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Neil Conti
Neil Conti (born 12 February 1959) is an English drummer and music producer best known as a member of the English pop band Prefab Sprout (1983–1993, 2000). As an in-demand session drummer, he has collaborated with acts such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Annie Lennox, Cher, Level 42, Laurie Anderson, Steve Winwood, Paul Young, Youssou N'dour, Brian Eno, Robert Palmer, Deep Forest and Will Young. Early career Born to musically-orientated parents, the six-year-old Conti was trained as a classical pianist at their encouragement. He became interested in performing after seeing his cousin Morgan Fisher onstage as keyboardist for Mott the Hoople, feeling it looked like "much more fun than doing four hours of piano scales every day". Twelve years old at the time and inspired by the band's drummer, Dale Griffin, he started playing drums and, over the next few years, gained some drumming experience with numerous local rock bands while showing an interest in jazz and soul music. After co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prefab Sprout
Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they released their debut album '' Swoon'' to critical acclaim in 1984. Their subsequent albums, including 1985's ''Steve McQueen'' and 1990's '' Jordan: The Comeback'', have been described by Paul Lester of ''The Guardian'' as "some of the most beautiful and intelligent records of their era". Frontman Paddy McAloon is regarded as one of the great songwriters of his time and the band have been credited with producing some of the "most beloved" pop music of the 1980s and 1990s. Nine of their albums reached the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart and one of their singles, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", peaked at number seven in the UK Singles Chart. The band's other popular songs include "When Love Breaks Down" and "Cars and Girls". In recent years, Padd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mott The Hoople
Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but failed to find commercial success. On the verge of breaking up, the band were encouraged by David Bowie to stay together. Bowie wrote the glam rock song "All the Young Dudes" for them, which became a huge commercial success in 1972. Bowie subsequently produced an album of the same name for them, which continued their success. Despite personnel changes, the band had further commercial success with ''Mott'' (1973) and ''The Hoople'' (1974). Lead singer Ian Hunter departed the band in 1974, after which the band's commercial fortunes began to dwindle. They remained together with continuing personnel changes until their break-up in 1980. The band have had reunions in 2009, 2013, 2018 and 2019. History Pre-Mott The Doc Thomas Group were formed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paddy McAloon
Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band Prefab Sprout. Early life McAloon was born and grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham, England. He was trained to be a Catholic priest before deciding on a career in music. Career Prefab Sprout enjoyed considerable success in the 1980s and early 1990s. They peaked commercially with "The King of Rock 'N' Roll", which was a top ten single in the UK Singles Chart. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' during the '' Jordan: The Comeback'' world tour, McAloon stated he has never seen a positive royalty cheque for his work with Prefab Sprout Songs written by McAloon have also been recorded by Kylie Minogue ("If You Don't Love Me"), Cher ("The Gunman"), Wendy Matthews ("God Watch Over You" and "Ride"), Sondre Lerche ("Nightingales" – the song appeared in " From Langley Park to Memphis" and Lerche sang it with the Faces Down Quartet as a tribute to Prefab Sprout), Danny S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ohio Players
Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire (Ohio Players song), Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models featured in ''Playboy''. The singles "Funky Worm", "Skin Tight", "Fire (Ohio Players song), Fire", and "Love Rollercoaster", and their albums ''Skin Tight (album), Skin Tight'', ''Fire (Ohio Players album), Fire'', and ''Honey (Ohio Players album), Honey'', were awarded Music recording certification, Gold certification. On August 17, 2013, Ohio Players were inducted into the inaugural class of the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame that took place at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. History The band formed in Dayton, Ohio, United States, in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables and initially included members Robert Ward (blues musician), Robert Ward (vocals/guitar), Marshall "Rock" Jones (bass), Clarence "Satc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Crusaders (jazz Fusion Group)
The Crusaders (formerly known as The Jazz Crusaders) were an American jazz group that was successful from the 1960s to the 1990s. The group was known as the Jazz Crusaders from their formation in 1960 until shortening their name in 1971. The Crusaders were comfortable playing a wide assortment of genres, from straight ahead jazz, to urban R&B, to R&B-based jazz, to even blues. The band reached a commercial apex in 1979 with their hit single " Street Life", featuring lead vocals by Randy Crawford, and their accompanying album of the same name. History High school friends Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (tenor saxophone) and Nesbert "Stix" Hooper (drums) formed their first band together, the Swingsters, in Houston, Texas in 1954. They played a mixture of jazz and R&B, and were joined by Wayne Henderson (trombone), Hubert Laws (flute), and Henry Wilson (bass). The group soon turned more to hard bop, and renamed themselves the Modern Jazz Sextet, but also recorded in a more R& ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stix Hooper
