The trio wisely added Bairnson to their ranks shortly afterwards. ‘Magic’ remains an enduring pop/rock classic and undoubtedly benefits from the dynamic guitar introduction by fellow Scot Ian Bairnson, grafted on to the start of the song at EMI’s insistence. The band’s debut release From The Album Of The Same Name opens with ‘Just A Smile’, which was inexplicably not a hit first time around, although this was remedied when a rerecorded version reached number 31 the following year. They were initially marketed at a pubescent audience, but Pilot were a group of accomplished musicians and their recorded legacy is celebrated in a new 4CD set, Pilot – The Albums. Their single ‘Magic’ was a top five hit in America, reached the top twenty in the UK and to this day is still sung at football grounds up and down the country. With the addition of Stuart Tosh on drums they became Pilot and, along with Queen and Cockney Rebel, were the first new acts to be signed to the flagship EMI label – and the first of those acts to achieve a number one single with their song ‘January’. Lyall issued a solo album in 1976, Solo Casting (which featured his fellow Pilot bandmates), and later joined the group Dollar, before passing away in December of 1989 from an AIDS-related illness.It began as a creative collaboration between two Edinburgh songwriters and musicians, David Paton and Billy Lyall. Tosh soon resurfaced as part of 10cc, as both Paton and Bairnson concentrated on studio work, playing on Kate Bush's 1978 debut, The Kick Inside, as well as recordings for Alan Parsons and Chris de Burgh. Further albums followed (1976's Morin Heights and 1977's Two's a Crowd) as well as a few more moderate-sized hit singles ('Call Me Round,' 'Just a Smile') before Pilot folded. The album spawned a Top 20 hit with 'Magic,' but it was their 1975 single 'January' (off their sophomore effort Second Flight) that proved to be the biggest success of the group's entire career, rocketing to the number one spot. The group added a few additional members along the way (including two chaps who were former members of teeny boppers the Bay City Rollers, plus session guitarist Ian Bairnson), before issuing their self-titled debut in 1974. 70s soft-rockers Pilot originally formed in 1973 with its bandmembers ( David Paton on bass and vocals Billy Lyall on synthesizer, flute, and vocals and Stuart Tosh on drums) all hailing from Scotland.

Pilot penny in my pocket