Curved Air drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa dead at 70

Original Curved Air drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa has died, aged 70.

The news was confirmed by Curved Air singer Sonja Kristina in a Facebook post yesterday. In it she paid tribute to Pilkington-Miksa, saying: "I am very much saddened to learn of the sudden death of my longtime friend and band mate, Florian, who passed away peacefully 7.30am May 20th 2021. I knew his lungs were compromised after bouts of pneumonia .

"Florian was a unique man and musician . His drumming style incorporated all the rhythms of the notes so that he played ‘the song’ rather than a text book drum beat.

"His spirituality was centred around Beings of Light and a Universal Consciousness. Florian was also a sculptor . He created extraordinarily beautiful images of his angels

"We met in our 20s when the five Curved Air members shared a flat as well as the adventures of our first tours and recordings . Quiet and amiable, a physically elegant and attractive young man he was a lovely friend and confidant. In more recent years he put so much energy into helping drive Curved Air into the future. He loved travelling and touring and wanted to play as many shows as possible . After 10 years his health and stamina were declining so he chose to retire .

I say ‘fare ye well’ Florian ! Now in the peaceful beyond in the Light with your Angels. Thank you for your dedication to Curved Air, tuning in to and channeling the music."

Pilkington-Miksa had been a member of Sisyphus, alongside founder members Darryl Way and Francis Monkman, and the band morphed into Curved Air in 1970. He appeared on the band's first three albums, Air Conditioning (1970), Second Album (1971) and Phantasmagoria (1972). When the band initially split up in 1972, he joined singer Kiki Dee's band.

Pilkington-Miksa returned to a reformed Curved Air in 2008 and remained with the band until November 2017. Prog sends its condolences to his family.

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Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.