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Nik Kershaw
Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Kershaw came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the decade, including "Wouldn't It Be Good", " Dancing Girls", "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "Human Racing", " The Riddle", " Wide Boy", "Don Quixote" and "When a Heart Beats". His 62 weeks on the UK Singles Chart through 1984 and 1985 beat all other solo artists. Kershaw appeared at the dual-venue concert Live Aid in 1985 and has also penned a number of hits for other artists, including a UK No. 1 single in 1991 for Chesney Hawkes, " The One and Only". Early years Nicholas "Nik" Kershaw was born on 1 March 1958 in Bristol, England, and grew up in Ipswich, Suffolk. His father was a flautist and his mother was an opera singer. He was educated at Northgate Grammar School for Boys where he played the guitar – he was self-taught ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The One And Only (song)
"The One and Only" is the debut single by British singer and actor Chesney Hawkes. Written by Nik Kershaw, the single was released by Chrysalis Records in February 1991. Produced by Kershaw and Alan Shacklock, and recorded and mixed by Gareth Cousins, the song was featured in the 1991 film '' Buddy's Song'' which starred Hawkes as the eponymous Buddy and Roger Daltrey as his father. The film performed moderately well at the UK box office, but the song was a hit in that country's music charts, spending five weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in March and April 1991. Kershaw's influence can also be heard throughout the track not only in guitar style, but in the backing vocals on the intro and choruses, with Hawkes singing the verses. In the United States, "The One and Only" was featured in the 1991 film ''Doc Hollywood''. The single proved to be Hawkes' only hit in the US, peaking at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart in November 1991. Critical recepti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Lee Hawkes (born 22 September 1971) is an English pop singer and occasional actor. He started his career at the age of 19 when he appeared in the film '' Buddy's Song'', which featured his best-known single " The One and Only", which topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks and reached the top 10 in the United States. Follow-up single " I'm a Man Not a Boy" peaked at 27 in the UK, with subsequent singles including "What's Wrong with This Picture?", "Stay Away Baby Jane" (a collaboration with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne) and "Another Fine Mess" also charting in the top 100. Aside from music, he appeared on Channel 4's '' The Games'' in 2005, winning a Bronze Medal. Hawkes appeared on the shows '' Hit Me Baby One More Time'', ''Let's Dance for Comic Relief'', and ''Sing If You Can''. Hawkes also appeared in the musical ''Can't Smile Without You'', as the role of Tony Lowiman. Life and career Hawkes was born in Windsor, Berkshire. He was named after the sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chart-topper
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include record sales, the amount of radio airplay, the number of downloads, and the amount of streaming activity. Some charts are specific to a particular musical genre and most to a particular geographical location. The most common period covered by a chart is one week with the chart being printed or broadcast at the end of this time. Summary charts for years and decades are then calculated from their component weekly charts. Component charts have become an increasingly important way to measure the commercial success of individual songs. A common format of radio and television programmes is to run down a music chart. Chart hit A ''chart hit'' is a recording, identified by its inclusion in a chart that uses sales or other criteria to rank popular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hit Record
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' usually refers to a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio airplay audience impressions, or significant streaming data and commercial sales. Historically, before the dominance of recorded music, commercial sheet music sales of individual songs were similarly promoted and tracked as singles and albums are now. For example, in 1894, Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern released ''The Little Lost Child'', which sold more than a million copies nationwide, based mainly on its success as an illustrated song, analogous to today's music videos. Chart hits In the United States and the United Kingdom, a single is usually considered a hit when it reaches the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 or the top 75 of the UK ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live Aid
Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a movement that started with the release of the successful charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984. Billed as the "global jukebox", Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, attended by about 72,000 people, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, attended by 89,484 people. On the same day, concerts inspired by the initiative were held in other countries, such as the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia and West Germany. It was one of the largest satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time; an estimated audience of 1.9 billion, in 150 nations, watched the live broadcast, nearly 40 percent of the world population. The impact of Live Aid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solo (music)
