. "Robert Norton is exceptional - as is Paul Sax, a master violinist -one of the first entrants to the Yehudi Menuhin school - a passionate and brave performer very well qualified to step into Darryl's light. All the band are brilliant players and inspiring people. Chris Harris is literally our root on bass and Kit Morgan the fire on guitar. Great chemistry and communication", Sonja Kristina commented. This lineup (Kristina, Pilkington-Miksa, Harris, Morgan, Sax and Norton) continues to gig as Curved Air. The band played at the London High Voltage Festival
High Voltage Festival
High Voltage is a music festival held in Victoria Park, London. The event hosts artists from various strands of rock music, including classic rock, progressive rock, and heavy metal. The first festival was held on the 24 and 25 July 2010...
2011 (July 23–24), alongside Spock's Beard
Spock's Beard
Spock's Beard is a progressive rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles by brothers Neal and Alan Morse. Neal played keyboards and was the lead vocalist, as well as being the primary songwriter before leaving the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career. Alan plays electric guitar...
, Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, and Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche
thumb|250px|right|Queensrÿche's classic line-up performing at the [[Sauna Open Air Metal Festival]] 2011 in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]. Left to right: bass Eddie Jackson, lead vocals Geoff Tate, drums Scott Rockenfield and guitars Michael Wilton....
, among others.
First incarnation (1970-72, 1974, 1990)
- Francis MonkmanFrancis MonkmanFrancis Monkman is an English rock, classical and film score composer, and a founding member of the progressive rock band Curved Air.-Career:...
- (keyboards, guitar) - Darryl WayDarryl WayDarryl Way is a British rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their only hit single, "Back Street Luv". He is best known as a violinist although he also played keyboards.He began his musical training at Dartington College of Arts, and later studied at...
- (violin, backing vocals, live keyboards) - Sonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina , is an English musician most recognizable as the vocalist for Curved Air.- Biography :...
- (vocals) - Florian Pilkington-MiksaFlorian Pilkington-MiksaFlorian Pilkington-Miksa was the drummer in the original line-up of the British rock group Curved Air. He subsequently joined Kiki Dee's band. In 2008 he became a founding member of the most recent incarnation of Curved Air.-References:...
- (drums) - Rob Martin (1970–71) - (bass guitar)
- Ian Eyre (1971)(born 11 September 1951, in KnaresboroughKnaresboroughKnaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...
, YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
) - (bass guitar) - Mike WedgwoodMike WedgwoodMike Wedgwood is an English bassist and singer. He is related to the Wedgwood family of pottery fame.Wedgwood joined The Overlanders in 1968 following their biggest hit, a cover of The Beatles song, "Michelle", and remained with them until 1971.Following a stint with Arthur's Mother from 1971–72,...
(1971–72) - (bass guitar, vocals, guitar) - Philip Kohn (1974) - (bass guitar)
Second incarnation (1973)
- Sonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina , is an English musician most recognizable as the vocalist for Curved Air.- Biography :...
- (vocals, acoustic guitar) - Mike WedgwoodMike WedgwoodMike Wedgwood is an English bassist and singer. He is related to the Wedgwood family of pottery fame.Wedgwood joined The Overlanders in 1968 following their biggest hit, a cover of The Beatles song, "Michelle", and remained with them until 1971.Following a stint with Arthur's Mother from 1971–72,...
- (bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar) - Eddie JobsonEddie JobsonEdwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...
- (keyboards, violin) - KirbyKirby GregoryGraham "Kirby" Gregory, often credited simply as Kirby is a British musician best known for playing with rock bands Curved Air and Stretch....
- (electric guitar) - Jim Russell - (percussion)
Third incarnation (1975-76)
- Darryl WayDarryl WayDarryl Way is a British rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their only hit single, "Back Street Luv". He is best known as a violinist although he also played keyboards.He began his musical training at Dartington College of Arts, and later studied at...
(left in late 1976) - (violin, keyboards) - Sonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina , is an English musician most recognizable as the vocalist for Curved Air.- Biography :...
- (vocals) - Mick Jacques - (guitars)
- Stewart CopelandStewart CopelandStewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
- (drums) - Phillip Kohn (1975) - (bass)
- Tony ReevesTony ReevesAnthony 'Tony' Reeves is an English bass guitarist/contrabassist, noted for his "extremely prominent and complex bass sound" and use of electronic effects...
(late 1975-1976) - (bass, keyboards) - Alex Richman (1976) - (keyboards)
Fourth incarnation (1984)
- Darryl WayDarryl WayDarryl Way is a British rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their only hit single, "Back Street Luv". He is best known as a violinist although he also played keyboards.He began his musical training at Dartington College of Arts, and later studied at...
- (violin, keyboards, guitars, drum machine) - Sonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina , is an English musician most recognizable as the vocalist for Curved Air.- Biography :...
