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Park Life
''Parklife'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album '' Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: " Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Parklife" and " To the End". Certified four times platinum in the United Kingdom, in the year following its release the album came to define the emerging Britpop scene, along with the album '' Definitely Maybe'' by future rivals Oasis. Britpop in turn would form the backbone of the broader Cool Britannia movement. ''Parklife'' therefore has attained a cultural significance above and beyond its considerable sales and critical acclaim, cementing its status as a landmark in British rock music. In 2010, ''Parklife'' was one of ten classic album covers from British artists commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail. In 2015, ''Spin'' included the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blur (band)
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, ''Leisure'' (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released ''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' (1994) and '' The Great Escape'' (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop". Blur's self-titled fifth album (1997) saw another stylistic shift, influenced by the lo-fi styles of American indie rock groups, and became their third UK chart-topping album. Its single " Song 2" brought the band mainstream success in the US for the first time. Their next album, '' 13'' (1999) saw the band experimenting with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Definitely Maybe
''Definitely Maybe'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. Oasis booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in late 1993 to record the album and worked with producer Dave Batchelor, whom band member Noel Gallagher knew from his days working as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, though sessions were unsatisfactory and Batchelor was subsequently fired. It is the only studio album to feature all five original members, as founding member drummer Tony McCarroll was sacked from the band in 1995. In January 1994, the group set about re-recording the album at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall, where sessions were produced by Noel alongside Mark Coyle. The results were still deemed unsatisfactory; in desperation, Creation's Marcus Russell contacted engineer and producer Owen Morris, who eventually worked on mastering the album at Johnny Marr's studio in Manchester. ''Definitely Maybe'' was an immediate commercial and critical s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. He is one of the most successful songwriters in British music history, as the writer of eight UK number-one singles, and co-writer of a further number one; and the sole or primary writer of ten UK number-one studio albums. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential songwriters in the history of British rock music, cited by numerous major subsequent artists as an influence. Gallagher began playing the guitar at age twelve, and became a roadie and technician for Inspiral Carpets at age 21. He learnt that his younger brother Liam had joined a band called The Rain, which eventually became Oasis, and Liam invited him to join the group as their lead guitarist. He agreed on condition that he wri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Fields (novel)
''London Fields'' is a black comic, murder mystery novel by British writer Martin Amis, published in 1989. Regarded by Amis's readership as possibly his strongest novel, the tone gradually shifts from high comedy, interspersed with deep personal introspections, to a dark sense of foreboding and eventually panic at the approach of the deadline, or "horror day", the climactic scene alluded to on the very first page. The story is narrated by Samson Young (Sam), an American writer living in London who has had writer's block for 20 years and is now terminally ill. The other main characters are Guy Clinch, the foil; Keith Talent, the cheat; and Nicola Six, the murderee, who knows she will be murdered a few minutes after midnight on 5 November 1999—her 35th birthday—and who goes in search of her killer. Plot summary ''London Fields'' is set in London in 1999 against a backdrop of environmental, social, and moral degradation, and the looming threat of world instability and nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis (born 25 August 1949) is a British novelist, essayist, memoirist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and ''London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir ''Experience'' and has been listed for the Booker Prize twice (shortlisted in 1991 for ''Time's Arrow'' and longlisted in 2003 for '' Yellow Dog''). Amis served as the Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester until 2011. In 2008, ''The Times'' named him one of the fifty greatest British writers since 1945. Amis's work centres on the excesses of " late-capitalist" Western society, whose perceived absurdity he often satirises through grotesque caricature; he has been portrayed as a master of what ''The New York Times'' called "the new unpleasantness".Stout, Mira"Martin Amis: Down London's mean streets" ''The New York Times'', 4 February 1990. Inspired by Saul Bellow and Vladimir Nabokov, as we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Balfe
