Pilot

Formed 1973 in Edinburgh, Scotland Disbanded 198

Group Members:
Ian Bairnson, William Lyall, Peter Oxendale, David Paton, Steve Swindells, Stuart Tosh

'70s soft-rockers Pilot originally formed in 1973 with its bandmembers (David Paton on bass and vocals; Billy Lyall on synthesizer, flute, and vocals; and Stuart Tosh on drums) all hailing from Scotland. The group added a few additional 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 well as 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 recordings for Alan Parsons and Chris de Burgh. Lyall issued a solo album in 1976, 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.



David Paton was born October 29, 1949 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

When David was starting out, he was in a number of bands including Boots and Christian, but the band that launched his career was Pilot. In 1974, Pilot had it’s first hit when the single "Magic" soared like a jet plane. Before the band broke up in 1977, Pilot had released four albums.

In 1975, the members of Pilot would join Alan Parsons in the making of the first of many Project albums. From there, David played bass on every Alan Parsons Project album up to the 1986 "Stereotomy" album.

After the first couple of Project albums, many of the Project band members got into sessions in a big way, and David was no exception. From Camel to The Pretenders, from Kate Bush to Chris DeBurgh, it seemed that David was everywhere.

In the mid-eighties, David also played on both Andrew Powell's "Best of APP" and the "Ladyhawke" soundtrack. In addition, David also was a member of the short-lived band called Keats.

In the late eighties, David began working with Elton John, and played on a number of albums, and tours, including the show performed in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

In 1991, David would appear on "Internal Exile" by Fish. This would be the first of many albums with Fish. In the late nineties, he worked on numerous albums by Rick Wakeman.

In 1991, David released his first solo album called "Passion's Cry", which was in the style of traditional Scottish music. After that was deleted by the record company, David re-recorded the best tracks onto his latest solo album, 1997's "Fragments".

More recently David Paton has been working in the area of traditional Scottish music, as well as pop music. However, the big project at the moment is working with Ian Bairnson, and together they are re-visiting their old Pilot album "Two’s A Crowd".

Discography:

Album
1977 Two's a Crowd
1976 Morin Heights
1975 January
1975 Second Flight
1974 Pilot (From the Album of the Same Name)