Friday, March 18, 2011

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Pilot

Artist:Pilot
Song:Magic
Album:Hard To Find 45's On CD Vol. 8: Seventies Pop Classics





Magic was the biggest hit for the Scottish group Pilot in 1974. I think it's one of those memorable songs but most folks don't know anything about the band. They faded quickly and most members joined The Alan Parsons Project. Pilot was from Edinburgh, Scotland. Bassist David Paton and keyboard player Billy Lyall were members of an early version of The Bay City Rollers. When that didn't work out, they started Pilot with drummer Stuart Tosh and guitarist Ian Bairnson. Paton and Lyall wrote all the songs and Paton sang lead vocals. They signed with EMI Records and were produced by Alan Parsons who had already produced Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon. Magic was their first single and their biggest hit in 1974. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Canadian charts. Their second single January topped the British charts. Pilot recorded three albums but only the first one was successful. By the time Two's A Crowd was released in 1977, Billy Lyall had already recorded a solo album and the others joined The Alan Parsons Project. Tosh also worked with10cc. You can get Magic on this various artists comp from Eric Records. Billy Lyall died of AIDS in 1989. The others became session musicians after The Alan Parsons Project ran its course. Here's Pilot performing Magic on Top Of The Pops 1974.

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