Voyage - From East To West (Marlin Records 1978)

Voyage was a European disco group consisting of lead vocalist Sylvia Mason-James, along with Slim Pezin (guitar/vocals), Marc Chantereau (keyboards/vocals), Sauveur Mallia (bass) and Pierre-Alain Dahan (drums/vocals).

Mason-James was born on 8 December 1958 in south London, United Kingdom to immigrants from Jamaica. She started her career with the disco band Voyage in 1977. She performed a duet with Jimmy Nail on his chart-topping single "Ain't No Doubt" in 1992, and appeared as a backing vocalist on the 1992 Joan Armatrading album Square the Circle, along with Linda Lewis and her sister Shirley Lewis. She appeared as the vocalist on Chicane's "Strong in Love" in 1998 (Chicane featuring Mason) and Freemasons' "Nothing But A Heartache" in 2007. She has also released a solo single with a cover version of the Diana Ross song "Touch Me in the Morning".

Recently, she appeared as vocalist on two songs from Superchumbo's Wowie Zowie album. Mason-James also sang on Scott and Leon's "Shine On", "Sounds of Eden" and "You Used to Hold Me". She has appeared as a backing vocalist on music by artists including Go West, Simple Minds, Adam Rickitt, Robbie Williams, Cher, Bo Selecta, Swing Out Sister, Sheena Easton, The Blow Monkeys and most frequently, Pet Shop Boys. Mason-James has also toured extensively with Pet Shop Boys, including Glastonbury 2000 where they played second billing to Travis on the Pyramid stage, Live 8 in 2005, their extensive 2006/2007 Fundamental World Tour as well as their month-long residency at the Savoy Theatre in 1997, their 2006 BBC Radio Theatre & Radio 2 concerts, and their iconic 1991 Performance World Tour.

Their lone Billboard Hot 100 entry was "Souvenirs," which hit number forty-one in 1979. They had more success on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, where two of their albums, Voyage (1978) and Fly Away (1979), hit number one.

In the UK, the group had three chart singles. A double A-side, "From East To West"/"Scotch Machine" (the latter song retitled "Scots Machine" because the term "Scotch" is generally considered offensive in Scotland) reached number thirteen in 1978, while later that same year "Souvenirs" made number fifty-six. Their last impact on the charts came in 1979 when "Let's Fly Away" peaked at number thirty-eight.

The songs on the Voyage album paid a nodding homage to musical styles of different regions of the world, as if the band and its listeners were taking a jet set trip around the world, finally landing triumphantly in America, as if it was the center of the disco universe, with the song Lady America.

Get your bag put on your boots and fly to the sun
Hitch a ride don't be afraid
That's livin' for fun
A voyage-a
Find a spot unoccupied so much to be done
Try to find your way and let's go dancin' along
A voyage-a

All around the world people singin' along
Crazy boys and girls will teach you lyrical songs
A voyage-a
All around the world people singin' along
Crazy boys and girls will teach you lyrical songs
A voyage-a

Look at them dancin'
Look at them playin'
(repeat)

Видео Voyage - From East To West (Marlin Records 1978) канала DiscoSaturdayNightTV