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Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the next release in the continuing series of reissues of the entire catalogue by the legendary classical rock band Sky. Formed in 1979, Sky brought together the worlds of rock and classical music in a highly successful and inspiring way. Featuring the gifted talents of guitarist John Williams, percussionist Tristan Fry, legendary bass player Herbie Flowers, former Curved Air keyboard player Francis Monkman and guitarist Kevin Peek, Sky recorded their debut album at Abbey Road studios in the early months of 1979. The band’s self-titled debut reached the UK top ten in May 1979 and went on to achieve Platinum status in the UK and was also a major hit in Europe and Australia.

The fourth Sky album - Sky 4 Forthcoming - was released in March 1982. This was Sky's first album to feature no original material. It consisted predominantly of arrangements of classical compositions (with the exception of a version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" and a band-composed variation on Adam de la Halle's ballet score for "My Giselle") and was marketed under the slogan "Genius Past, Genius Forthcoming". Music on the album included Sky treatments of pieces such as Berlioz's "March To The Scaffold" and Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries".

Eye in the Sky provided the Alan Parsons Project with their first Top Ten hit since 1977's I Robot, and it's hard not to feel that crossover success was one of the driving forces behind this album…

Sky were an English/Australian instrumental rock group that specialised in combining a variety of musical styles, most prominently rock, classical and jazz. The group's original and best-known line-up featured classical guitarist John Williams, bass player Herbie Flowers, electric guitarist Kevin Peek, drummer Tristan Fry and keyboard player Francis Monkman. In September 1984, Sky began recording their seventh album, The Great Balloon Race, in Kevin Peek's Tracks Studio in Western Australia. During the mixing stage, the band learnt that they had been dropped by Ariola Records. The album was eventually released on Epic Records (coincidentally, also the label releasing John Williams' albums) in April 1985. The Great Balloon Race was the first Sky album to feature entirely original material without any classical content, although two pieces ("Allegro" and "Caldando") were strongly classically inspired.