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Andy Bell (singer)
Andrew Ivan Bell (born 25 April 1964) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the synth-pop duo Erasure. The band achieved mainstream success (receiving a Brit Award for Best British Group) and are popular within the LGBT community, for whom the openly gay Bell has become an icon. Erasure have penned over 200 songs and have sold over 25 million albums worldwide. They have achieved five consecutive number ones on the UK Albums Chart. Hit singles include " A Little Respect", " Sometimes" and "Always". Bell is known for his soulful voice and flamboyant stage persona, which contrast with bandmate Vince Clarke's low-key, deadpan demeanour. His solo career includes the studio albums '' Electric Blue'' (2005), '' Non-Stop'' (2010), and ''iPop'' (2014). Early life Bell grew up in the Dogsthorpe area of Peterborough. His family still reside in the city and surrounding areas such as Market Deeping. Bell was educated at the King's School in the city. Career In 1985, dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erasure
Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member of synth-pop duo Yazoo. From their fourth single, " Sometimes" (1986), Erasure established themselves on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the most successful acts of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. From 1986 to 2007, the pair achieved 24 consecutive top-40 entries in the UK singles chart. By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK top 40, including 17 climbing into the top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group. Beyond this mainstream commercial success, Erasure are also popular within the LGBT community, for whom the openly gay singer Andy Bell has become an icon in the UK. Overview Erasure made their debut with the studio album ''Wonderland'' in 1986, however ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays (previously Sundays). It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 (top 5) and found on the OCC website as a Top 100 or on UKChartsPlus as a Top 200, with positions continuing until all sales have been tracked in data only available to industry insiders. However, even though number 100 was classed as a hit album (as in the case of The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums) in the 1980s until January 1989, since the compilations were removed this definition was changed to Top 75 with follow-up books such as The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums book only including this data. As of 2021, the OCC still only tracks how many UK Top 75s album hits and how many weeks in Top 75 albums chart each artist has achieved. To qualify for the Offi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudia Brücken
Claudia Brücken (born 7 December 1963) is a German singer and songwriter. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band Propaganda. In 1996, Brücken started working with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark co-founder Paul Humphreys, first without a name, and from 2004 as Onetwo. In March 2013, Brücken and Humphreys ceased working and living together, and she has subsequently returned to pursuing her solo career. Early career At age 14, Brücken joined her first band, Haarsträubend. Her second band was the all-female ''The Tripolinas'' together with Susanne Freytag, who also became a member of the band Propaganda. Propaganda In 1983, Brücken joined the German band Propaganda and relocated to London when they signed with ZTT Records. Propaganda had two UK top 30 hit singles with "Dr Mabuse" (1984) and "Duel" (1985). On 14 February 1985, Brücken married British music journalist Paul Morley, who was one of the founders of the ZTT label. In July 1985, the first Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recording Contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists under contract are normally only allowed to record for that label exclusively; guest appearances on other artists' records will carry a notice "By courtesy of (the name of the label)", and that label may receive a percentage of sales. Copyrights, payment and royalties Labels typically own the copyright in the records their artists make, and also the master copies of those records. An exception is when a label makes a distribution deal with an artist; in this case, the artist, their manager, or another party may own the copyright (and masters), while the record is licensed exclusively to the label for a set period of time. Promotion is a key factor in the success of a record, and is largely the label's responsibility, as is proper distri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judge Smith
Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been known simply as Judge Smith since 1994. After Van der Graaf Generator, he has written songs, stage musicals and operas, and from the early 1990s on he has released a number of solo CDs, including three "Songstories". Biography Early years In 1967, with Peter Hammill, Judge Smith founded the band Van der Graaf Generator. He was originally a singing drummer and percussionist (sometimes playing a typewriter),Album notes for four-double CD box ''The Box'' by Van der Graaf Generator (2000), page 6. Virgin Records but after drummer Guy Evans joined the band, Smith realized that there wasn't a great deal left for him to do, since his role was reduced to being a backing vocalist. After recording the first Van der Graaf Generator-single ("People Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and produces his own recordings and occasionally those of other artists. In 2012, he was recognised with the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards. Biography Early life Peter Hammill was born in Ealing, West London, and moved with his family to Derby when he was 12. He attended Beaumont College and Manchester University, where he studied Liberal Studies in Science. Hammill has stated that his grandfather was originally from Pakistan. Early career Hammill's solo career has coexisted with Van der Graaf Generator's activities. The band was offered a contract by Mercury Records in 1968, that only Hammill signed. When Van der Graaf Generator broke up in 1969 he wanted to record his first solo album. In the summer of 1969 Hammill h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Hammill Opera)
