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Hitsville UK
"Hitsville U.K." is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash from their 1980 album '' Sandinista!''. A duet between lead guitarist Mick Jones and his then-girlfriend Ellen Foley, it is the second single released from the album. Composition The song's title is a nod to Motown Records, which used the moniker " Hitsville U.S.A." in its advertising and to refer to the label's first headquarters in Detroit. The lyrics refer to the emerging indie scene in British music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which is held in contrast to the "mutants, creeps and musclemen" of the major labels with their "expense accounts" and "lunch discounts", making " AOR" and using "chart-hyping" to sell their records. References are made to a number of UK independent labels (Lightning, Small Wonder, Rough Trade, Fast Product and Factory). Release The original UK single release included "Radio One" by Mikey Dread as the B-side. A second issue, released later in 1981 in the U.S., replaced "Rad ...
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The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wake of punk and employed elements of a variety of genres including reggae, dub, funk, ska, and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, the Clash consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon. Headon left the group in 1982 due to internal friction surrounding his increasing heroin addiction. Further internal friction led to Jones' departure the following year. The group continued with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986. The Clash achieved critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom with the release of their self-titled debut album, ''The Clash'' (1977) and their second album, ''Give 'Em Enough ...
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Lightning Records
Lightning Records was a London-based record label founded in the 1970s. It specialised in disco, reggae and dub music but also released music from other genres such as punk rock. It was a subsidiary of WEA. Amongst its artists and titles are Althia & Donna with "Uptown Top Ranking", Janet Kay with "Silly Games", Dennis Brown with "Money in My Pocket", and Errol Dunkley with "OK Fred". The Old Gold Label was subsequently set up from here and featured many original classics licensed from other labels, for example Clifford T. Ward's song "Gaye", Python Lee Jackson's "In a Broken Dream", and re-releases by the Everly Brothers, the Equals, Trini Lopez and Ketty Lester Ketty Lester (born Revoyda Frierson; August 16, 1934) is an American singer and actress known for her 1961 hit single "Love Letters", which reached the top 5 of the charts in the U.S. and the UK. She is also known for her role as Hester-Sue Terh .... References {{Authority control Record labels based in Lond ...
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Official Charts Company
The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts include ones for singles, albums and films, with the data compiled from a mixture of downloads, purchases (of physical media) and streaming. The OCC produces its charts by gathering and combining sales data from retailers through market researchers Kantar, and claims to cover 99% of the singles market and 95% of the album market, and aims to collect data from any retailer who sells more than 100 chart items per week. The OCC is operated jointly by the British Phonographic Industry and the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) (formerly the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD)) and is incorporated as a private company limited by shares jointly owned by BPI and ERA. The Chart Information Network (CIN) took over as compilers of the o ...
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UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling Single (music), singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and music streaming, streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV (Official UK Top 40), is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a Single (music), single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio ...
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Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of The Clash in 2003. He joined the Clash in 1977 and became famed for his drumming skills. He received his nickname owing to his resemblance to Mickey the Monkey from the '' Topper'' comic. Early life Headon spent his early childhood in Crockenhill, northwest Kent, before attending Dover Grammar School for Boys. He started playing drums at an early age and was a jazz fan, citing Billy Cobham as a strong influence. In 1973, he joined the cult progressive rock outfit Mirkwood. He appeared with them for a year and a half, and they supported major acts such as Supertramp. He later played with a band which opened for American R&B legends the Temptations and admits to falsely claiming that he played with the Temptations. The ...
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Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer. Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bass player for Ian Dury and the Blockheads. He had previously been a member of the Greatest Show on Earth. In addition to his work with the Blockheads, Watt-Roy has been a session musician and has released one solo album. Early life Norman Joseph Watt-Roy was born into an Anglo-Indian family on 15 February 1951, in Bombay, India. In November 1954, the Watt-Roy family, including Norman, his older brother Garth Watt-Roy (born Garth Philip Watt-Roy, December 1947, Bombay, India), and his sister moved to England. They settled in Highbury, North London, where Norman went to St. Joan of Arc Primary School, Blackstock Road. When Norman was 8, the family moved to Harlow, Essex. At the age of 8, he learned a few guitar chords from his father, and ...
