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Noko
Noko (born Norman Fisher-Jones, 1 February 1962, in Bootle, Lancashire, England) is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alvin the Aardvark and the Fuzzy Ants, the Umbrella, the Pete Shelley Group, the Cure, Luxuria, Apollo 440, Stealth Sonic Soul, Fast, Maximum Roach, James Maker and Noko 440 (also known as Frankenstein), Magazine, Raw Chimp, Levyathan, SCISM, Am I Dead Yet? and Buzzcocks (at the Pete Shelley Memorial concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2019). Biography In 1980, he formed his first band called Alvin the Aardvark & the Fuzzy Ants, who played their first gig on 16 January 1981 on '' After All That…This'', a Granada TV show presented by Nick Turnbull. Despite the DJ John Peel being a fan of their music, they never released any material, recording only an unreleased single at Open Eye Studios, in Liverpool and ...
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Magazine (band)
Magazine were an English rock band formed in 1977 in Manchester in England by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch. After leaving the punk group Buzzcocks in early 1977, Devoto decided to create a more progressive and less "traditional" rock band. The original lineup of Magazine was composed of Devoto, McGeoch, Barry Adamson on bass, Bob Dickinson on keyboards and Martin Jackson on drums. Their debut album ''Real Life'' (1978) was critically acclaimed and was one of the first post-punk albums. After releasing two other albums, '' Secondhand Daylight'' and '' The Correct Use of Soap'', McGeoch left the band in 1980 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees. Magazine released another studio album and disbanded in 1981. They reunited in 2009 for a UK tour with Noko on guitar. Magazine released an album of new material, ''No Thyself'', in October 2011, followed by a short UK tour. Magazine and their original guitarist John McGeoch have been cited as an influence by bands an ...
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Apollo 440
Apollo 440 (also known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are a British electronic music group formed in Liverpool in 1990. The group has written, recorded, and produced five studio albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as Apollo 440 and as ambient cinematic alter-ego Stealth Sonic Orchestra, and created music for film, television, advertisements and multimedia. They notched up ten UK top 40 singles with three top-tens, and had a chart presence worldwide. Its name comes from the Apollo program and the frequency of concert pitch — the A note at 440 Hz, often denoted as " A440", and the Sequential Circuits sampler/sequencer, the Studio 440. They changed the writing of their name from Apollo 440 to Apollo Four Forty in 1996, though they switched back for their latest album. To date, Apollo 440's remixes range from U2, P. Diddy/Jimmy Page, Jean-Michel Jarre and Ennio Morricone. Among their Stealth Sonic Orchestra remixes are a series of Manic Street Pre ...
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Howard Gray
Howard Gray (born 15 July 1962) is an English musician, sound engineer, programmer, composer, re-mixer and producer who has worked with Public Image Ltd, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Kirsty MacColl, the Armoury Show, the Pale Fountains, Japan, the Stranglers, Simple Minds, the Pretenders, XTC, UB40, Scritti Politti, Cherubs, Terence Trent D'Arby, Jean Michel Jarre, the Cure, Manic Street Preachers, U2, Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page, Tom Jones and Van Morrison. He is a founding member of the dance/rock group Apollo 440. Early years Howard James Gray was born in Sydney, Australia, shortly after his parents emigrated from their native Liverpool. The family returned to Liverpool when Gray was six months old, and the city played its role in forming the young Gray's musical passions. An early interest in music and sound recording led to the formation of his first band at the age of 15, Alvin the Aardvark and the Fuzzy Ants, with his brother, Trevor Gray, and fellow schoolfr ...
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Luxuria (band)
Luxuria were a British duo made up of vocalist Howard Devoto (formerly of Buzzcocks and Magazine) and instrumentalist Norman Fisher-Jones, a.k.a. Noko. They were active in the 1980s and early 1990s. Devoto and Noko met through Pete Shelley. The two recorded six collections of material. In 1987, they signed to Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first R ... and formed Luxuria. In 1988, they released their debut album, ''Unanswerable Lust''. Their second and final album, ''Beast Box'', was released in 1990. Discography ;Studio albums * ''Unanswerable Lust'' (LP and CD, Beggars Banquet BEGA90, 1988) * ''Beast Box'' (LP and CD, Beggars Banquet BEGA106, 1990) ;Compilation albums * ''Unanswerable Lust / Beast Box'' (3xCD, Cherry Red CDTRED 512, 2011) ;Singles * "R ...
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James Gardner (musician)
James Gardner (born 1 June 1962) is an English born New Zealand musician and composer. Gardner was born in Liverpool, England. He was a school friend of Noko and Howard Gray, with whom he later formed the band Apollo 440, Gardner spent much of the 1980s in London playing and programming keyboards and synthesizers for a variety of artists. During this time he also formed the short-lived band The Umbrella (which included Noko), where the influence of John Barry (composer), John Barry can be seen. Later, Gardner was involved with Luxuria (band), Luxuria, the band formed by Noko and Howard Devoto. In 1990, Gardner along with Noko, Howard Gray, and Trevor Gray, co-founded Apollo 440, an electronic music group. In 1993, Gardner left Apollo 440 in order to concentrate on composition, which had been a parallel interest, and he moved to New Zealand in 1994 with his (now) wife Glenda Keam, becoming a citizen of the country in 2001. In 1996, he set up the contemporary music ensemble 175 Ea ...