''The Fall of the House of Usher'' is an opera by Peter Hammill (music) and Chris Judge Smith (libretto). It is based on the 1839 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. Background Hammill and Smith, two of the co-founders of Van der Graaf Generator, worked sporadically on the opera from 1973 until its first recording was released on Some Bizzare Records (the only instance of Hammill's work appearing on the label) in November 1991. The album was released on CD, cassette and a limited edition of 500 double vinyl LPs. Smith's libretto takes certain liberties with Poe's source text. The House itself becomes a vocal part, to be sung by the same performer who sings the role of Roderick Usher. The narrator, unnamed in the story, is given the name Montresor (the name of the narrator of another tale by Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado"), and a romantic attachment between Montresor and Madeline Usher is hinted at. In 1999, Hammill regained the rights to the music from Some Bizza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The King's (The Cathedral) School
Founded by King Henry VIII, The King's (The Cathedral) School is a state-funded Church of England school located in Peterborough, England. Although for centuries a boys-only grammar school, "Kings" is now mixed and has a Junior Department in Madeley House. Madeley House was previously the home for boarders, and many cathedral choristers were boarders there; but now the school has day pupils only. On 1 January 2011, the school became an academy, controversially abandoning its historic name, "King's School, Peterborough", and adopting a new title. Foundation King's School was founded by King Henry VIII in 1541 as the Cathedral School to educate 'twenty poor boys' and is one of seven established, re-endowed or renamed, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. To this day the school maintains close links with Peterborough Cathedral. Until 1976 the school was a Church of England grammar school for around 450 boys. 1976 saw the school become both comprehensive and coeducational ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Market Deeping
Market Deeping is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, on the north bank of the River Welland and the A15 road. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 6,008. History The town's market has been held since at least 1220. The £10 million A15 and A16 bypass opened in July 1998, which incorporates a stretch of single and dual carriageway. The A16 has now moved to the former A1073 from Crowland to Spalding, and the bypass became the A1175 in October 2011. Governance The town is part of the South Holland and The Deepings Parliamentary Constituency but is also part of South Kesteven District. It sends three district councillors to SKDC which is based in Grantham. It currently has one Conservative and two Independents although since 1983 it has mostly returned Liberals and Independents. The first Green Party candidate stood in 2007 and was runner-up. The town and some of the surrounding villages including West ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-Stop (Andy Bell Album)
''Non-Stop'' is the second solo album by Erasure member Andy Bell, released on 7 June 2010 on Mute Records. The album was co-written and co-produced by Bell and veteran producer Pascal Gabriel (S'Express, Debbie Harry, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Ladyhawke, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Little Boots). Also included is a collaboration with Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell. Writing and production Bell originally went into the studio with Stephen Hague, with whom he had worked with Erasure. The sessions were scrapped however, when Daniel Miller, head of Bell's label Mute, said the songs sounded "too much like Erasure". Recording sessions then started over in France with Belgian producer Pascal Gabriel. The track "DHDQ" (which stands for "Debbie Harry Drag Queen") is a tribute to Debbie Harry. "I love Madonna and Annie Lennox and Sinéad O'Connor but there's no one like her," Bell has stated. "I was on the True Colors Tour with Debbie and she’s lovely ... She l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Blue (album)
''Electric Blue'' is the debut solo album by Erasure frontman Andy Bell, released 3 October 2005 by Sanctuary Records. The album was released in-between the Erasure albums '' Nightbird'' and '' Union Street''. Bell toured European and American nightclubs to promote the album. The album features fourteen tracks, co-written and produced throughout 2004 and 2005 with electronic music duo Manhattan Clique, who have worked as remixers for acts such as Moby, The B-52's, Stereophonics, Goldfrapp, Fischerspooner and Erasure. ''Electric Blue'' includes two duets with Claudia Brücken of Propaganda and another with Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, and encompasses a variety of musical genres, most notably Giorgio Moroder-style disco, electro and house music. Upon release the album received mixed reviews, although more often than not critics were positive. The first single, " Crazy", was released on 26 September 2005, and included club remixes from Erasure-partner Vince Clarke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vince Clarke
Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously the main songwriter of several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo (band), Yazoo, and the Assembly. In Erasure he is known for his deadpan and low-key onstage demeanour, often remaining motionless over his keyboard, in sharp contrast to lead vocalist Andy Bell (singer), Andy Bell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics. Erasure have recorded over 200 songs and have sold over 28 million albums worldwide. Vince Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of Depeche Mode. Early life Vincent John Martin was born on 3 July 1960 in South Woodford, Essex; he later moved to Basildon, Essex. He initially studied the violin and then the piano, but he was inspired to make electronic music upon hearing Metropolit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
