The Alan Parsons Project were a 1970s-80s group founded by Alan Parsons (previously best known as an engineer and producer of groups and singers as diverse as
Pink Floyd, Al Stewart and Pilot) and Eric Woolfson, with a shifting line-up of instrumentalists and singers including Colin Blunstone, John Miles,
Steve Harley, Lenny Zakatek and Pilot's Iain Bairnson and David Paton. Their albums are all concept-based but eschew the pretentiousness of prog-rock in favour of a more radio-friendly approach, their stated aim being to create music that lends itself equally to headphone and background listening.