Sailor are a British pop/glam rock group, best known in the 1970s for their

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s "A Glass of Champagne" and "Girls, Girls, Girls", written by the group's lead singer and 12-string guitar player,

Georg Kajanus Georg Johan Tjegodiev

r Tchegodaieff R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...

Kajanus (born 9 February 1946) is a Norwegian composer and pop musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the British pop group Sailor (band), Sailor. Early years Kajanus was born in Trondhe ...

In the 1970s

The group's leader, Georg Kajanus, had previously written "Flying Machine" for

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

in 1971, although it was Richard's first British single that failed to reach the

top 30 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

. Sailor developed from Kajanus Pickett, a singer-songwriter duo that had formed when

Phil Pickett Philip Stuart Pickett (born 19 November 1946) is an English songwriter, musician, vocal arranger, producer and artist manager. He is principally known as a songwriter and musician and for co-writing and recording " Karma Chameleon", one of the ...

and Kajanus met in 1970 at E H Morris, a

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

where Pickett briefly worked. They later recorded the album ''Hi Ho Silver'' for Signpost Records. Sailor first came together in 1973 with the addition of musicians Henry Marsh (ex-Gringo) and

Grant Serpell Stephen Grant Serpell (born 4 February 1944) is a British drummer. He was a member of several bands during the 1960s and 1970s, including Affinity and Sailor. Career While studying for a degree in Chemistry from the University of Sussex, Serpel ...

(ex-

Affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Par ...

). The group's work included Kajanus's invention the Nickelodeon, a musical instrument made of pianos, synthesizers and

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

s that allowed the four-piece band to reproduce on stage the acoustic arrangements that they had done in the recording studio. The group's first UK single was "Traffic Jam" from their first album, ''Sailor''. "A Glass of Champagne", issued late the following year from the ''

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

'' album, reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up "Girls, Girls, Girls" also made the Top 10, but of their subsequent singles, only "One Drink Too Many" registered in the UK

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

. Sailor's original line-up split up in 1978, although Pickett and Marsh released more material as Sailor with Gavin and Virginia David in 1980, with an album of Pickett compositions called ''Dressed for Drowning'', produced by

James William Guercio James William Guercio (born July 18, 1945) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter, and director. He is well known for his work as the producer of Chicago's early albums as well as early recordings of The Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat ...

at his Caribou studio in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

( Epic /

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

Revival

In 1989, Sailor reformed to release a new album after a ten-year silence with two new singles, "The Secretary" and "La Cumbia". The band started touring again in 1993, and performed on many television programmes in Europe. In 1995, Kajanus departed the band again to pursue other projects. The arrival of Peter Lincoln saw Sailor issue their first live album, ''Live in Berlin''. Original member Marsh left in 1999, and was replaced by Anthony England. England left the band in May 2001, to be replaced by Rob Alderton; the new line-up recorded their first DVD in November 2002. In 2004, Sailor were voted the 45th-most successful pop band of the last 40 years in Germany. A biography of the group by James McCarraher, entitled ''A Glass of Champagne – The Official Sailor Story'', was published in June 2004. Alderton left in July 2005, and Marsh returned to the line-up. ''Buried Treasure'', a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

of previously recorded material, was released in February 2006. By September, Lincoln had left Sailor to join

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

. After this, Marsh's classically trained son Oliver joined the band as their new guitarist and lead singer. He was replaced in 2009 by Nick Parvin but rejoined in May 2011 along with his brother Thomas, who joined as drummer, replacing Serpell.

Band members

;

Georg Kajanus Georg Johan Tjegodiev

(born Prince Georg Johan Tchegodaieff, 9 June 1946,

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

) :1973–1979, 1990–1995: lead vocals, 12-string guitars, acoustic guitars, charango, Veracruzana harp, harmonium, synthesisers, "Klockwork machinery" ; Henry Marsh (born Ian Henry Murray Marsh, 8 December 1948, Bath, Somerset) :1973–1999, 2005–present: Nickelodeon, accordion, piano, marimbas, synthesised brass and reed, synthesisers, acoustic/electric guitars, computer programming, vocals ;

(born Philip Stuart Pickett, 19 November 1946,

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

, Germany) :1973–present (except ''Checkpoint''): bass Nickelodeon, piano, guitarron, synthesised strings, calliope, xylophone, bass, cruz bass, Hammond organ, mandolin, autoharp, vocals (lead vocals on ''Dressed for Drowning'') ;

(born Stephen Grant Serpell, 9 February 1944, Maidenhead, Berkshire) :1973–1979, 1990–2011: drums, percussion, vocals ;Gavin David :1980: vocals ;Virginia David :1980: lead and backing vocals ;Peter Lincoln :1996–2006: 12-string and 6-string acoustic guitars, electric guitar, charango, lead vocals ;Anthony England :1999–2001: Nickelodeon, vocals ;Rob Alderton :2001–2005: Nickelodeon, accordion, vocals ;Oliver Marsh :2006–2009: guitar, lead vocals ;Nick Parvin :2009–2011:guitar, lead vocals ;Oliver Marsh :2011– present: guitar, lead vocals ;Thomas Marsh :2011–present: drums, percussion, vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

*1978 ''Greatest Hits Vol.1'' *1990 ''Girls, Girls, Girls: The Very Best of Sailor'' *1994 ''Hits and Highlights'' *1995 ''Greatest Hits – Best of the Best'' *1996 ''Legacy: Greatest and Latest'' *1999 ''Girls, Girls, Girls'' *2002 ''Sailor'' *2005 ''Best: Down by the Docks'' *2006 ''Buried Treasure'' (double CD) *2007 ''Buried Treasure'' (single CD) *2007 ''The Best of Sailor'' *2007 ''A Glass of Champagne: All the Hits'' *2008 ''Traffic Jam: Sound and Vision'' (CD/DVD) Sailor Albums
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Live albums and DVDs

*1998 ''Live in Berlin'' *2003 ''Pirate Copy: Sailor Live in Concert'' (DVD) *2005 ''Sailor Live'' *2005 ''Sailor Live: One Drink Too Many''

Singles

Notes

''Sailor, the Musical Journey''

The premiere of ''Sailor, the Musical Journey'' at the Carnegie Hall was in July 2006 in

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

, Scotland. The new musical was written by Bill Blenman and made up entirely of Kajanus compositions.

References

;Other sources * James McCarraher, ''A Glass of Champagne: The Official "Sailor" Story'',

External links

Sailor official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sailor English pop music groups Musical groups established in 1973 English glam rock groups Epic Records artists