Q&A DAVID PATON
Prog|Issue 140
Pilot bassist and The Alan Parsons Project member reminisces about working with Kate Bush, Rick Wakeman’s unusual ice-breakers, and that time one of his songs was used to advertise a diabetes drug.
James McNair
Q&A DAVID PATON

Edinburgh-born singer, bassist and guitarist David Paton has played on countless great records throughout his career. First striking gold as the voice and writer of Pilot’s 70s power-pop smashes Magic and January, he went on to work with The Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush, Camel, Rick Wakeman, Fish, The Pretenders and more. Paton has played Scalextric with Paul McCartney, performed at Live Aid with Elton John, and once politely declined to join a surgeon in an impromptu rendition of Magic while having a tiny camera inserted into his urethra. Now 73, but still remarkably well-preserved, he’s just written his star-studded autobiography Magic: The David Paton Story.

Why publish your memoir now?

I found myself relating stories about my career at dinner parties and friends and family said, “Why don’t you put them in a book?” I started 20 years ago and eventually got up to 60,000 words.

Pilot songs January and Magic never seem to get old. Are they the gift that keeps on giving?

Even now, Magic still gets used for so many things. In the US the manufacturers of the drug Ozempic have been using it to spearhead their campaign since 2018. It’s a diabetes drug, but one of the sideeffects is weight loss, so the Kardashians are [allegedly] using it!

You made nine albums with The Alan Parsons Project…

Eye In The Sky was probably the pinnacle. Everybody was really focused and after that we seemed to wane a bit because Eric [Woolfson, APP pianist] wasn’t writing songs of the same quality. He had a fall out with [record industry bigwig] Clive Davis and that was reflected in his writing. A few of the songs had a dig at Clive and I found it petty.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 140-Ausgabe von Prog.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 140-Ausgabe von Prog.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS PROGAlle anzeigen
JAKKO M JAKSZYK
Prog

JAKKO M JAKSZYK

King Crimson's vocalist and guitarist shares anecdotes from his revealing new autobiography, discusses his lost career as a footballer and reveals what he said when he met the former king of pop.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Issue 154
A Part & Yet Apart
Prog

A Part & Yet Apart

Sheffield-based 80s proggers Haze have returned with a new studio album, The Water's Edge - their third since their 2013 comeback record, The Last Battle. Prog catches up with threequarters of the band to discuss Haze's DIY ethos, the curse of prog and playing to Cumbrian sheep farmers.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Issue 154
CONTROLLED AIRSPACE
Prog

CONTROLLED AIRSPACE

He's about to embark on Dream Theater's 40th Anniversary Tour, but keyboard maestro Jordan Rudess has taken time out to discuss his soaring new solo album, Permission To Fly.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Issue 154
On The Wing
Prog

On The Wing

Birds, break-ups, big choruses and the Charlie Chaplin effect can all be found on In Murmuration, the ninth album from Finland's Von Hertzen Brothers. But as they embrace their power pop influences, have the Finns cast off their prog wizard cloaks once and for all? Mikko von Hertzen talks about the Seattle influence, songwriting secrets and sax solos.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
Issue 154
Fourth Dimension
Prog

Fourth Dimension

The stock of melodic Northumberland-based proggers Stuckfish has been rising since they formed six years ago. Their fourth studio album, Stuckfish IV, represents an important watershed in the band's musical evolution. Co-founders Adrian Fisher and Phil Stuckey tell Prog about the diverse influences that have helped to shape it.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Issue 154
Symphly The Best
Prog

Symphly The Best

In the 70s, Barclay James Harvest almost bankrupted themselves by performing with an orchestra, but, several decades on, they’re celebrating last year’s performance with the Slaithwaite Philharmonic, captured on their latest live record, Philharmonic! The Orchestral Concert. John Lees reminisces over the band’s ambitious early years and bassist Craig Fletcher fills Prog in on JLBJH’s upcoming “progtastic” double album.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
Issue 154
We've Not Been Expecting You
Prog

We've Not Been Expecting You

The unpredictable Frost* are back with Life In The Wires, a bold double concept album that revisits the mood of Milliontown. Bandleader Jem Godfrey tells Prog why he rolled out the solos on a record he describes as the most fun since their dazzling debut.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
Issue 154
FAR HORIZONS AND PANORAMIC AMBITIONS
Prog

FAR HORIZONS AND PANORAMIC AMBITIONS

Dutch five-piece Lesoir have been steadily gathering momentum over the last 15 years, and they hope to build on that with their latest release, Push Back The Horizon. Vocalist/ instrumentalist Maartje Meessen and guitarist Ingo Dassen discuss the creation of their sixth album, working with Muse's production team, and their dream of bringing their intricate music to new audiences.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Issue 154
'I mean, what is classical nowadays?'
Prog

'I mean, what is classical nowadays?'

Tony Banks reflects on his role as a 21st-century classical composer.

time-read
8 Minuten  |
Issue 154
There Can Be Only One!
Prog

There Can Be Only One!

Never meet your heroes, or so the saying goes, but Opeth have had a blast working with Ian Anderson on their latest, The Last Will And Testament. Bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson discuss the band's proggiest album to date, the return of the growl and why blood isn't always thicker than water.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
Issue 154