Curved Air are a pioneering British progressive rock group formed in 1969.^[1]

History

The group evolved out of the band Sisyphus,^[2] and was named after the piece "A Rainbow in Curved Air" by contemporary composer Terry Riley. The musicians came from quite different artistic backgrounds, classic, folk, and electronic sound, which resulted in a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. Along with It's A Beautiful Day and East of Eden, Curved Air were one of the first rock bands to feature a violin.

The first lineup consisted of:

• Francis Monkman - (keyboards, guitar)
• Darryl Way - (electric violin, vocals)
• Sonja Kristina Linwood - (vocals)
• Florian Pilkington-Miksa - (drums)
• Rob Martin - (bass).

Throughout their lifespan the band experienced frequent personnel changes. To name but a few of the better-known:

• Ian Eyre (born 11 September, in Knaresborough, Yorkshire) played bass on the second album
• Mike Wedgwood (born 19 May 1950, in Derby, Derbyshire) played bass on the third and fourth albums (later in Caravan)
• Eddie Jobson (later Roxy Music, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull and UK) played keyboards and violin on Aircut
• John G. Perry (ex-Caravan) played bass on Midnight Wire
• Stewart Copeland (later of The Police) played drums on Midnight Wire and Airborne. He was a full member of the band between 1975 and 1977.
• Tony Reeves (born 18 April 1943, in London), (ex-Greenslade, Colosseum, John Mayall) played bass on Airborne.

Sonja Kristina was the only constant member of Curved Air. Monkman, member of Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, was later to play with John Williams in a group called Sky.

The band's 1970 debut, Airconditioning, reached number 8 in the UK Albums Charts, and was one of the first vinyl picture discs to be released. The band's most successful single (reaching no. 4 in the UK charts) was "Back Street Luv", taken from their 1971 "Second Album" ^[3].

Recent Times

In 1990 the group performed together again briefly and a live album of this concert was released ten years later. ^[4]

In early 2008 the band regrouped.^[5][6] On 4th May 2008, in a message to the Curved Air Yahoo Group, Sonja Kristina advised that the new line-up would be -

• Sonja Kristina - vocals
• Darryl Way - violin
• Florian Pilkington-Miksa - drums
• Andy Christie - guitar
• Chris Harris - bass

Francis Monkman, who was originally pictured with Sonja, Darryl and Florian for the re-union, seems to have left the project.

Discography

Albums

• Airconditioning (1970) including the renowned piece "Vivaldi"
• Second Album (1971) including the biggest hit "Back Street Luv"
• Phantasmagoria (1972)
• Air Cut (1973)
• Live (1975)
• Midnight Wire (1975)
• Airborne (1976)
• Lovechild (recorded 1973, released 1990)
• Live At The BBC (1995)
• Alive, 1990 (2000)
• Reborn (2008)

Singles

• "It Happened Today" / "Vivaldi" / "What Happens When You Blow Yourself Up" (1971)
• "Back Street Luv" / "Everdance" (1971) UK#4
• "Sarah's Concern" / "Phantasmagoria" (1972)
• "Desiree" / "Kids to Blame" (1976)
• "Baby Please Don't Go" / "Broken Lady" (1976)
• "Renegade" / "We're Only Human" (1984)

References

External links

• Curved Air website
• 2006 Francis Monkman interview

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