Rock Bottom (album)
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Rock Bottom (album)
''Rock Bottom'' is the second solo album by former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt. It was released on 26 July 1974 by Virgin Records. The album was produced by Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason, and was recorded following a 1973 accident which left Wyatt a paraplegic. He enlisted musicians including Ivor Cutler, Hugh Hopper, Richard Sinclair, Laurie Allan, Mike Oldfield and Fred Frith in the recording. Background The band Matching Mole disbanded soon after the release of '' Little Red Record'' in 1972, and Wyatt began composing the material that later appeared on ''Rock Bottom''. The album's preparation was interrupted by an accident on the night of 1 June 1973. During a raucous party, at Vale Court, Hall Road, Maida Vale in London, an inebriated Wyatt fell from a fourth-floor bathroom window and was paralysed from the waist down. Wyatt has used a wheelchair ever since. He later called the event the beginning of his maturity and in hospital he continued to work on the so ...
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Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming paraplegic following an accidental fall from a window in 1973, which led him to abandon band work, explore other instruments, and begin a forty-year solo career. A key player during the formative years of British jazz fusion, psychedelia and progressive rock, Wyatt's own work became increasingly interpretative, collaborative and politicised from the mid-1970s onwards. His solo music has covered a particularly individual musical terrain ranging from covers of pop singles to shifting, amorphous song collections drawing on elements of jazz, folk and nursery rhyme. Wyatt retired from his music career in 2014, stating "there is a pride in topping I don't want he musicto go off." He is married to English painter and songwriter Alfreda Benge. Earl ...
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Ivor Cutler
Ivor Cutler (born Isadore Cutler, 15 January 1923 – 3 March 2006) was a Scottish poet, singer, musician, songwriter, artist and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential eponymous late night radio programme (BBC Radio 1), and later for Andy Kershaw's programme. He appeared in the Beatles' ''Magical Mystery Tour'' film in 1967 and on Neil Innes' television programmes. Cutler also wrote books for children and adults and was a teacher at A. S. Neill's Summerhill School and for 30 years in inner-city schools in London. In live performances Cutler would often accompany himself on a harmonium. Phyllis King appears on several of his records, and for several years was a part of his concerts. She usually read small phrases but also read a few short stories. The two starred in a BBC radio series, ''King Cutler'', in which they performed their material jointly and singly. Cutler also ...
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Don't Look Now
''Don't Look Now'' ( it, A Venezia... un Dicembre rosso shocking, lit=In Venice... a shocking red December) is a 1973 English-language film in the thriller genre directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Maurier. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland portray Laura and John Baxter, a married couple who travel to Venice following the recent accidental death of their daughter, after John accepts a commission to restore a church. They encounter two sisters, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their daughter is trying to contact them and warn them of danger. John at first dismisses their claims, but starts to experience mysterious sightings himself. ''Don't Look Now'' focuses on the psychology of grief and the effect the death of a child can have on a relationship. The film is renowned for its innovative editing style, recurring motifs and themes, and for a controversial sex scene that was explicit by the standards of contempor ...
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Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing '' Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976), ''Bad Timing'' (1980), and '' The Witches'' (1990). Making his directorial debut 23 years after his entry into the film business, Roeg quickly became known for an idiosyncratic visual and narrative style, characterized by the use of disjointed and disorienting editing. For this reason, he is considered a highly influential filmmaker, cited as an inspiration by such directors as Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan, and Danny Boyle. In 1999, the British Film Institute acknowledged Roeg's importance in the British film industry by respectively naming ''Don't Look Now'' and ''Performance'' the 8th and 48th greatest British films of all time in its Top 100 British films poll. Early life Roeg was born in St John's Wood in North London on ...
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Alfreda Benge
Alfreda Benge is a lyricist and illustrator. She was born in 1940 in Austria to a Polish mother, and came to England in 1947. Her stepfather, Ronald Benge, was a prominent librarian who established library schools in developing countries. She has been married to musician Robert Wyatt since 1974.Andy Gregory ''International Who's Who in Popular Music'', Routledge, 2002, She has contributed lyrics to many of his compositions, and has written lyrics for French musician/producer Bertrand Burgalat, and for Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos. Benge studied painting at Camberwell Art School, graphics at the London School of Printing, film at the RCA, worked in film, and served as an assistant to the editor Graeme Clifford for Nicolas Roeg's ''Don't Look Now'' (1973). She has provided cover artwork for all Wyatt's solo albums since 1974, as well as for albums by other musicians including ''Gravity'' by Fred Frith, ''Alice'' by Klimperei and ''Spanish Dance Troupe'' by Gorky's Zygotic Mync ...
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Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islands are in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay lying between the mouths of the Po River, Po and the Piave River, Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta (river), Brenta and the Sile (river), Sile). In 2020, around 258,685 people resided in greater Venice or the ''Comune di Venezia'', of whom around 55,000 live in the historical island city of Venice (''centro storico'') and the rest on the mainland (''terraferma''). Together with the cities of Padua, Italy, Padua and Treviso, Italy, Treviso, Venice is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE), which is considered a statistical metropolitan area, with a total population of 2.6 million. The name is derived from the ancient Adri ...
