Hi there,

I am a great Pilot/David Paton admirer and am interested to find out about the interview they did in the 70's for Countdown.I believe it was at the time of their release 'Running Water'. If so I wondered if there is a copy of it anywhere please?
I am from the UK and never seen it!

Thank you.

Michelle

Hey Michelle - I'm sure someone in here would have loved to have helped....but the sad fact is that the episode in which it may have appeared on no longer exists.

Due to the ABC policy of junking old 70's Countdowns the ep in question would have gone to the great archive in the sky.

I'd imagine it would have been on a 75/76 ep - which as seeing only a handful of those survive and have already been shown - means it isn't on any of those.

I'm not sure whether interview segments would have been kept separate from the music though - can anyone confirm?

So unless someone has some old eps on an old video tape the likelyhood of seeing any Pilot interview from Countdown is nil.....apologies for being the bearer of bad news!

Hi Patrick,

Thank you so very much for your very prompt reply. What a shame they are now gone! Sadly likewise in the UK not all of our pop programmes were archived. Still thinking positive maybe someone has a tape somewhere!

It was great to see David come to your wonderful country for the Countdown tour a couple of years ago. He was given the most amazing welcome and it was great that although Pilot didn't tour your country in the 70's that he got to play there be it 30 odd years on!.

Thank you again and all the very best.

Michelle

Hey no problem!

David Paton was great in the 2nd Countdown Spectacular in 2007 - his tunes definately had the place jumping that's for sure! The dvd of it should be available online for you to order if you're interested in seeing his performance.

Yes unfortunatley the ABC copied the BBC model in junking old shows...but as I said there is a slim chance certain segments or maybe whole shows could be on some old videotape somewhere - I know there are dedicated fans searching for just that, so fingers crossed!

Hi Patrick,

Yes David is one very talented person and as you may know still very active in making and producing wonderful music.

Thank you again for all your help.I hope you don't mind if I leave a couple of links for anyone who may wish to find out more about what David is up to.The first is his official website
www.davidpatonsongs.com and there is a DP Appreciation Community which I have set up. Please feel free to join us.It would be lovely to hear from you.
http://knightrats.proboards.com/index.cgi

Take care,

Michelle

Hi Michelle,

At a glance, I know of one Pilot-related Countdown episode (show 36, broadcast 31/08/75) that still exists in the ABC Archives, the clip for 'Magic' was played in this episode.

Cheers

Hi John,

Thank you very much for your post to let me know of the Pilot episode and date.I will look out for it!

All the very best,

Michelle

Try YouTube and search for Pilot in this website.

Gidday Michelle,

Sadly Pilot can never reform because Billy Lyall died of AIDS-related causes back in 1989. However don't know if you are interested but I have a CD with the following Pilot tracks on it:

1. Just a Smile
2. Magic
3. Girl Next Door
4. January
5. Call Me Round
6. Dear Artist
7. Canada
8. Penny in My Pocket
9. Running Water
10. Just Let Me Be
11. Never Give Up
12. Sooner or Later
13. Do Me Good
14. Bad to Me
15. You're My No.1
16. The Mover
17. Hold On
18. Lies and Lies
19. Get up and Go
20. Ten Feet Tall
21. Monday, Tuesday
22. Evil Eye

It's in my car's CD stacker at the moment and the quality is superb as it is a digital remastering!

Hi Nicholas,

Thank you for your reply. Yes I do check you tube and you never know it may turn up one day!!!

All the best,
Michelle

Hi Aaron,

Thank you for your reply. Yes sadly Billy died in 1986.I was very lucky to meet him and the other lads from Pilot in the 70's. All lovely people and played excellent live!

I continue to be a massive fan of David Paton. He really is such a very talented person. I do recommend his his solo work and with the Japanese band Beagle Hat. If you are interested in learning what he is up to his website is www.davidpatonsongs.com I have also set up a forum at http://knightrats.proboards.com/index.cgi Please feel free to join us.

All the best,
Michelle