Sailor were 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 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 Kajanus (also Tchegodaieff; 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. Early years Kajanus was born on 9 February 1946, in ...

. According to the band's own website, Sailor stopped performing in May 2014.

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 a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

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 a list of the 40 currently 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 ...

. Sailor developed from Kajanus Pickett, a singer-songwriter duo that had formed when Phil Pickett 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 began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...

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 (ex-

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). The group's work included Kajanus's invention of a special

nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

made of pianos, synthesizers and

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

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 ''

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'' 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 a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...

. 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 best known for his work as the producer of Chicago's first eleven studio albums. He also produced the early recordings of The Buckin ...

at his Caribou studio in

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(

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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 in a German TV show were named 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 ...

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

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. 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.

Band members

;

(born Prince Georg Johan Tchegodaieff, 9 June 1946,

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

) :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 Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, 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 Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, 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 ...

, Germany) :1973–2014 (except ''Checkpoint''): bass Nickelodeon, piano, guitarron, synthesised strings, calliope, xylophone, bass, cruz bass, Hammond organ, mandolin, autoharp, vocals (lead vocals on ''Dressed for Drowning'') ; Grant Serpell (born Stephen Grant Serpell, 9 February 1944,

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

, 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

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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)

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

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, 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