| Orchestra or Band | Sky (John Williams, Herbie Flowers, Kevin Peek, Tristan Fry, Francis Monkman) |
| Set List | 'Westway', H Flowers, F Monkman,
'Danza', R Pipo, arr. K Peek,
'Cavatina', S Myers, arr. Sky,
'Cannonball', F Monkman,
'Gymnopedie No.1', E Satie, arr. J Williams,
'March of the Little Fairies', H Flowers,
'Sahara', K Peek,
'El Cielo', trad., arr. J Williams,
'Carrillon', H Flowers,
'Toccata in D Minor', J S Bach,
'Vivaldi', D Way |
| Performance Notes | Sky's London and Royal Albert Hall debuts.
"POP.
ROYAL ALBERT HALL.
WILLIAMS / SKY.
Amy scowls and snorts if disapproval from the bigoted few who feel that John Williams should not be meddling with rock musicians must seem to him as trifles after last night's rapturous and rcihly deservedly reception for his group Sky.
Against all odds, their London debut provided a capacity house with one of the most dazzlingly accomplished, delightfully good humoured and superbly presented concerts seen under this hallowed dome for many a moon.
While the expertise, if not virtuosity, of all five musicians has gone almost unquestioned by those who know of their antecedents and their sole recorded work to date, the most praise should now be lavished upon the sound engineers who achieved the well-nigh impossible by marrying Williams's acoustic guitar to the driving electronic energy of his colleagues.
Precisely because of its catholic range, the concert was disarmingly unpredictable, It swooped effortlessly from the pure classicism of Williams's Vivaldi duet with Kevin Peek to a supercharged arrangement of Bach's Toccata in D minor and then to a joky interlude with Herbie Flowers on his illuminated tuba.
Perhaps Stanley Myer's delicious "Cavatina," now universally known as the theme from "The Deer Hunter," gained little from the extra orchestration but "Carrillon," building steadily to its tirring climax found Williams at his delicate best.
After all manner of exploration into Saharan mysteries and thundering kettle-drums, the aptly titled "Where Opposites Meet" seemed to set the seal. For these five men, the sky may indeed by the limit - in the nicest possible way.
(The Daily Telegraph, 25 May 1979) |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1979/79) |