David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their first number one hit, "Country House". Biography David Balfe grew up in Merseyside, where he played with several Liverpool bands in the late 1970s that emerged from the city's legendary Eric's club scene, including Radio Blank, Big in Japan, Dalek I Love You, the Teardrop Explodes and Lori & The Chameleons. He also played keyboards on and co-produced the first Echo & the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes albums, as well as managing both bands with Bill Drummond for the years from their inception to early success. Zoo records Balfe and Drummond, having met while playing together in Big in Japan, founded the Zoo record label in 1978 to release Big in Japan's posthumous EP ''From Y to Z and Never Again''. The label went on to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Is A Low
"This Is a Low" is a song by English rock band Blur for their third studio album, ''Parklife''. The song was released as a promotional single in 1995. Background and recording Originally titled "We Are the Low", the song began life as an instrumental during the ''Parklife'' sessions. In the guitar solo, Graham Coxon played three solos, including one of him sat in front of his amp, turned up to maximum volume. According to bassist Alex James, Damon Albarn was finding it hard to write lyrics. In his autobiography, ''A Bit of a Blur'', he revealed that "for Christmas I bought him a handkerchief with a map of the shipping forecast regions on it... you can never tell where the muse is going to appear." "We always found the shipping forecast soothing," James explained. "We used to listen to it n the American tourto remind us of home. It's very good for a hangover. Good cure for insomnia, too." On 4 February 1994, the penultimate day of official recording, Albarn was due to go into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Select (magazine)
''Select'' was a United Kingdom music magazine of the 1990s. It was known for covering indie rock, but featured a wide array of music. Launched in July 1990, its first cover star was Prince. After EMAP Metro bought ''Select'', they revamped its image, and it became known for its coverage of Britpop, a term coined in the magazine by Stuart Maconie. Its 1993 "Yanks Go Home" edition, featuring The Auteurs, Denim, Saint Etienne, Pulp and Suede's Brett Anderson on the cover in front of a Union Flag, was an important impetus in defining the movement's opposition to American genres such as grunge. Later, John Harris stepped down as editor, and was replaced by former ''Mixmag'' editor Alexis Petridis. Under Petridis, the magazine's image moved back towards its coverage on an eclectic array of music, aiming to reach what Petridis described as "a wide range of music fans". The magazine folded in late 2000, amid competition on the internet. Tagline * Pop Babylon! (circa 1994) * Mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mojo (magazine)
''Mojo'' is a popular music music magazine, magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Ascential, Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer. Following the success of the magazine ''Q (magazine), Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music. The magazine was designed to appeal to the 30 to 45-plus age group, or the baby boomer generation. ''Mojo'' was first published on 15 October 1993. In keeping with its classic rock aesthetic, the first issue had Bob Dylan and John Lennon as its first cover stars. Noted for its in-depth coverage of both popular and cult acts, it acted as the inspiration for ''Blender (magazine), Blender'' and ''Uncut (magazine), Uncut''. Many noted music critics have written for it, including Charles Shaar Murray, Greil Marcus, Nick Kent, Jon Savage and Sylvie Simmons. The launch editor of ''Mojo'' was Paul Du Noyer and his successors have included Mat Snow, P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz. Raised in Leytonstone, East London, and around Colchester, Essex, Albarn attended The Stanway School, where he met guitarist Graham Coxon and formed Blur. They released their debut album ''Leisure'' in 1991. After spending long periods touring the US, Albarn's songwriting became increasingly influenced by British bands from the 1960s. The result was the Blur albums ''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' (1994) and '' The Great Escape'' (1995). All three received critical acclaim, while Blur gained mass popularity in the UK, aided by a Britpop chart rivalry with Oasis. Subsequent albums such as '' Blur'' (1997), '' 13'' (1999) and ''Think Tank'' (2003) incorporated influences from lo-fi, art rock, electronic an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Mail
, kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams (Non-executive Chairman) * Simon Thompson (CEO) , area_served = United Kingdom , industry = Postal services, courier , products = , services = Letter post, parcel service, EMS, delivery, freight forwarding, third-party logistics , revenue = £12.638 billion(2021) , operating_income = £611 million (2021) , net_income = £620 million (2021) , num_employees = 158,592 (2021) , parent = , divisions = * Royal Mail * Parcelforce Worldwide , subsid = * General Logistics Systems * eCourier * StoreFeeder * Intersoft Systems & Programming , homepage = , dissolved = , footnotes = International Distributions Services plc (formerly Royal Mail plc), trading as Royal Mail, is a British multinational postal ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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