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UK Mixmasters
Nigel Wright (born 13 June 1955, Bristol) is a record producer from England. His career as music producer, orchestrator and songwriter has scored five number one singles, 31 Top 20 singles and a string of platinum albums with recording artists as diverse as Madonna, Shakatak, Mezzoforte, Barbra Streisand, Boyzone, Sonia, Take That, Sinitta, José Carreras, Robson & Jerome, Michael Ball, Sarah Brightman, The Texas Tenors, Cliff Richard, Connie Fisher, Paul Potts, Andy Abraham and Ray Quinn. Wright's career in theatre and film include serving as the music producer for Andrew Lloyd Webber, in a successful partnership that had, as of May 2009, lasted more than eighteen years. Record production Wright first rose to prominence as producer of the jazz-funk group Shakatak. During the 1980s, he also produced medleys under various names. In 1981, Wright created "Ain't No Stopping", a rapid response to the success of Stars on 45 consisting of parts of recent disco hits and taking its name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel Wright Studio
Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ''The Fortunes of Nigel'' in 1822, and Arthur Conan Doyle published ''Sir Nigel'' in 1905–06. As a name given for boys in England and Wales, it peaked in popularity from the 1950s to the 1970s (see below). ''Nigel'' has never been as common in other countries as it is in Britain, but was among the 1,000 most common names for boys born in the United States from 1971 to 2010. Numbers peaked in 1994 when 447 were recorded (it was the 478th most common boys' name that year). The peak popularity at 0.02% of boys' names in 1994 compares to a peak popularity in England and Wales of about 1.2% in 1963, 60 times higher. Etymology The name is derived from the church Latin '. This Latin word would at first sight seem to derive from the classical L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made her West End musical theatre debut in ''Cats'' and met composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, whom she later married. She went on to star in several West End and Broadway musicals, including ''The Phantom of the Opera'', where she originated the role of Christine Daaé. Her original London cast album of ''Phantom'' was released in CD format in 1987 and sold 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling cast album ever. After retiring from the stage and divorcing Lloyd Webber, Brightman resumed her music career with former Enigma producer Frank Peterson, this time as a classical crossover artist. She has been credited as the creator and remains among the most prominent performers of this genre, with worldwide sales of more t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirage (medley Group)
Mirage were a British dance/pop group active in the 1980s and specializing in medleys. They scored a string of hit singles and albums, and achieved particular success in 1987-8 with the "Jack Mix" series. History Mirage had its origins in Enigma, a 1981 project created by Shakatak producer Nigel Wright to cash in on the success of Dutch medley group Stars on 45. Enigma's "Ain't No Stopping", a medley of disco hits played by session musicians, was released while "Stars on 45" was still climbing the charts. "Ain't No Stopping" peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and was followed up with "I Love Music", which peaked at number 25. Although the medley craze faded quickly, Wright continued to produce medleys, first under the name Mojo, before settling on Mirage. The first Mirage medley to make an impact was the 1984 release "Give Me the Night", a medley of George Benson songs sung by Leroy Osbourne (of Sade) under the guise of Roy Gayle. Other single-artist medleys follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enigma (British Band)
Enigma was a musical project by British producer and musician Nigel Wright in the early 1980s. The recordings were by session musicians and singers who performed medleys of popular disco tracks. In 1981, the singles "Ain't No Stopping" and "I Love Music" reached #11 and #25 on the UK Singles Chart, respectively. They also released an album, ''Ain't No Stoppin'', which reached #80 on the UK Albums Chart in September 1981. Their releases were under the Creole Records label. Band members were Tino Rowe (vocals), Martin Jay (vocals and guitar), Jill Saward (vocals), Tracy Ackerman (as Tracy Lee Ackerman) (vocals), and Steve Underwood (bass guitar). Saward, Ackerman and Underwood all had associations with the band Shakatak, of which Wright was a member. In 1987, Wright released one more single under this name before embarking on another remix project under the name Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is a 1979 disco song performed by American R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, from their debut album ''McFadden & Whitehead''. They wrote and produced the song along with keyboard player Jerry Cohen. McFadden & Whitehead would revisit the song in their 1984 single "Ain't No Stoppin' (Ain't No Way)". Background "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is about succeeding despite having faced previous disadvantages ("so many things that held us down"). It was widely interpreted to be about the experience of the African American community, and after attaining popularity, became referred to as "the new black national anthem" (the original being the 1900 song "Lift Every Voice and Sing"). Kelefa Sanneh noted the song was, "an exuberant number often interpreted as an expression of Black pride", but also that the authors of the song were in a dispute over royalties with their record label Philadelphia International. Whitehead said, "If anything, the song was a declaration of ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
McFadden & Whitehead
McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff record label, Philadelphia International Records. Early career As teenagers, Gene McFadden and John Whitehead met at school in 1960s Philadelphia and formed a group called The Epsilons. The personnel included Allen Beatty, James Knight, and future Blue Notes member Lloyd Parks. When Otis Redding came to Philadelphia, The Epsilons were invited to become part of his revue. They toured with him during the late 1960s until Redding's death in a plane crash in 1967. They signed a small record deal with Stax Records on the back of this opportunity and had a moderate success in 1970 with "The Echo". After the departure of Lloyd Parks to Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Gene and John changed their name to Talk of the Town and worked with Gamble/Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stars On 45
Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was successful in Europe, the United States, and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the UK and Ireland it was known as Starsound (aka Star Sound). The band, which consisted solely of studio session musicians under the direction of Jaap Eggermont, formerly of Golden Earring, recorded medley recordings made by recreating hit songs as faithfully as possible and joining them together with a common tempo and underlying drum track. History Mark Haley & Lawrence Haley originated the "Stars on 45" concept after Willem van Kooten, managing director of the Dutch publishing company Red Bullet Productions, visited a record store in the summer of 1979 and happened to hear a disco medley being played there. The medley combined original recordings of songs by the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumentals. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks for a single artist, or for popular songs from a given year or genre. A cover version combining elements of multiple pre-existing songs is a ''cover medley''. A medley is the most common form of overture for musical theatre productions. In Latin music, medleys are known as '' potpourrís'' or ''mosaicos''; the latter were popularized by artists such as Roberto Faz and Billo Frómeta, and most commonly consist of boleros, guarachas, merengues or congas. See also * Segue, a term for the transition between songs * DJ mix * Mashup (music) * List of Genesis medleys * List of "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medleys Polka-style medleys of cover songs are a distinguishing part of American musician, sat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Several of his songs have been widely recorded and were successful outside of their parent musicals, such as "Memory" from '' Cats,'' "The Music of the Night" and " All I Ask of You" from ''The Phantom of the Opera'', "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from ''Evita'', and " Any Dream Will Do" from '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.'' In 2001, ''The New York Times'' referred to him as "the most commercially successful composer in history". ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him the "fifth most powerful person in British culture" in 2008, lyricist Don Black writing "Andrew more or less single-ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Quinn
Raymond Arthur Quinn (born 25 August 1988) is an English actor, singer, dancer and carpet layer. He is best known for his role as Anthony Murray in ''Brookside'' from 2000 to 2003. He achieved more public recognition when he auditioned for the third series of ''The X Factor'' in 2006, finishing in second place behind Leona Lewis. Quinn won the fourth series of ''Dancing on Ice'' in 2009 and the 'All Stars' series in 2014. On 22 February 2015, he was the winner of the first series of ''Get Your Act Together''. Early life Raymond Arthur Quinn was born on 25 August 1988 in Childwall, Merseyside, the youngest of three boys born to mother Val. At the age of six, he started dancing lessons at the Chiltern School of Dance and Drama, under the guidance and teaching of Colette Byatt. Following his national recognition as a child actor, he transferred over to the Merseyside Dance and Drama College, where he was taught singing lessons from the age of nine. He cites his vocal coach, Suz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Abraham
Andrew Abraham (born 17 July 1964) is a British singer. He was the runner-up in the second UK series of TV talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2005 to Shayne Ward, and also represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Before applying for ''The X Factor'', Abraham was a refuse collector. Prior to this, he worked as a bus driver for Arriva London North based at Palmers Green bus garage. Abraham has two children by his wife Denise, a daughter called Tara and a son called Jacob. He is of Grenadian descent. Career 2005: ''The X Factor'' Abraham was narrowly beaten to the top spot on ''The X Factor'' by Shayne Ward by 1.2% of the national public vote. Abraham was mentored throughout the competition by Sharon Osbourne although fellow judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh also praised the singer highly throughout the competition. Other performers who came to prominence in the same series of ''The X Factor'' were finalists Journey South and quarter-finalist Chico S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Potts
Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of "Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music, Potts recorded the album '' One Chance'', which topped sales charts in 13 countries. Before winning ''Britain's Got Talent'', Potts was a manager at Carphone Warehouse. He had been a Bristol city councillor from 1996 until 2003, and performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003. Early life Potts was born on 13 October 1970 in Kingswood, Bristol, and raised in nearby Fishponds by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne (''née'' Higgins), a supermarket cashier. He has two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, where he developed his love of singing. He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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