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Nicola Hitchcock
Nicola Hitchcock is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known for having been one half of the trip hop duo Mandalay (along with Saul Freeman). Following the demise of Mandalay, she has worked with various dance music and avant-garde musicians including Chris Brann and Ryuichi Sakamoto but has more recently returned to her solo career. History Childhood and musical roots Nicola Hitchcock's father was a musician, actor and script writer, TV producer/director – her parents divorced, her father leaving the family home when Nicola was three. She has credited her father for her initial interest in music and for teaching her how to create her first songs. She began seriously writing songs from the age of nine, when she received her first acoustic guitar. Early influences included The Beatles and Carole King. From the age of 15, she began gaining stage experience in local covers bands, learning to play accordion, keyboards and percussion in addition to her vocal and guitar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danny Thompson
Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Martyn. For four years, between 1964 and 1967, he was a member of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, led a trio that included guitarist John McLaughlin, and was a founding member of the British folk-jazz band Pentangle. Since 1987, he has also recorded four solo albums. He converted to Islam in 1990. Biography and career Thompson was born in Teignmouth, Devon, England. His father, a miner, joined the Royal Navy at the start of World War II and was lost in action whilst crewing submarines. When Thompson was aged 6, the family moved to London and he was brought up in the working-class area of Battersea. At school he played competitive football and was a junior for Chelsea, the team he has supported ever since. Whilst at school he learnt guita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David McAlmont
David Irving McAlmont (born 2 May 1967) is a British vocalist, essayist and art historian. He came to prominence in the 1990s as a singer, particularly through his collaboration with Bernard Butler. In the 2010s he returned to academia, working with the University of Leicester and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. Early years and Thieves McAlmont was born on 2 May 1967 to a Guyanese mother and Nigerian father. His mother was a nurse and his father, a law student. He, his mother and sister moved to Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk, where his education continued at Peterhouse Primary School. In 1978 the family departed the United Kingdom for Guyana. The family resided with his grandparents in Lovely Lass Village Berbice, and with his aunt in Wismar, Demerara, moving onto the East Bank of the Demerara River at Grove and Craig. In 1978, McAlmont scored well on his Secondary School Entrance Examination and attended the Queen's College, Georgetown, Guyana. David's educati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thieves (band)
Thieves was a British pop duo active during the early 1990s. It was most notable for being the band on which both members – singer David McAlmont and multi-instrumentalist/producer Saul Freeman (the latter to go on to trip-hop band Mandalay) – based their subsequent musical careers. Critically feted by the British weekly music press during their lifetime, the duo also won two Single of the Week awards in ''Melody Maker'' but split shortly before the scheduled release of their debut album (which was later released as McAlmont's debut solo album). History Formation David McAlmont (born David Irving McAlmont, 2 May 1967, Croydon, EnglandKnittingcircle.org.uk mini-biography ), originally of Guyanese/Nigerian heritage, was raised as a Christian and spent his early years in Croydon, Cardiff and Guyana. He be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saul Freeman
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tribal society to organized statehood. The historicity of Saul and the United Kingdom of Israel is not universally accepted, as what is known of both comes from the Hebrew Bible. According to the text, he was anointed as king of the Israelites by Samuel, and reigned from Gibeah. Saul is said to have died by suicide when he "fell on his sword" during a battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, in which three of his sons were also killed. The succession to his throne was contested between Ish-bosheth, his only surviving son, and David, his son-in-law; David ultimately prevailed and assumed kingship over Israel and Judah. Biblical account The biblical accounts of Saul's life are found in the Books of Samuel: House of King Saul According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born composer, publisher Lawrence Wright; the first editor was Edgar Jackson. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publication) ''New Musical Express''. 1950s–1960s Originally the ''Melody Maker'' (''MM'') concentrated on jazz, and had Max Jones, one of the leading British proselytizers for that music, on its staff for many years. It was slow to cover rock and roll and lost ground to the ''New Musical Express'' (''NME''), which had begun in 1952. ''MM'' launched its own weekly singles chart (a top 20) on 7 April 1956, and an LPs charts in November 1958, two years after the ''Record Mirror'' had published the first UK Albums Chart. From 1964, the paper led its rival publications in terms of approac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portishead (band)
