Voyager (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Voyager were an English pop-rock band formed initially in Newbury, Berkshire, as The Paul French Connection by Paul French (vocals, keyboards), Paul Hirsh (keyboards, guitar), Chris Hook (bass), and former member of Mr Big, John Marter (drums). Though they initially saw themselves as a progressive group, they had to tailor their style to a more commercial mood, as evidenced by their debut single "Halfway Hotel". It was their only hit, reaching No. 33 in 1979, and became the title track of their first album.
A second album Act of Love (1980) yielded a turntable hit (heavily played on music radio without ever entering the charts), the exuberant "Sing Out (Love Is Easy)". Part of the instrumental section of the single was used for some time thereafter as background music for the chart rundown on BBC Radio 1 each week.
A third and final album, Voyager, followed the next year, but without further chart success they disbanded. A compilation, Travels in Time, was issued on CD in 2004.
Marter later joined Marillion, then Alaska, and since 1994 has played on and off with the SAS Band, a loose conglomeration of musicians and singers led by Spike Edney, former keyboard player on stage with Queen. He and Hook have also worked with Lemonrock, a Deep Purple tribute band, while Hook also plays with semi-pro outfit Bluefish. Hirsh temporarily joined Status Quo for live performances in 2000 while keyboard player and guitarist Andy Bown took a break for personal reasons. French went on to compose classical pieces premiered at the Wigmore Hall by Endymion Ensemble and composed production music in various styles for Chappell Music Library.
Most recently the band reunited to record another album entitled Eye Contact.