In music, a solo (from the Spanish language, Spanish and Italian language, Italian based-word: ''Solo'', meaning ''alone'' or ''by yourself'') is a musical composition, piece or a section (music), section of a piece played or sung featuring a single performer, who may be performing completely alone or supported by an accompanying instrument such as a piano or Organ (music), organ, a Basso continuo, continuo group (in Baroque music), or the rest of a choir, orchestra, band, or other ensemble. Performing a solo is "to solo", and the performer is known as a ''soloist''. The plural is soli or the anglicisation, anglicised form solos. In some contexts these are interchangeable, but ''soli'' tends to be restricted to classical music, and mostly either the solo performers or the solo passage (music), passages in a single piece. Furthermore, the word ''soli'' can be used to refer to a small number of simultaneous parts assigned to single players in an orchestral composition. In the Baroq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
When A Heart Beats
"When a Heart Beats" is a song by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released as the lead single from his third studio album, ''Radio Musicola'' (1986)—although the song does not appear on the LP version of the album, only on the cassette and CD editions. Kershaw's eighth single overall, it features the track "Wild Horses"—which was originally included on his previous studio album, '' The Riddle'' (1984)—as its B-side. Background Though it reached number 27 on the 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-s ... towards the end of 1985, "When a Heart Beats" marked the beginning of a downturn of Kershaw's fortunes on the singles charts, as it was the first time that a lead single from a Kershaw album failed to reach the top 20 in the UK; it also proved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Quixote (Nik Kershaw Song)
"Don Quixote" is a song by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw from his 1984 studio album '' The Riddle''. Released in August 1985 as the final single from that album, it reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1985, and became Kershaw's seventh (and last) consecutive UK top 20 hit single. A month before "Don Quixote" was released as a single, it was the second of four songs played by Kershaw at Live Aid. The others were previous singles " The Riddle", "Wouldn't It Be Good" and " Wide Boy". Background While discussing his method of writing lyrics, Kershaw explained the song's origins in the January 1986 issue of music technology magazine Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a .... Track listing 7" single (WEA NIK 8) A. "Don Quixote" - 4:11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wide Boy (song)
"Wide Boy" is a song by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was his sixth consecutive top-20 single, peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985. It was followed by "Don Quixote" which was to become the last of his string of top-20 singles on the UK chart. "Wide Boy" also charted highly in Ireland and Australia, peaking at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively. A version of the song was originally recorded for Kershaw's debut studio album ''Human Racing'', but was dropped before the album was released. It later appeared on Kershaw's next studio album '' The Riddle'' in partially re-recorded form. He remarked that the song was "an old song, probably four or five years old" by that point. The single was a remix of the album version. The accompanying music video was directed by graphic designer Storm Thorgerson. The Music Vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Riddle (Nik Kershaw Song)
"The Riddle" is a song by English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw, released in 1984 as the lead single from his second studio album of the same name. Kershaw described the lyrical content as being nondescript to fill as a "guide vocal" for the production. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top 10 in countries like Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. An accompanying music video was made for the song and features references to Lewis Carroll's book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The song was covered by many artists, including Gigi D'Agostino (1999) and Jack Holiday and Mike Candys (2012). Lyrics The "riddling" lyrics caused speculation among listeners as to their meaning; Kershaw states that there is in fact no intended meaning at all, the words simply being a "guide vocal" thrown together to fit the music. Kershaw has stated: "In short, 'The Riddle' is nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Racing (song)
"Human Racing" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw. It was the title track for his hit debut album of the same name, released in September 1984. It was the fourth hit single from the album, reaching No. 19 in the UK Singles Chart. It entered the chart in the week ending 15 September 1984, and remained within for seven weeks. An earlier version of the song, titled "Look Behind You", appeared on the 1980 album ''Till I Hear From You'' by Fusion, a band with Kershaw on vocals and guitar. Track listing 7" Single (WEA NIK 5) :A "Human Racing" – 4:28 :B "Faces" (Remix) – 4:40 7" Double Single (WEA NIKD 5) Gatefold with the "Human Racing board game" printed on the fold out :A "Human Racing" – 4:28 :B "Faces" (Remix) – 4:40 :C "Cloak And Dagger" (Live) – 5:10 :D "Drum Talk" (Live) – 4:05 12" Single (WEA NIKT 5) :A "Human Racing" (Remix) – 5:30 :B "Faces" (Remix) – 4:40 12" Single (WEA NIKX 5) :A "Human Racing" (Remix) – 5:30 :B "Wouldn't It Be Goo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