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Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)Biography
. Barryadamson.com.
is an English pop and rock musician, composer, writer, photographer and filmmaker. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as a member of the post-punk band Magazine and went on to work with Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electro musicians Pan Sonic. ...
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John Doyle (drummer)
John Doyle (born 6 May 1959 in Manchester, England) is an English drummer, who was a member of new wave bands like Magazine and The Armoury Show. He reunited with Magazine for a tour in February 2009. Biography While at William Hulme's Grammar School, with friends on the stage staff formed a band. He then played with various local Manchester bands, including Idiot Rouge, alongside Neil Cossar, later of power pop band The Cheaters, and Nick Simpson, later frontman of 23 Jewels. In the last gig with Idiot Rouge, at Manchester Polytechnic, guitarist John McGeoch, who was attending, asked Doyle if he wanted to audition for his band, Magazine. Doyle joined the band in October 1978, replaced Speedometors' Paul Spencer who had completed their tour across Europe, beginning in Munich, during their ''Real Life'' debut album tour. Doyle played on '' Secondhand Daylight'', ''The Correct Use of Soap'', the live album ''Play'' and ''Magic, Murder and the Weather''. In 1981, he collaborated w ...
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G-Mex
Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central or GMEX (Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre)) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, England. The building has a distinctive arched roof with a 64-metre span – the second-largest railway station roof span in the United Kingdom, and was granted Grade II* listed building status in 1963. After 89 years as a railway terminus, it closed to passengers in May 1969. It was renovated as an exhibition centre formerly known as the G-Mex Centre in 1982 and was Manchester's primary music concert venue until the construction of the Manchester Arena. After renovation the venue reverted to its former name Manchester Central in 2007. In 2020, the complex became a temporary field hospital for non-critical coronavirus patients, part of a network of temporary NHS Nightingale Hospitals. History Manchester Central railway station The com ...
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Backline (stage)
The term backline is used in popular music and sound reinforcement system contexts to refer to electronic audio amplification equipment and speaker enclosures that are placed behind the band or the rhythm section on stage, including amplifiers and speaker cabinets for guitars, bass guitars and keyboards. Such equipment is often rented or leased by the band or their management, or provided by the venue. Speakers placed at the front of the stage facing the performers are also known as monitor speakers or "foldback". The main speakers facing the audience are sometimes referred to as " front of house speakers". History In rock music's early days in the early 1960s, PA systems were not very loud or powerful. As a result, 1960s rock bands typically used the PA system just for the vocals, even if they were playing at a large venue. As a result, the rhythm section musicians playing electric guitar, electric bass and keyboards were expected to produce enough volume to fill the ve ...
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The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerge from the 1980s British independent music scene. The Smiths signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records in 1983 and released their first album, '' The Smiths'', in 1984. They based their songs on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr. Their focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound and a fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk was a rejection of the synth-pop sound that was predominant at the time. Several Smiths singles reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, and all their studio albums reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart, including the number-one album '' Meat Is Murder'' (1985). They achieved mainstream success in Europe with '' The Queen Is Dead'' (1986) and '' Strangeways, Here We Come'' (1987), both of w ...
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Bootle
Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's proximity to the Irish Sea and the industrial city of Liverpool to the south saw it grow rapidly in the 1800s, first as a dormitory town for wealthy merchants, and then as a centre of commerce and industry in its own right following the arrival of the railway and the expansion of the docks and shipping industries. The subsequent population increase was fuelled heavily by Irish migration. The town was heavily damaged in World War II with air raids against the port and other industrial targets. Post-war economic success in the 1950s and 1960s gave way to a downturn, precipitated by a reduction in the significance of Liverpool Docks internationally, and changing levels of industrialisation, coupled with the development of modern suburbs and ...
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The Town & Country Club
The O Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England owned by MAMA & Company, and originally built in 1934. History The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the cinema was closed, the venue re-opened as an Irish dance hall. In the 1980s, it changed directions from a bingo hall, to dance hall then to a live music venue under the name Town & Country Club. In 1993, Mean Fiddler purchased the venue and renamed it the London Forum. The final show at the T&C was Van Morrison on 21 March 1993. In 2007, MAMA & Company purchased the Forum from Mean Fiddler and spent £1.5 million on renovations, and increasing the capacity to 2,300. In 2015, the venue was acquired by Live Nation, and re-branded as O2 Forum Kentish Town, as part of the O2 Academy Group. The venue has standing downstairs and benched seating in booths on the upstairs balcony, or a fully seated layout for certain shows. Noted performers * Aleyna Tilki * ...
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