- (vocals)
Fifth incarnation (2008-present)
- Sonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina LinwoodSonja Kristina , is an English musician most recognizable as the vocalist for Curved Air.- Biography :...
- (vocals) - Chris Harris - (bass)
- Florian Pilkington-Miksa - (drums)
- Andy Christie (2008–09) - (guitar)
- Darryl WayDarryl WayDarryl Way is a British rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their only hit single, "Back Street Luv". He is best known as a violinist although he also played keyboards.He began his musical training at Dartington College of Arts, and later studied at...
(2008–09) - (keyboards, violin) - Kit Morgan (2009–present) - (guitar)
- Paul Sax (2009–present) - (violin)
- Robert Norton (2009–present) - (keyboards)
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart-positions | Comments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
DE Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
CH Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
AT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
|||
| 1970 | Airconditioning Airconditioning -Side one:#"It Happened Today" – 4:55#"Stretch" – 4:05#"Screw" – 4:03#"Blind Man" – 3:32#"Vivaldi" – 7:26-Side two:... |
8 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | Second Album Second Album (Curved Air album) Allmusic's review was largely negative, saying that the album lacks the innovation and originality of the band's other releases, replaced by "a crop of relatively straightforward but sonically flat rock songs"... |
11 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1972 | Phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (Curved Air album) Phantasmagoria is a 1972 album by Curved Air. It reached No. 20 in the UK Charts and is notable for its early use of the EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer to process lead singer Sonja Kristina's voice on the second side... |
20 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1973 | Air Cut Air Cut Air Cut is the fourth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1973, following the departure of three of the band's founder members. Only Sonja Kristina and Mike Wedgwood remained in the band from their previous album and Air Cut took them in a more rock-oriented direction.-Reception:While... |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1975 | Live Curved Air - Live Allmusic wrote that "Kristina herself is possibly in her best voice ever, while the instrumentation rides roughshod over the... belief that Curved Air were at their best in the studio", offering high praise to nearly all of the individual cuts while criticizing none of them.-Track... |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1975 | Midnight Wire Midnight Wire Midnight Wire is the fifth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1975. It marked another line-up change in the band, with Darryl Way and Sonja Kristina recruiting new musicians after the end of the reunion tour marked by the "Curved Air Live" album... |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1976 | Airborne Airborne (Curved Air album) Airborne is the sixth studio album by Curved Air and was recorded in 1976. Like their last few releases, it was not a significant commercial success. After a follow-up non-album single, "Baby Please Don't Go" b/w "Broken Lady", the group disbanded. Drummer Stewart Copeland went on to form The... |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1990 | Lovechild Lovechild (Curved Air album) Lovechild is the seventh studio album credited to progressive rock band Curved Air, though only half the tracks are actually performed by the group. The album consists of previously unreleased demos overseen by Clifford Adams in the early 1970s: one by John O'Hara, two by Eddie Jobson, a demo for... |
- | - | - | - | - | collection of demos recorded in 1973, some of which are by Curved Air |
| 1995 | Live at the BBC Live at the BBC (Curved Air album) Live at the BBC is a compilation live album of the British progressive rock band Curved Air from sessions on:* November 10, 1970 * January 5, 1971 * March 9, 1971 * January 29, 1976... |
- | - | - | - | - | Sessions from 1970,1971,1976 including two songs otherwise unrecorded and an early version of "Young Mother" with different lyrics from the version on Second Album |
| 2000 | Alive, 1990 Alive, 1990 Alive, 1990 is a recording from the Curved Air reunion concert 23 September 1990. The lineup reunited Sonja Kristina, Francis Monkman, Florian Pilkington-Miksa, and Darryl Way, sixteen years after the last time all four of them played together.... |
- | - | - | - | - | Live recording of 1990 reunion concert |
| 2008 | Reborn | - | - | - | - | - | New recordings of songs from the first five studio albums plus two new tracks |
| 2010 | Retrospective | - | - | - | - | - | Anthology 1970-2009 including three tracks by MASK |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart-positions | Comments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
DE Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
CH Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
AT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
|||
| 1971 | It Happened Today Vivaldi What Happens When You Blow Yourself Up: |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | Back Street Luv Back Street Luv "Back Street Luv" is a song by British rock band Curved Air, written by band members Ian Eyre, Sonja Kristina and Darryl Way. It was included into the Second Album and released as a single in July 1971 by Warner Bros. Records . On September 18 "Back Street Luv" reached number 4 in the UK Singles... Everdance |
4 | - | - | - | - | |
| 1972 | Sarah's Concern Phantasmagoria |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1975 | Back Street Luv (live) It Happened Today (live) |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1976 | Desiree Kids to Blame |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1976 | Baby Please Don't Go Broken Lady |
- | - | - | - | - | |
| 1984 | Renegade We're Only Human |
- | - | - | - | - | |