Slik were a Scottish pop group of the mid 1970s, following in the footsteps of the Bay City Rollers. Nowadays they would be referred to as a boy band.

History

Slik were formed as the Glasgow based band "Salvation" in 1970, comprising Jim, Kevin and Hugh McGinlay, and Ernie Slater. In 1972 there was a change of personnel; Slater departed, while guitarist Midge Ure (who would subsequently achieve greater notability as the frontman of Ultravox) and keyboard player Billy McIsaac both joined. They reverted to a four-piece band when Kevin McGinlay left in April 1974.

They changed their name to Slik in November 1974, and linked up with the pop songwriters Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. Their greatest success was when their single "Forever And Ever" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in February 1976. The song is unusual in that it has a lush, faintly gothic production with organs and chanting, quite out of keeping with the prosaic lyrics. The formula was repeated with their next hit, "Requiem", which however failed to repeat the success of the earlier record, due to the fact that Midge got a car accident in the first week the record had been released. "Requiem" opens with the first accordes of Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez", which in fact had been a #3 hit just two months before in the UK for Geoff Love's orchestra "Manuel & the Music of the Mountains".

Trivia

With the advent of punk they recorded under the name PVC2, releasing the single "Put You In The Picture". This song joined the repertoire of The Rich Kids, Ure's next band. Slik/PVC2 disbanded in September 1977.

Discography

Singles

• "Forever And Ever" (1976) — UK number 1.
• "Requiem" (1976) — UK number 24.

Album

• Slik — UK number 58

Notes

1. External link
   • Slik biography at the All Music Guide website