The group evolved out of the band Sisyphus, 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 High Tide, 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 - (Drum kit, drums)
Rob Martin - (bass guitar).
Throughout their lifespan the band experienced frequent personnel changes. To name but a few of the better-known:
Ian Eyre (born , in Knaresborough, Yorkshire) played bass on the second album
Mike Wedgwood (born , 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 Air Cut
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, in Lee Green, South East London), (ex-Greenslade, Colosseum, John Mayall) played bass on Airborne.
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 Chart, and was one of the first vinyl picture discs to be released. Second Album peaked at #11; whilst their third album, Phantasmagoria reached #20. The band's most successful single (reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart) was "Back Street Luv".
The drummer on the 1971 Beat Club German T.V performance of Back Street Luv was session player Barry de Souza (Lou Reed, Jeff Beck, Kate Bush) who recently died of cancer.
Recent times
In 1990 the group performed together again briefly and a live album of this concert was released ten years later.
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 -
Curved Air - "Back Street Luv"
18 seconds (of 3:35)
Sonja Kristina - vocals
Darryl Way - violin
Florian Pilkington-Miksa - drums
Andy Christie - guitar
Chris Harris - bass
Francis Monkman, who was originally pictured with Kristina, Way and Pilkington-Miksa for the re-union, seems to have left the project.
The new line-up played 2008 in Southern England, Italy and Malta. For the 2009 dates in Japan on Jan 16th & 17th at Club Citta, Kawasaki, the guitarist was Kit Morgan.
The first lineup consisted of:
Francis Monkman - (keyboards, guitar)
Darryl Way - (electric violin, vocals)
Sonja Kristina Linwood - (vocals)
Florian Pilkington-Miksa - (Drum kit, drums)
Rob Martin - (bass guitar).
Throughout their lifespan the band experienced frequent personnel changes. To name but a few of the better-known:
Ian Eyre (born , in Knaresborough, Yorkshire) played bass on the second album
Mike Wedgwood (born , 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 Air Cut
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, in Lee Green, South East London), (ex-Greenslade, Colosseum, John Mayall) played bass on Airborne.
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 Chart, and was one of the first vinyl picture discs to be released. Second Album peaked at #11; whilst their third album, Phantasmagoria reached #20. The band's most successful single (reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart) was "Back Street Luv".
The drummer on the 1971 Beat Club German T.V performance of Back Street Luv was session player Barry de Souza (Lou Reed, Jeff Beck, Kate Bush) who recently died of cancer.
Recent times
In 1990 the group performed together again briefly and a live album of this concert was released ten years later.
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 -
Curved Air - "Back Street Luv"
18 seconds (of 3:35)
Sonja Kristina - vocals
Darryl Way - violin
Florian Pilkington-Miksa - drums
Andy Christie - guitar
Chris Harris - bass
Francis Monkman, who was originally pictured with Kristina, Way and Pilkington-Miksa for the re-union, seems to have left the project.
The new line-up played 2008 in Southern England, Italy and Malta. For the 2009 dates in Japan on Jan 16th & 17th at Club Citta, Kawasaki, the guitarist was Kit Morgan.
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