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Rainbow Theatre
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an Evangelical church. History Former Stage Manager Rick Burton has published a website with a detailed history of who has performed at the theatre and when. Cinema When it opened in 1930, the Finsbury Park Astoria was one of the largest cinemas in the world.Cherry, Bridget and Pevsner, Nikolaus (1999) ''London 4: North''. London: Penguin; p. 705 Standing at the junction of Isledon Road and Seven Sisters Road on an island site, it was the fourth of the famous London suburban Astoria Theatres built by film exhibitor Arthur Segal. The three other Astorias were in Streatham, Old Kent Road and Brixton. The Finsbury Park Astoria opened on 29 September 1930 and was in use as a cinema until September 1971, when i ...
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Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is part of the City of Westminster, 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It has many late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats. The area is home to the BBC Maida Vale Studios. Name The name derives from a pub called ''The Maida'', the hanging board of which used to show a likeness of Sir John Stuart, under which was the legend ''Sir John Stuart, the hero of Maida''. General Sir John Stuart was made Count of Maida, a town in Calabria, by King Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily, after victory at the Battle of Maida in 1806. The pub stood on Edgware Road near the Regent's Canal until about 2000. In recent years, a different pub (formerly ''The Truscott Arms'') has been renamed ''The Hero of Maida'', but is in ...
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Little Red Record
''Matching Mole's Little Red Record'' (1972) is the second album of the English Canterbury Scene band Matching Mole. The band was formed in 1971 by Robert Wyatt after he left Soft Machine. Compared to their first album which featured Wyatt's musical compositions, keyboard playing, drumming and vocals, ''Little Red Record'' was more of a team effort, with Wyatt only drumming, and singing his lyrics. It was produced by Robert Fripp of King Crimson, and features Brian Eno as a guest musician. The album title refers to Chairman Mao's ''Little Red Book'' (1964). This reference is also carried over to the faux-Chinese style of the album cover, which is reminiscent of posters created during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Track listing #"Starting in the Middle of the Day We Can Drink Our Politics Away" (MacRae, Wyatt) – 2:31 #"Marchides" (MacRae) – 8:25 #"Nan True's Hole" (Miller, Wyatt) – 3:37 #"Righteous Rhumba" (aka "Lything and Gracing") (Miller, Wyatt) – 2:50 #"Brandy as in ...
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Matching Mole
Matching Mole were an English progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album, '' The End of an Ear'' (4 December 1970). He continued his role on vocals and drums and was joined by David Sinclair of Caravan on organ and piano, Dave MacRae on electric piano, Phil Miller of Delivery on guitar and Bill MacCormick of Quiet Sun on bass. The name is a pun on ''Machine Molle'', the French translation of the name of Wyatt's previous group Soft Machine. Career Their first eponymous album was released in April 1972, the bulk of which was composed by Wyatt himself, with the exception of "O Caroline" (a Dave Sinclair composition with lyrics by Wyatt about his recent breakup with girlfriend Caroline Coon) and Phil Miller's "Part of the Dance". Sinclair soon dropped out of the group and was replaced by New Zealand-born keyboard player and composer Dave MacRae, who had alre ...
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Fred Frith
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. He was also a member of the groups Art Bears, Massacre, and Skeleton Crew. He has collaborated with a number of prominent musicians, including Robert Wyatt, Derek Bailey, the Residents, Lol Coxhill, John Zorn, Brian Eno, Mike Patton, Lars Hollmer, Bill Laswell, Iva Bittová, Jad Fair, Kramer, the ARTE Quartett, and Bob Ostertag. He has also composed several long works, including ''Traffic Continues'' (1996, performed 1998 by Frith and Ensemble Modern) and ''Freedom in Fragments'' (1993, performed 1999 by Rova Saxophone Quartet). Frith produces most of his own music, and has also produced many albums by other musicians, including Curlew, the Muffins, Etron Fou Leloublan, and Orthotonics. He is the subject of Nicolas ...
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Mike Oldfield
Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documentaries Arts * Mike (miniseries), a 2022 Hulu limited series based on the life of American boxer Mike Tyson * Mike (2022 film), a Malayalam film produced by John Abraham * ''Mike'' (album), an album by Mike Mohede * ''Mike'' (1926 film), an American film * MIKE (musician), American rapper, songwriter and record * ''Mike'' (novel), a 1909 novel by P. G. Wodehouse * "Mike" (song), by Elvana Gjata and Ledri Vula featuring John Shahu * Mike (''Twin Peaks''), a character from ''Twin Peaks'' * "Mike", a song by Xiu Xiu from their 2004 album ''Fabulous Muscles'' Businesses * Mike (cellular network), a defunct Canadian cellular network * Mike and Ike, a candies brand Military * MIKE Force, a unit in the Vietnam War * Ivy Mike, the first ...
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