Stix or STIX may refer to: People * Stix Hooper (born 1938), American jazz musician * Gary Stix, American journalist * Thomas H. Stix (1924–2001), American physicist * Christine Stix-Hackl (born 1957), Austrian jurist Arts and entertainment * ''Stix'' (public art installation), a 2015 work by Christian Moeller * ''STIX'' (video game), a Commodore 64 video game * Stix, an animated stick character in the video game ''Bubba 'n' Stix'' * The stiX, a British music project * ''The Stix'', a 2003 album by Jaga Jazzist Computing * STIX Fonts project, providing mathematical symbols * Structured Threat Information eXpression, a structured language for cyber threat intelligence Other uses * Stix Baer & Fuller, an American department store chain (1892–1984) * Stix, Baer and Fuller F.C., an American soccer club (1931–1934) * Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Douglas
Carlton George Douglas (born 10 May 1942) is a Jamaican recording artist based in the UK who is best known for the 1974 disco single "Kung Fu Fighting". Early life Carlton George Douglas was born in Kingston, Colony of Jamaica. He later lived in the U.S. state of California before relocating to London, England as a teenager. He spent his childhood in England playing football, and vocal training. In his youth, he developed a passion for soul music (citing Sam Cooke and Otis Redding as his biggest influences) and a trained tenor voice, which he would display in church singing various religious songs. Career Douglas's career was based in the United Kingdom. His disco single "Kung Fu Fighting", produced by British producer Biddu, ranked number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1974. The single sold 11 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The single was later certified gold by the RIAA on 27 Novem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pauline Black
Belinda Magnus (born 23 October 1953), better known as Pauline Black (), is an English singer, actress and author. In a music career spanning over 40 years, Black came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the 2 Tone ska revival band the Selecter, which released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the United Kingdom during the 1970s and the 1980s, including " On My Radio", "Three Minute Hero", " Missing Words" and "The Whisper". ''Rolling Stone'' said of Black "Hands down, Pauline Black possessed the best voice that ever graced a 2-Tone release. Blessed with a bewitching soprano and dramatic panache, Black's voice reached plateaus that made every other musical detail sound like part of a backdrop painted just to set the stage for her entrance." Black has also been an actress, with roles in films and television. Early life Belinda Magnus was born on 23 October 1953, in Romford, Essex, England, to an Anglo-Jewish teenage mother and Nigerian father. She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokomo (band)
Kokomo are a British band whose members were prime exponents of British soul in the 1970s. They released three albums, and the second ''Rise & Shine'' was described as "the finest British funk album of the 1970s". Formation and personnel Formed in May 1973 by Tony O'Malley and Terry Stannard, ex-members of the pop group Arrival, Kokomo's ten-piece line-up became: Dyan Birch (vocals), Frank Collins (vocals), Paddy McHugh (vocals), Tony O'Malley (keyboards, vocals), Alan Spenner (bass, vocals), Neil Hubbard (guitar), Mel Collins (saxophone), Jody Linscott (percussion), Terry Stannard (drums) and Jim Mullen (guitar). Spenner and Hubbard were from the Grease Band, Birch, McHugh, Collins and O'Malley from Arrival and Mel Collins from King Crimson. Kokomo's first performance was at The Pheasantry, King's Road, Chelsea in 1973, where the band's roadie Franky Blackwell, coined the band's name. Kokomo built an early reputation in the UK pub rock scene. Linscott joined when the ban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linx (band)
Linx were a British soul/Brit funk band (music), band consisting of David Grant (singer), David Grant (lead vocals), Bob Carter (keyboard instrument, keyboards), Andy Duncan (drums), Canute Edwards (guitar), Peter Martin (bass guitar, bass) (aka Sketch) and Junior Giscombe (backing vocals). Carter and Duncan were session musicians who were known for their contribution to Hazel O'Connor's ''Breaking Glass (album), Breaking Glass'' album and movie. After their first hit in 1980, the band slimmed down to a duo of Grant and Martin. Peter Martin (the bassist) joined the band 23 Skidoo (band), 23 Skidoo. Junior Giscombe became a pop singer in his own right. Overview Linx had six entries on the UK Singles Chart from mid-1980 until mid-1982. The band's biggest success was "Intuition (Linx song), Intuition", which reached number 7 in early 1981. Other hits included "You're Lying" and "So This Is Romance." Linx also contributed the track "Don't Get in My Way" to the influential C81 (album) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid-20th century. It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths. Funk originated in the mid-1960s, with James Brown's development of a signature groove that emphasized the downbeat—with a heavy emphasis on the first bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calypso Music
Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to West African Kaiso and the arrival of French planters and their slaves from the French Antilles in the 18th century. It is characterized by highly rhythmic and harmonic vocals, and was historically most often sung in a French creole and led by a griot. As calypso developed, the role of the griot became known as a ''chantuelle'' and eventually, ''calypsonian''. As English replaced "patois" (Antillean creole) as the dominant language, calypso migrated into English, and in so doing it attracted more attention from the government. It allowed the masses to challenge the doings of the unelected Governor and Legislative Council, and the elected town councils of Port of Spain and San Fernando. Calypso continued to play an important role in politic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
