Night Birds (album)
''Night Birds'', released in 1982 on the Polydor label, is the second album by English jazz-funk band Shakatak. ''Night Birds'' established Shakatak's trademark jazz-funk sound, and contains two of the band's biggest hits, "Easier Said than Done" and "Night Birds", the former reaching the No. 12 spot in 1981, the latter climbing to No. 9 in the following year. Track listing * All tracks written by William "Bill" Sharpe and Roger Odell except where indicated. Side 1: #"Night Birds" – 6:25 #"Streetwalkin'" – 5:30 #"Rio Nights" – 5:18 #"Fly the Wind" – 4:20 Side 2: #"Easier Said Than Done" – 6:10 #"Bitch to the Boys" – 6:28 #"Light on My Life" – 4:48 #"Takin' Off" ( William "Bill" Sharpe) – 5:08 * Produced by Nigel Wright. Charts Personnel * Bill Sharpe – Bösendorfer grand piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano; Oberheim OB-X synthesizer, ARP Odyssey and Prophet-10 synthesisers * Nigel Wright – Fender Rhodes electric piano, Oberheim OB-X & Prophet-10 s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shakatak
Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Nigel Wright and former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. Following an initial white label release 'Steppin', the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack. It was they who first showed interest in the initial single. Shakatak scored a number of chart entries, including two Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, " Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the ''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles''. The group is still active and popular throughout the world, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and generally produce a new album every two years on JVC Records. From their first release in August 1980 (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor record label), and their first 1981 album, ''Drivin' Hard'', the band's singles and albums have entered the charts regularly. Career It was the release of the 1981 single, "Easier Said Than Done", tha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "performance" synthesizers. ARP produced several versions of the Odyssey from 1972 to 1980. In early 2015, Korg reissued the Odyssey in cooperation with the original designer and ARP co-founder, David Friend. Design The Odyssey is a two-oscillator analog synthesizer, and one of the first with duophonic capabilities (the ability to play two notes at the same time). All parameters, including a resonant low-pass filter, a non-resonant high-pass filter, ADSR and AR envelopes, a sine and square wave LFO, and a sample-and-hold function are controllable with sliders and switches on the front panel. Features *Switchable between sawtooth, square, and pulse waveforms with oscillator sync, a "ring modulator", and pink or white noise. (As with the Kor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jackie Rawe
Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Nigel Wright and former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. Following an initial white label release 'Steppin', the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack. It was they who first showed interest in the initial single. Shakatak scored a number of chart entries, including two Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, " Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the ''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles''. The group is still active and popular throughout the world, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and generally produce a new album every two years on JVC Records. From their first release in August 1980 (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor record label), and their first 1981 album, ''Drivin' Hard'', the band's singles and albums have entered the charts regularly. Career It was the release of the 1981 single, "Easier Said Than Done", th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jill Saward (singer)
Jill Saward (born 9 December 1953) is a British singer, musician and composer, best known for being the lead voice of the English jazz-funk band, Shakatak. Career She began her musical career at the age of 16, with the British progressive jazz rock band Fusion Orchestra, from 1969 to 1972. Jill Saward and the Fusion Orchestra gained a following of fans who secured a record deal with EMI music to produce their first album ''Skeleton in Armour'', an album that immediately received critical acclaim upon its debut, and is now considered a collector's item which is highly sought after. After the band Fusion Orchestra split, Saward became involved in a new all female group, called Brandy. The band, produced by Polydor, was active for about three years in the UK and Europe, before disbanding in 1976. Saward was spotted later by the band leader Nicky North who invited her to perform in the 'Cats Whiskers' with his own big soul funk band. She also made a name for herself as one of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Avedis Zildjian Company
:''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (other)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the company relocated to the United States in the 20th century. Today, it is the largest cymbal and drumstick maker in the world. The company was founded in Constantinople in 1623 by Avedis Zildjian, an Armenian. Zildjian is now based in Norwell, Massachusetts. Zildjian is the oldest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world as well as one of the oldest continuously operating companies in the World. Zildjian sells cymbals, drumsticks, percussion mallets and other drum accessories under the Zildjian, Vic Firth and Balter Mallet brands. History Beginnings The first Zildjian cymbals were created in 1618 by Avedis Zildjian, an Armenian metalsmith and alchemi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sonor
Sonor is a German musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Bad Berleburg. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest percussion companies in the world. Sonor currently manufactures drum kits and hardware. Apart from drum kits, Sonor also manufactured a wide range of other percussion instruments through its history. Some of them were frame drums, bongo drums, djembes, Cajons, timbales, congas, tambourines, maracas, guiros, glockenspiel, cymbals and mallets. History The company was founded in 1875 as a percussion instruments manufacturer. One of the oldest existing models of drums manufactured by Sonor is a 1942 Johannes Link Parade Snare, a very heavy snare drum with an aluminum shell and thick tension rods. In the 1980s, Sonor's tagline was "The Rolls of drums". The drums were made very thick (13 mm) and heavy shells that were beech wood, with an innermost and outermost ply of furniture-grade veneers, such as rosewood and bubinga. Nicko McBrain of I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roger Odell
Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Nigel Wright and former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. Following an initial white label release 'Steppin', the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack. It was they who first showed interest in the initial single. Shakatak scored a number of chart entries, including two Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, " Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the ''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles''. The group is still active and popular throughout the world, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and generally produce a new album every two years on JVC Records. From their first release in August 1980 (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor record label), and their first 1981 album, ''Drivin' Hard'', the band's singles and albums have entered the charts regularly. Career It was the release of the 1981 single, "Easier Said Than Done", tha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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G&L Musical Instruments
G&L is an American guitar manufacturing company founded by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Dale Hyatt in the late 1970s. G&L produces electric guitars and basses with designs based on some classic Fender instruments. The company also produces effects units. G&L's most notable player is Jerry Cantrell, vocalist and guitarist of Alice in Chains, having played several models of the guitar since the '80s, Cantrell also has his own signature Tribute Series Rampage and Superhawk. Cantrell can be seen playing a single-humbucker G&L Rampage in the music video for Alice in Chains' "Man In The Box". Founding Leo Fender sold his eponymous company Fender in 1965. He designed and produced instruments for Music Man in the 1970s through his company CLF Research. When relations with Music Man soured, G&L was created to continue operations apart from Music Man. The G&L name comes from two founders' first names, George Fullerton and Leo Fender. G&L instruments are similar to the classic Fende ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Music Man StingRay
Music Man StingRay is an electric bass by Music Man, introduced in 1976. History In 1971, Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker, unhappy with the way CBS was managing the company, left their positions with Fender to start their own venture. First known as Tri-Sonix, Inc (often incorrectly referred to as "Tri-Sonic") and then later Musitek, Inc., the new company eventually settled on the name of MusicMan, Inc. by 1974. The company began producing a hybrid tube-solid state amplifier co-designed by Tom Walker and Leo Fender, who was participating as a silent partner to the firm due to a "no compete" clause in the sales contract Fender had signed when he sold his original company to CBS in 1965. After the clause expired in 1975, he was made president of MusicMan, Inc., and by 1976 his consulting firm CLF Research had begun producing instruments bearing the MusicMan name. Designed by Fender, Walker and Sterling Ball (Ball was a beta tester for the instrument), the StingRay b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Anderson (musician)
Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Nigel Wright and former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. Following an initial white label release 'Steppin', the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack. It was they who first showed interest in the initial single. Shakatak scored a number of chart entries, including two Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, " Night Birds" (1982) and "Down on the Street" (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the ''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles''. The group is still active and popular throughout the world, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and generally produce a new album every two years on JVC Records. From their first release in August 1980 (the Bill Sharpe composition "Steppin'" on the Polydor record label), and their first 1981 album, ''Drivin' Hard'', the band's singles and albums have entered the charts regularly. Career It was the release of the 1981 single, "Easier Said Than Done", tha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mesa Boogie
Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a small repair shop which modified Fender amplifiers, particularly the diminutive Fender Princeton. Smith's modifications gave the small amps much more input gain, making them much louder as well as creating a high-gain, distorted guitar tone. Prominent early customers included Carlos Santana, and Ron Wood and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. Exposure from these top players helped to establish Mesa/Boogie's position on the market, and it is frequently referred to as the first manufacturer of boutique amplifiers. History Early life Randall Smith was born into a musical family in Berkeley, California in 1946. His mother and sister played piano and his father was the first-chair clarinet with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, played tenor s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ovation
The ovation ( la, ovatio from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, pirates); or when the general conflict was resolved with little or no danger to the army itself. The Ovation could also be given rather than a triumph when there were extenuating circumstances, such as when Marcus Marcellus was given an ovation in lieu of a triumph as his army remained in Sicily and therefore was unable to cross the pomerium. The general celebrating the ovation did not enter the city on a ''biga'', a chariot pulled by two white horses, as generals celebrating triumphs did, but instead rode on horseback in the toga praetexta of a magistrate. The honoured general also wore a wreath of myrtle (sacred to Venus) upon his brow, rather than the triumphal wreath of laurel. The Roman Senate did not precede the general, nor did s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |