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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] |
Progressive Rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the style was an outgrowth of psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop traditions in favour of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz, folk, or classical music. Additional elements contributed to its " progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of "art", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing. Progressive rock is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, involving a continuous move between formalism and eclecticism. Due to its historical reception, the scope of progressiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Young Vic
The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 2018, succeeding David Lan. History In the period after World War II, a Young Vic Company was formed in 1946 by director George Devine as an offshoot of the Old Vic Theatre School for the purpose of performing classic plays for audiences aged nine to fifteen. This was discontinued in 1948 when Devine and the entire faculty resigned from the Old Vic, but in 1969 Frank Dunlop became founder-director of The Young Vic theatre with ''Scapino'', his free adaptation of Molière's ''The Cheats of Scapin'', presented at the new venue as a National Theatre production, opening on 11 September 1970 and starring Jim Dale in the title role with designs by Carl Toms (decor) and Maria Björnson (costumes). Initially part of the National Theatre, the You ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flex (album)
''Flex'' is the second studio album by English-American singer-songwriter Lene Lovich, released in January 1980 by Stiff Records. The album is produced by Lovich and Les Chappell with additional production by Roger Bechirian and Alan Winstanley. It was recorded at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands. She worked with Chappell and Judge Smith on writing the songs. The cover sleeve depicts Lovich wearing a wedding dress and playing with hockey pucks on a string. It was taken inside a stainless steel fermentation tank at a Guinness brewery, after it had been emptied prior to cleaning. It caused controversy and few members of the Baptist church tried to get the album banned in the United States, saying it depicted an act of witchcraft. Lovich described ''Flex'' as her more introverted album. After its release, it received relatively positive reviews praising album's enhanced production compared to her previous album '' Stateless rough sound. It was also more successful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skin (Peter Hammill Album)
''Skin'' is the 14th studio album by Peter Hammill, originally released on vinyl on Foundry Records in 1986 and later re-released on CD on Virgin Records. It was also released on CD by DaTE (a division of Line Music GmbH). The album was notable for spawning a Peter Hammill single, "Painting by Numbers", which appeared on both 7" and 12" formats. It was the 11th (and until now last) single by Hammill. The B-side was the non-album track "You Hit Me Where I Live". This track later appeared on the Virgin CD release of the album. As usual, none of these releases entered the UK charts. The DaTE CD release included two extra tracks, the aforementioned "You Hit Me Where I Live" plus "Painting by Numbers" (Extended Version). The album sees Hammill employing the Yamaha DX7, the first commercially successful digital synthesiser, an instrument which was typical for the sound of the 1980s and which he plays until today. He also made use of an Emu Drumulator drum machine. Track listing Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PH7 (Peter Hammill Album)
''pH7'' is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Charisma Records in September 1979. It was Hammill's eighth solo album and his last release on the Charisma label. The song "Porton Down" refers to the Porton Down military research facility in Wiltshire, England, while the lyrics of "Imperial Walls" are a translation of the first few lines of the Anglo-Saxon poem "The Ruin". The song "Not For Keith" is a tribute to Keith Ellis, a former member of the band Van der Graaf Generator, who had then died just recently. "Cover note: The photographs were all taken late at night in NYC. As we left Dan's he photographer'splace in search of a cab Graham mithand I ran into some trouble from which, frankly, we were lucky to escape...". "My Favourite" was re-worked for Hammill's 1984 album '' The Love Songs''. "Faculty X" is a reference to extrasensory perception in the books of Colin Wilson. Track listing All tracks composed by Peter Hammill; except where noted. In 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadir's Big Chance
''Nadir's Big Chance'' is the fifth solo album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1975. It was recorded shortly after a decision to re-form the band Van der Graaf Generator (of which Hammill was the singer and principal songwriter) and ''Nadir's Big Chance'' is actually performed by the reformed Van der Graaf Generator line-up. The album's songs vary greatly in style, as acknowledged by Hammill in the sleeve notes, which refer to "the beefy punk songs, the weepy ballads, the soul struts". In a 1977 Capital Radio broadcast, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols played two tracks from the album, "The Institute of Mental Health, Burning" and "Nobody's Business", and expressed his admiration for Hammill. The album includes two of Hammill's most frequently performed ballads at concerts and radio interviews, "Been Alone So Long" (written by Judge Smith) and "Shingle Song", and a reworking of Van der Graaf Generator's first single from 1968, "People You Were Going To". The al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Grönemeyer
Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer (born 12 April 1956) is a German singer, musician, producer, composer and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Grönemeyer starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 film ''Das Boot'', but later focused on his musical career. His fifth album '' 4630 Bochum'' (1984) and his 11th album ''Mensch'' (2002) are the third and first best-selling records in Germany respectively, making Grönemeyer the most successful artist in Germany with combined album sales over 13 million. Early life Grönemeyer was born on 12 April 1956 in Göttingen. He often refers to his personal roots as living in Bochum though, where he spent most of his childhood, youth and early adulthood. The medical professor Dietrich Grönemeyer is his brother. Grönemeyer's interest in music was sparked at the age of 8, when he started to take piano lessons. Career Piano classes formed the basis for his work as a pianist and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Jane Morris (singer)
Sarah Jane Morris (born 21 March 1959) is an English singer of pop, jazz, rock and R&B and a songwriter. Biography In 1982, Morris joined The Republic as lead singer. A London-based Afro-Caribbean-Latin band, they received enormous publicity from the music press including cover stories with ''NME'' and ''City Limits'' and a documentary for Granada TV. But the band was deemed too political for radio play, with the exception of Capital Radio. The Republic were signed to Charlie Gillett's Oval Records Ltd and released an EP entitled ''Three Songs From The Republic'' and two singles entitled "One Chance" and "My Spies". Success did not follow and the band split up in 1984. Morris then sang with The Happy End, a 21-piece brass band named after Bertolt Brecht, Elisabeth Hauptmann and Kurt Weill's musical play. Playing a circuit that included Brighton's Zap Club and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Happy End explored protest music from Africa, Ireland and Latin America on a wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of ''Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, the The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange. History 1981–1989 One of the first bands that Some Bizzare worked with was B-Movie. After working with B-Movie the label achieved notable success with Soft Cell, an electronic duo whose ''Mutant Moments'' EP Stevo Pearce had championed in ''Sounds''. After Soft Cell signed to Some Bizzare, he went on to manage them, under a deal with Phonogram Inc. Their cover of "Tainted Love" topped the charts. In the early eighties, Stevo Pearce gained a reputation for being a maverick. He licensed the The's ''Soul Mining'' album to three different record labels: after delivering the album to Phonogram he then took it from them and sold it to Warner Bros. Records, then sold it on again to CBS. The one recording was sold to three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass (liturgy), Mass, requiem and sacred cantata, or the story line of a ballet. ''Libretto'' (; plural ''libretti'' ), from Italian, is the diminutive of the word ''wiktionary:libro#Italian, libro'' ("book"). Sometimes other-language equivalents are used for libretti in that language, ''livret'' for French works, ''Textbuch'' for German and ''libreto'' for Spanish. A libretto is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot. Some ballet historians also use the word ''libretto'' to refer to the 15 to 40 page books which were on sale to 19th century ballet audiences in Paris and contained a ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. Poe is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe was born in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when his mother died the following year, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
