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Tony Swain (musician)
Steven Nicholas Jolley (born April 1950) and Tony Swain (born 20 January 1952, London, England) were a successful songwriting and record production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era. Career The pair met in 1975 when Swain was working as a television cameraman on ''The Muppet Show'', where Jolley was sound technician and sometimes boom operator. They formed the band Chaser in 1975 with Richard Palmer (rhythm guitar and percussion), Nick Adams (lead guitar), Ray Bailey (bass) and Brian Grant (drums). Chaser released the single "Red Rum" (1975), written by Jolley, Palmer and Swain, on Polydor as a tribute to the famous racehorse. Swain left to pursue a career as a songwriter/record producer while Jolley released a single and an album with The English Boys in 1980. Their first known collaborative work was released by the late Irish singer Joe Dolan on his 1980 album ''Turn Out the Light'', which featured ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pop Music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. ''Rock'' and ''pop'' music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which ''pop'' became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. Although much of the music that appears on record charts is considered to be pop music, the genre is distinguished from chart music. Identifying factors usually include repeated choruses and hooks, short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to. Much pop music also borrows elements from other styles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Hit Singles & Albums
''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of the Guinness breweries, Guinness Superlatives. Later editions were published by HiT Entertainment (who had bought the Guinness World Records brand). It listed all the singles and albums featured in the Top 75 pop charts in the UK. In 2004 the book became an amalgamation of two earlier Guinness publications, originally known as ''British Hit Singles'' and ''British Hit Albums''. The publication of this amalgamation ceased in 2006, with Guinness World Records being sold to The Jim Pattison Group, owner of ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!''. At this point, the Official UK Charts Company teamed up with Random House/Ebury Publishing to release a new version of the book under the Virgin Books brand. Entitled ''The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Errol Brown
Lester Errol Brown MBE (12 November 1943 – 6 May 2015) was a British-Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate. In 2004, Brown received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Career Brown was born in Kingston, Jamaica, but moved to the UK when he was twelve years old. His break in music came in 1969 when he recorded a version of John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" with a band called "Hot Chocolate Band". Unable to change the lyrics without Lennon's permission, he sent a copy to his record label, Apple, and the song was released with Lennon's approval. The Hot Chocolate albums were produced by Mickie Most and recorded at the Rak Records studio. Brown left the group in 1985 to take a hiatus from music. He soon went on to have a solo career, achieving success in the clubs with the 1987 single "Body Rocking", produced by Richard James Burgess. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Robinson
Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band. He later peaked at No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart with his solo single " War Baby". Early life Tom Robinson was born into a middle-class family in Cambridge on 1 June 1950.Rapp, Linda (2004)"Robinson, Tom (b. 1950)". ''GLBTQ: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture''. He attended Friends' School, Saffron Walden, a co-ed privately funded Quaker school, between 1961 and 1967. He played guitar in a trio at school called The Inquisition. Robinson has two brothers, Matthew (a former BBC executive producer) and George, and a sister, Sophy. At the age of 13, Robinson realised that he was gay when he fell in love with another boy at school.Simmonds, Sylvie"A Brief History Of Tom". TomRobinson.com. Unt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. They remain the best-charting female group in history, with a total of twelve number-one hit singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", and " Love Child". Following departure from the Supremes in 1970, Ross embarked on a successful solo career in music, film, television and on stage. Her eponymous debut solo album featured the U.S. number-one hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and music anthem "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". It was followed with her second solo album, '' Everything Is Everything'' (1970), which spawned her first UK number-one single " I'm Still Waiting". She continued her successful solo career by mounting elaborate record-setting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
China Records
China Records was a record label founded 1 October 1984 by Derek Green (music), Derek Green. Its top-selling artists were Art of Noise, Morcheeba and the The Levellers (band), Levellers. In 1986 and 1987, China Records releases were manufactured and marketed worldwide by Chrysalis Records, and then by Polydor Records in 1988 through 1990. From 1991 the labels UK releases were made and distributed by Pinnacle Records, with material being licensed to various other labels for international release. In February 1992 Derek Green quit the BPI over their stance on the independent chart, whilst the label distribution went major in 1997 in music, 1997 when it was acquired by Warner Music Group. With this deal, China was distributed through Discovery Records in the US, and is now being distributed through Sire Records since Discovery folded. Overseas releases are handled primarily by Warner Manufacturing Europe. Sub-labels * Indochina Records - a dance offshoot featuring acts such as Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love Resurrection
"Love Resurrection" is a pop song written by English singer-songwriter Alison Moyet and producers Jolley & Swain for Moyet's debut studio album '' Alf'' (1984). Released as the album's first single in June 1984, it reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. It was released in the US in summer 1985 following "Invisible" and reached number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that August. Background Speaking to ''Number One'' in 1984, Moyet said "Love Resurrection" was "written over the phone": "I'd had an argument with a friend and gone to bed like I usually do when I'm depressed. I wrote the lyric straight off and read it over to Steve olley He called me back with a melody line and we went on from there." Music videos There are two versions of the music video. The first version, made for the worldwide single release, shows Moyet at a Middle Eastern encampment in the desert. As she wanders through, the camera pans across the barren landscape and zooms in on a skull figure. The video ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored by Britannia Music Club), but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, is held in May. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event. The highest profile music awards ceremony in the UK, the BRIT Awards have featured some of the most notable events in British popular culture, such as the final public appearance of Freddie Mercury, the Jarvis Cocker protest against Michael Jackson, the height of a high-pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alison Moyet
Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist. Her worldwide album sales have reached a certified 23 million, with over two million singles sold. All nine of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the top 30 of the UK Albums Chart, with two of them reaching number one. She has also achieved nine top 30 singles and six top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. Her most recent album, her ninth, ''Other'', was released 16 June 2017. Early life Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet was born in Billericay, Essex, to a French father and English mother. She grew up in the nearby town of Basildon, where she attended Janet Duke Junior School and then Nicholas Comprehensive at secondary level. She was involved in a number of punk rock, pub rock and blues bands in the South East E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alf (album)
''Alf'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer Alison Moyet, released on 9 November 1984 by CBS Records. The album launched Moyet's solo career following the disbanding of synth-pop duo Yazoo. The album reached 1 on the UK Albums Chart and features the singles "Love Resurrection", " All Cried Out", "Invisible" and "For You Only". A deluxe edition of ''Alf'' was released on 25 November 2016 by BMG. Background In 1983, shortly before the release of their second studio album, ''You and Me Both'' (1983), Yazoo announced that they were splitting up. Deciding to pursue a solo career, Moyet soon received various offers from different record companies. Moyet ended up signing to CBS for £1 million later that year. However, after signing the contract, Yazoo's American record company Warner Bros then put an injunction on her. The legal issues took a year to be resolved by settlement in 1984. When Moyet was able to start working on her debut album, a meeting was held with C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parade (Spandau Ballet Album)
''Parade'' is the fourth studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 25 June 1984 by Chrysalis Records. The band wanted the album to sound more like how they played together live, and their guitarist/songwriter Gary Kemp came up with material that he felt would be more appropriate for the arenas in which they performed now since they were attracting larger audiences. Because they would be parading themselves around the world as part of the album's corresponding tour, he hit upon the idea of a parade as the theme of the album and included an international cast of characters taking part in a parade on the album cover. The album peaked at number two in the UK in its first week of release and achieved platinum certification for sales of 300,000 units there. Critics, however, mostly found it to be a bland retread of their previous album, ''True''. The first of four top-20 singles from ''Parade'', "Only When You Leave", received the most praise from them and was ... [...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] |
