| Sky 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 April 1980[1] | |||
| Studio | Studio 3, Abbey Road Studios | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 79:56 | |||
| Label | Arista/Ariola | |||
| Producer | Sky, Haydn Bendall, Tony Clark | |||
| Sky chronology | ||||
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Sky 2 is the second album by English/Australian instrumental progressive rock band Sky, released in 1980. Despite being a double album it reached number one in the British Album charts, and at the time was the fastest double album to receive platinum status in the UK,[2] while the instrumental single "Toccata" peaked at 5 in the British Singles Chart.[3] The album was released in the United States and Canada as Sky (not to be confused with the band's debut album of that name), becoming the group's first and highest-charting entry on the Billboard 200.
Francis Monkman played guitar on the 20-minute rock suite "FIFO" because, in his words, "I felt it necessary to inject a grunge element".[4] "FIFO" stands for "First In, First Out", and is a piece about computer processing.[5]
The track "Tuba Smarties" is a light-hearted piece composed and played on tuba by bassist Herbie Flowers, and commonly played during the band's live show as a humorous encore. It is named after Smarties chocolate confectionery, that are sold in cardboard tubes.
The track "Vivaldi" is Sky's own version of an earlier track by fellow progressive rock band Curved Air, of which Monkman was formerly a member. It originally appeared on their 1970 album "Air Conditioning".
- ^ "BPI".
- ^ "Sky - Instrumental Band of the 80s".
- ^ Sky UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ Wynne, Richard (2002). In Jam [sleeve notes].
- ^ "Sky 2".