David Paton (/ˈpeɪtən/; born 29 October 1949)[1] is a Scottish bassist, guitarist and singer. He first achieved success in the mid-1970s as lead vocalist and bassist of Pilot, who scored hits with "Magic", "January", "Just a Smile" and "Call Me Round" before splitting in 1977. Paton is also known for his work in the original lineup of The Alan Parsons Project (1975-1985), and for working with acts such as Kate Bush, Camel and Elton John.
Biography
Early life
David Paton, Countdown Spectacular 2, Australia, 2007Albert Hammond & David Paton 2018, Live in Schneeberg, Germany
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland,[1] Paton grew up in the south-eastern suburb of Gilmerton, Edinburgh, where he attended Liberton High School. His first band was called 'The Beachcombers' and they signed a recording contract in 1968 with CBS Records. They changed their name to The Boots and published their first single, "The Animal In Me".[2] This was soon followed by "Keep Your Lovelight Burning".[3] Because of financial problems, the band split up in 1970.
Career
Paton initially joined the Bay City Rollers for a short period of time but never recorded with them. He joined in 1968, as their bassist, when bassist Alan Longmuir, switched to full-time guitarist. After leaving them in October 1970, Longmuir switched back to bass, and Paton became a member of another Band called 'Fresh', which changed their name to Christyan and published a single, "Nursery Lane", in 1971.[4] While still playing with the band, he took a job as a musician in a nightclub called Tiffanys where he met Ian Bairnson.
In 1973, Paton was a co-founder of Pilot. With Ian Bairnson, Billy Lyall and Stuart Tosh, they recorded several demos with EMI Records and recorded their first album From the Album of the Same Name which was published in 1974.[5] On it was included their first major hit, "Magic" [6] and Bairnson, who was still not an official member of the band, joined them after the recording of the first album. They released their second album Second Flight in 1975, and its single "January" topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks, ironically beginning week ending 1 February.[7] and it was followed in 1976 by their third, Morin Heights which was recorded at Le Studio in Morin Heights in Quebec, Canada, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker.
His first solo album was released in 1991, titled Passions Cry (under the name of Davie Paton), and the second album Fragments in 1996, that was also under the same name. In 1980, Paton already recorded an album with the title No Ties No Strings at the Abbey Road Studios, which was never released.[8] In 2003, however, the album The Search was released, which was a new recording of the "lost album" from 1980. In the following years, David Paton released other solo albums.
In the 1980s, Paton was known for his work with Camel and Elton John in studio albums and touring around the world. Other credits include bass guitar and backing vocals for several albums by Fish, as well as Rick Wakeman in the 1990s, such as The Classical Connection, African Bach, Softsword, The Classical Connection 2 and Prayers. In 1984, he was a member of Keats.[9] In 1985, he participated to the original score for the movie Ladyhawke which was written, composed and played by Andrew Powell and produced by Alan Parsons.
Paton also appeared solo in the Countdown Spectacular 2 concert series in Australia, between August and September 2007, as a performer and musical director.[10][11]
Media related to David Paton (musician) at Wikimedia Commons
