Skylight formed from the ashes of popular sixties soul-rock band The Vibrants, which formed in Adelaide in 1965 and broke up at the end of 1971. The group was put together by keyboardist Geoff Skewes, who played in The Vibrants throughout their career, and Trevor Courtney (ex-Chants R&B, Cam-Pact), who was the drummer in the final 1971 Vibrants lineup. Skewes said, ''there came a time in my life when I felt that I had to get into something a little more original and a little bit more creative and I wanted to get a little more into songwriting and Trevor was the same. We got together for a jam session and the magic was just phenomenal and that was the very beginning of Skylight, which went on to become a sort of a funk, soul, jazz fusion type band that started in the end of late 1972.''
''Someone knew her and said we know this little girl she’s only 16 or 17 but she’s got a real gravelly, tough soul voice like an African American female singer", said Skewes. ''So we just had a jam with her and that was it, she was in the band. When Bonnie joined we knew we had the line up that worked for us and, consequently, we got a record contract with EMI.''
The group spent 1973 sharpening their sound through copious live work, particularly in inner-city Melbourne and could often be found playing gigs with some of the likeminded bands at the time. A personal highlight for Skewes occurred in January of 1974 when the group secured a gig at Sunbury and found they were opening the festival. Not long after that they signed a contract with EMI to make the album 'Skyhigh'. It was produced in Melbourne by Ian Miller at Armstrong Studios. The title track from 'Skyhigh' was released as a single as a single in June 1974.
However, as good as the single was, it just couldn’t find a place on the radio. The music for many stations around the country was being programmed from one place in Sydney. If you couldn’t make their list, then you had a problem. ''At the time the airwaves were ruled by Gary Glitter, Suzie Quatro, Slade and that was what the AM station programmers programmed,'' said Skewes. 'We just couldn’t crack it to get enough airplay. 'We got album time, late night, all that sort of stuff, but we couldn’t get that drive and breakfast radio two or three times in four or five hours, which they used to do then with hit singles. We couldn’t get that so we probably didn’t get the record success that we felt we should have. We certainly put the work in.'
The album followed a month or so after the single. Most of the songs on it were written by members of the band with a couple of notable exceptions, like Donny Hathaway’s ''The Ghetto''. While cuts like these were great on the dance floors, they didn’t cut through on the radio and the album’s sales suffered. They released one further single, the non-album track ''Too Many People'', in October of 1974. It was an attempt to break through, but it didn’t work. Disappointed, the group split in the early months of 1975. Perhaps, many would say, just a little too soon. ''About six months later a band from Scotland called Average White Band had a big hit right around the world and had very successful albums. It’s a funny thing timing isn’t it?'' said Skewes. The album 'Skyhigh' was reissued on vinyl in 2016 by Universal out of Japan. Tragically Bonnie Lever died in a car accident in 1978 aged only 23. Geoff Skewes died in 2019.
Members
''Skyhigh / Get It Happening'' 1974 EMI
''Too Many People / Give Me Your Love'' 1974 EMI
ALBUMS
'Skyhigh' 1974 EMI
References
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/rarecollections/skyhigh-with-the-soulful-skylight/6246906
References
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/rarecollections/skyhigh-with-the-soulful-skylight/6246906
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