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Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash's second album ''Give 'Em Enough Rope'' (1978) reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Soon after, they achieved success in the US, starting with ''London Calling'' (1979) and peaking with '' Combat Rock'' (1982), which reached No. 7 on the US charts and was certified 2× platinum there. The Clash's explosive political lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude had a far-reaching influence on rock music in general, especially alternative rock. Their music incorporated reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly. Strummer's other career highlights included stints with the 101ers, the Latino Rockabilly War, the Mescaleros, and the Pogues, as well as solo music. His work as a musician allowed him to explore oth ...
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The Clash Hits Back
''The Clash Hits Back'' is a 2-CD, 3-LP best of collection by the Clash released in September 2013. The set was released simultaneously with an eleven disc box set titled '' Sound System'' along with '' 5 Album Studio Set'', which contains the band's first five studio albums. They are expected to be the final releases to involve Mick Jones who said "I'm not even thinking about any more Clash releases. This is it for me, and I say that with an exclamation mark," Jones said. Background The best of album is sequenced to copy the set played by the band at the Brixton Fair Deal (now the academy) on 10 July 1982, rounded out with big numbers that failed to make the set that night. The Fair Deal was a special venue for the Clash, Paul Simonon told ''the Guardian'', because of the memories it held as the cinema he and Mick Jones went to as children. "It's actually where I saw my first ever pop show," Simonon said. "We all turned up as 10-year-olds, and they said: 'Right, boys and gir ...
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The Singles (1991 The Clash Album)
''The Singles'' is a compilation album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It includes all of the band's singles, in their original single versions, except for 1977's ''Capital Radio'' (which, whilst not eligible for chart entry due to being a free EP, is still considered a single) and 1985's "This Is England", due to its parent album, ''Cut the Crap'' (1985), being disowned by the band at that time. This collection contains the actual A-side recording of the "This Is Radio Clash" single. Other compilations, such as ''Super Black Market Clash'' (1993) and ''The Essential Clash'' (2003), contain the B-side "Radio Clash" under the title "This Is Radio Clash" instead. A remastered version, with slightly altered artwork, was released in 1999 as part of Sony Music, Sony's Clash reissue campaign. Track listing All tracks by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (The Clash), Mick Jones, except where noted. # "White Riot" – 1:57 # "Remote Control (The Clash song), Remote Control" – 2 ...
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Police On My Back
''Baby, Come Back'' is an album by British group The Equals, which was released in the U.S. by RCA Victor, who had obtained the rights to manufacture and distribute the album in all of the Americas from the band's British label, President Records. The record contains tracks culled from their first three UK albums, ''Unequalled Equals'' (1967), ''Explosion'' (1968), and ''Sensational Equals'' (1968). Two of the tracks were taken from ''Unequalled'': the UK chart-topping single " Baby, Come Back", and "Hold Me Closer". Three tracks came from ''Explosion'': "Police On My Back", "Teardrops", and "Leaving You Is Hard To Do". The remaining six tracks came from the band's third British album, ''Sensational''. Because it was built around the group's biggest hit, "Baby, Come Back", this was the group's most commercially successful album in the U.S. The album has never been available on CD. The only other known alternate configuration for the album was as an 8-track tape cartrid ...
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Mikey Dread
Michael George Campbell (4 June 1954 – 15 March 2008), better known as Mikey Dread, was a Jamaican singer, producer, and broadcaster. He was one of the most influential performers and innovators in reggae music. Biography Born in Port Antonio,Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 99–101 one of five children, from an early age, Campbell showed a natural aptitude for engineering and electronics.Clayson, Alan (2008)Mikey Dread, ''The Guardian'', 25 March 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2016 As a teenager he performed with the Safari and Sound of Music sound systems, and worked on his high school's radio station.Katz, David (2015)How Mikey Dread revolutionised Jamaican music several times over, '' Fact'', 15 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2016 He studied electrical engineering at the College of Arts, Science and Technology, and in 1976, started out as an engineer with the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC). Campbell wasn't impressed that th ...
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Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside, and (briefly) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and James. Factory also ran The Haçienda nightclub, in partnership with New Order. Factory Records used a creative team (most notably record producer Martin Hannett and graphic designer Peter Saville) which gave the label and the artists recording for it a particular sound and image. The label employed a unique cataloguing system that gave a number not just to its musical releases, but also to various other related miscellany, including artwork, films, living beings, and even Wilson's own casket. History 'The Factory' The Factory name was first used for a club in May 1978; the first Factory night was on the 26 May 1978. The club became a Manchester leg ...
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