Portishead () is an English band formed in 1991 in Bristol. The band is named after Portishead, Somerset, eight miles west of Bristol, along the coast. The band comprises vocalist Beth Gibbons, producer Geoff Barrow, and musician Adrian Utley; Dave McDonald, an engineer on their first records, is sometimes cited as the fourth member. Portishead's debut album, '' Dummy'' (1994), fused hip hop production with yearning vocals from Gibbons and an atmospheric, cinematic style reminiscent of spy film soundtracks. The album was met with commercial and critical acclaim, quickly becoming a landmark album in the emerging trip hop genre. However, the band disliked being associated with the term, and would consciously step away from that sound on later releases. Two other studio albums have been issued: '' Portishead'' in 1997 and ''Third'' in 2008, both of which received similar acclaim. In 1998, the band released a concert album, ''Roseland NYC Live''. History ''Dummy'' (1994) Geoff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was released in 1991, with the single "Unfinished Sympathy" reaching the charts and later being voted the 63rd greatest song of all time in a poll by ''NME''. 1998's ''Mezzanine'' (containing the top 10 single " Teardrop") and 2003's '' 100th Window'' charted in the UK at number one. Both ''Blue Lines'' and ''Mezzanine'' feature in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The group has won numerous music awards throughout their career, including a Brit Award—winning Best British Dance Act, two MTV Europe Music Awards, and two Q Awards. They have released five studio albums that have sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Throughout their history, Massive Attack have been supporters and activists for political, human rights a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Difford
Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written lyrics for over 40 years, most notably in partnership with Glenn Tilbrook. The two were primary members in Squeeze and Difford & Tilbrook. According to Difford, he stole 50p from his mother's purse to put a card in a local sweetshop window advertising for a guitarist to join his band, although he did not have one at the time. Tilbrook was the only person who responded to the advert and they met for the first time shortly afterwards. Some of their best-known songs are " Tempted", " Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)", " Black Coffee in Bed", " Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction" and " Annie Get Your Gun". After the break-up of Squeeze in 1983 Difford continued writing songs for artists such as Jools Holland, Helen Shapiro, Billy Bremner and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Is That Love
"Is That Love" is a new wave song by Squeeze that was released on the band's fourth album, '' East Side Story''. Written by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, the song features lyrics about Difford's marriage and features a quick tempo with a piano-based ending. Released as the first single from the album, the song saw commercial success in the UK. It has since become a live favorite for the band and has seen positive reception from critics. Background "Is That Love" was inspired by Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford's then-recent marriage; he explained, "This was written around the time I got married. I remember being in the bathroom and seeing Cindy's wedding ring next to the soap, which inspired me to write the lyric. I don't think it was particularly about our marriage, but it started off a sequence of ideas in my head." Difford also went on to say, "I'm not strapped to the song emotionally but it was a great live number and sums up being on the road and having fun. It's a com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squeeze (band)
Squeeze are an English rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. In the UK, their singles " Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction", and " Labelled with Love" were top-ten chart hits; "Pulling Mussels" only made it to 44 in the UK charts. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American hits with " Tempted", " Black Coffee in Bed", and "Hourglass", and were considered a part of the Second British Invasion. The vast majority of their material is composed of lyrics by Chris Difford and music by Glenn Tilbrook, who are guitarists and vocalists in the band. The duo were hailed as "the heirs to Lennon and McCartney's throne" during the band's initial popularity in the late 1970s. The group formed in Deptford, London, in 1974, and first broke up in 1982. Squeeze then reformed in 1985, and disbanded again in 1999. The band reunited for tours t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
