Keyboard player/guitarist (and sometime singer) Paul Martin Raymond was born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England in 1945. He made his recording debut as the organist/pianist in the pop/rock quintet Plastic Penny, where he later took over as vocalist following the departure of original lead singer Brian Keith. Following the split of the group's lineup in 1968, Raymond jumped to the much more blues-oriented Chicken Shack, joining after the departure of keyboard player/singer Christine Perfect. He left that band in 1970 but remained in blues-rock, doing double duty on keyboards and guitar as a member of Savoy Brown for the next five years. He and Chicken Shack bassist Andy Sylvester became part of the band, and he was work behind ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist/singer Danny Kirwan when he cut his debut solo album, Second Chapter, in 1975. Raymond left Savoy Brown after the recording of 1976's Skin 'N' Bone, and joined the hard rock outfit UFO in 1977, succeeding Danny Peyronel on keyboards for the album Lights Out. His work in the decades since has mostly been within the context of UFO or various related solo projects (most notably by Michael Schenker). Raymond cut his first solo album in 1998, with Kazuyo Sugimoto, Yuiko Tsubokura, and Masayoshi Yamashita. Much of his work in the context of his Paul Raymond Project performances and recordings has involved UFO alumni Andy Parker, Pete Way, and Phil Mogg. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi