Curved Air are a pioneering English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band was a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. Along with High Tide and East of Eden, Curved Air were one of the first rock bands after It's a Beautiful Day and the United States of America to feature a violin. Curved Air released eight studio albums, the first three of which broke the UK Top 20, and had a hit single with "Back Street Luv" (1971) which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.

However, Darryl Way and Sonja Kristina remained interested in working together, and so Way brought in two more "Car Thieves", guitarist Mick Jacques and drummer Stewart Copeland. Though more members of this new lineup came from Stark Naked and the Car Thieves than Curved Air (Kristina being the only member not from the former band), they decided to adopt the Curved Air name for the same reasons that the Kristina/Wedgwood-led band had. With Darryl Way at the helm, this new band often employed the same classical and folk influences as the original band (and even played some of the original band's songs at their shows), but their core sound was rooted in pop, rhythm and blues, and hard rock. Miles Copeland III, still serving as Curved Air's manager, put the group on his own label, BTM.  The band kicked off with a European tour, which started poorly. Way, a notorious perfectionist, grew impatient with the struggling of his bandmates, especially novice drummer Copeland. Then, for reasons no one could pinpoint, the musicians suddenly "clicked" with each other and the band caught fire, quickly becoming a popular and acclaimed live act.  Their studio efforts were another story, however. Phil Kohn left and the band, unable to replace him in time for the sessions for Midnight Wire, relied on guest musicians to play both bass (John G Perry) and keyboards (Peter Wood). Norma Tager, a friend of Kristina's, penned the lyrics to the "Midnight Wire" songs. Kohn was later replaced by Tony Reeves, formerly of Colosseum and Greenslade, but the recording sessions for both Midnight Wire and 1976's Airborne were expensive and highly stressful for everyone involved. Both albums - as well as "Desiree", a single drawn from Airborne - failed to break the charts.  Citing dissatisfaction with BTM Records' inability to support Curved Air financially, Way departed. Though Alex Richman from the Butts Band stepped in on keyboards, the loss of the band's de facto leader was a blow. This line-up's last-ditch attempt at a hit single, a cover version of "Baby Please Don't Go", was another flop. After months of gradually losing steam, Curved Air broke up so quietly that, by Sonja Kristina's recollections, most of the music press wrote off the band's absence as a "sabbatical". Copeland formed The Police, Reeves returned to work as a producer and played in semi-pro band Big Chief along with Jacques, and Kristina and Way both pursued solo careers. Kristina and Copeland maintained the close personal relationship they'd formed while bandmates and were married in 1982.

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