Voyager were an English pop-rock
band formed initially in Newbury, Berkshire, as The
Paul French Connection by Paul French (vocals,
keyboards), Paul Hirsh (keyboards,
guitar), Chris Hook (bass), and
former member of Mr Big, John Marter (drums). Though they
initially saw themselves as a progressive group, they had to tailor
their style to a more commercial mood, as evidenced by their debut
single "Halfway Hotel". It
was their only hit, reaching No. 33 in 1979, and became the title track
of their first album.
A second album Act of Love
(1980) yielded a turntable hit (heavily played on music radio without
ever entering the charts), the exuberant "Sing Out (Love Is Easy)".
Part of the instrumental section of the single was used for some time
thereafter as background music for the chart rundown on BBC Radio 1
each week.
A 3rd and final album, Voyager, followed
the next year, but without further chart success they disbanded. A
compilation, Travels in Time, was issued on CD in
2004.
Marter later joined Marillion, then Alaska, and after 1994 has played on
and off with the SAS
Band, a loose conglomeration of musicians and singers led by Spike
Edney, former keyboard player on stage with Queen.
He and Hook have also worked with Lemonrock, a Deep
Purple tribute band, while Hook also plays with semi-pro outfit
Bluefish. Hirsh temporarily joined Status
Quo for live performances in 2000 while keyboard player and
guitarist Andy
Bown took a break for personal reasons. French went on to
compose classical pieces premiered at the Wigmore
Hall by Endymion Ensemble and composed production music in various
styles for Chappell Music Library.
Most recently the band reunited to record another album
entitled Eye Contact.