Sailor were a British pop/glam rock group, best known in the 1970s for theirhit singles "A Glass of Champagne" and "Girls, Girls, Girls", written by the group's lead singer and 12-string guitar player,Georg Kajanus. According to the band's own website, Sailor stopped performing in May 2014.

The group's leader, Georg Kajanus, had previously written "Flying Machine" forCliff Richard in 1971, although it was Richard's first British single that failed to reach thetop 30. Sailor developed from Kajanus Pickett, a singer-songwriter duo that had formed whenPhil Pickett and Kajanus met in 1970 at E H Morris, amusic publisher where Pickett briefly worked. They later recorded the albumHi Ho Silver for Signpost Records. Sailor first came together in 1973 with the addition of musiciansHenry Marsh (ex-Gringo) andGrant Serpell (ex-Affinity).

The group's work included Kajanus's invention of a specialnickelodeon made of pianos, synthesizers andglockenspiels that allowed the four-piece band to reproduce on stage theacoustic 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 theTrouble 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 UKTop 40.^[1]

Sailor's original line-up split up in 1978,^[1] although Pickett and Marsh released more material as Sailor with Gavin and Virginia David in 1980, with an album of Pickett compositions calledDressed for Drowning, produced byJames William Guercio at his Caribou studio inColorado (Epic /Caribou).

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.^[1]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.^[1] In 2004, Sailor in a German TV show were named the 45th-most successful pop band of the last 40 years in Germany.^{[citation needed]} A biography of the group by James McCarraher, entitledA 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, adouble album of previously recorded material, was released in February 2006. By September, Lincoln had left Sailor to joinSweet. 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. According to the band's own website, Sailor stopped performing in May 2014.

Georg Kajanus(born Prince Georg Johan Tchegodaieff, 9 June 1946,Trondheim,Norway)

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, 2005–2014: Nickelodeon, accordion, piano, marimbas, synthesised brass and reed, synthesisers, acoustic/electric guitars, computer programming, vocals

Phil Pickett(born Philip Stuart Pickett, 19 November 1946,Münster, Germany)

1973–2014 (exceptCheckpoint): bass Nickelodeon, piano, guitarron, synthesised strings, calliope, xylophone, bass, cruz bass, Hammond organ, mandolin, autoharp, vocals (lead vocals onDressed for Drowning)

Grant Serpell(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, 2011-2014: guitar, lead vocals

Nick Parvin

2009–2011:guitar, lead vocals

Thomas Marsh

2011–2014: drums, percussion, vocals

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

^[12][13]

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

^[12][13]

Notes

The premiere ofSailor, the Musical Journey at the Carnegie Hall was in July 2006 inDunfermline, Scotland. The new musical was written by Bill Blenman and made up entirely of Kajanus compositions.

Other sources

• James McCarraher,A Glass of Champagne: The Official "Sailor" Story,ISBN 0-9526690-3-X

• Sailor official website
• Sailor discography atDiscogs
• Sailor atIMDb

• English pop music groups
• Musical groups established in 1973
• English glam rock groups
• Epic Records artists

• Pages using the EasyTimeline extension
• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• CS1 Dutch-language sources (nl)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2010