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Gerald Masters
Gerald Masters born Gerald Eric Watkiss (February 17, 1955 – February 5, 2007) was a musician, solo artist and songwriter, achieving fame during the late seventies and early eighties. Gerald Watkiss trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama graduating in 1977. Whilst at College he formed his first band. After releasing four albums, produced by Tony Atkins, as a solo artist between 1977 and 1983, he continued in the music business working as a producer/writer with Island, working with artists including Andy Gibb, Neville Staples and The Equators. Following this work, he struck up writing partnerships with Aziz Ibrahim (Ex-Simply Red, Stone Roses) and Paul Beard (James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Leona Lewis). In 2006, Masters decided to write and release his own material again, under the name Rescue Party, a collaboration with fellow co-writer and producer Gareth Rhys Jones. Additionally, Masters was a writer for TV, most notably composing "A Handful of Smarties ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of Walsall to the east and Dudley to the south. The population in 2021 was 263,700, making it the third largest city in the West Midlands after Birmingham and Coventry. Historic counties of England, Historically in Staffordshire, Wolverhampton grew as a market town specialising in the wool trade. During the Industrial Revolution, it became a major centre for coal mining, steel production, lock making, and automotive manufacturing; the economy of the city is still based on engineering, including a large aerospace industry, as well as the Tertiary sector of the economy, service sector. The city is also home to the University of Wolverhampton. A town for most of its history, it gained city status in the United Kingdom, city status in 2000. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 76,782. It is the county town of the ceremonial county of Shropshire. Shrewsbury has Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon roots and institutions whose foundations, dating from that time, represent a cultural continuity possibly going back as far as the 8th century. The centre has a largely undisturbed medieval street plan and over 660 Listed buildings in Shrewsbury, listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Normans, Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. The town is the birthplace of Charles Darwin. It has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), , pp. 95–105. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. ''Rock music, Rock'' and ''pop'' music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which ''pop'' became associated with music that was more commercial, wikt:ephemeral, ephemeral, and accessible. Identifying factors of pop music usually include repeated choruses and Hook (music), hooks, short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse–chorus form, verse–chorus structure), and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to. Much of pop music also borrows elements from other styles such as rock, hip hop, urban contemporary, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Pye Records
PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced almost no music until the company name and trademark was acquired by the Scottish broadcaster and music producer Tony Currie (broadcaster), Tony Currie in September 2024. The new Pye Records has begun to release new albums on vinyl: ''Race the Sun'' from the Tony Currie Orchestra, conducted by Gavin Sutherland (conductor), Gavin Sutherland (principal guest conductor for the English National Ballet), and Callum Au. ''Race the Sun'' was conceived to pay tribute to the pop orchestras of the original Pye Records. The revived label has also released ''Harvest Gold'' by the London-based singer-songwriter Andrea Black. Pye Records was best known for artistes such as Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), The Searchers (band) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France (known as Vertigo France until 2014). Current key people include Imran Majid and Justin Eshak who were named co-CEOs of Island Records in 2021. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels. History Rise of the brand Island Records was founded in Jamaica on 4 July 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong, and financed by Stanley Borden from RK ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Andy Gibb
Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and songwriter. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, musicians who had formed the Bee Gees during the late 1950s. Andy Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through the early 1980s with eight singles reaching the Top 20 of the US Hot 100, three of which went to No. 1: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" (1977), "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (1977), and "Shadow Dancing (song), Shadow Dancing" (1978). In the early 1980s, he co-hosted the American music television series ''Solid Gold (TV series), Solid Gold''. He also performed in productions of ''The Pirates of Penzance'' and ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. Gibb would later have Substance use disorder, substance use problems and Depression (mood), depression. He died on 10 March 1988 from complications due to drug abuse, aged 30. Life and career 1958–1975: Early life and first recordi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Neville Staples
Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born British singer, known for his work with the 2-tone ska band the Specials, the pop group Fun Boy Three, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also performed with Ranking Roger in the supergroup Special Beat. Early life Staple was born in Manchester, Jamaica. He left Jamaica to live in the English town of Rugby, Warwickshire at the age of five but later moved to Coventry. He was a regular fixture at the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry, where he met the resident DJ there, Pete Waterman. Waterman briefly managed the Specials and would later write the foreword to Staple's 2009 biography, '' Original Rude Boy''. Staple's early vocal style was mostly " toasting"—or chanting over a rhythm—a forerunner of rapping brought to Britain in the 1960s by musicians from Jamaica. Staple honed his toasting skills in the sound system scene in Coventry during the 1970s, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Aziz Ibrahim
Aziz Ibrahim (born 19 March 1964) is a British guitarist. He was born in Longsight, Manchester to Pakistani parents on 19 March 1964. He is best known for his work as guitarist with Simply Red, The Stone Roses (post- John Squire) and their former vocalist Ian Brown in whose band he regularly performs – both in the studio and live. He is also a member of the H Band with Marillion's lead singer Steve Hogarth and is involved in the writing of the second H Band album. He has also worked with Paul Weller, Steven Wilson, Asia and contributed to The Players debut album ''Clear the Decks''. Ibrahim's first release was the CD EP ''Middle Road'' featuring guest vocals and guitar from Paul Weller. Ibrahim also provided the vocals for Weller's spoken word song entitled "God", on his 2008 album, '' 22 Dreams'' along with guitars for previous Paul Weller releases, e.g. '' Illumination''. He followed that with his début album entitled '' Lahore to Longsight'', which he describes as being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Smarties
Smarties are dragée chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about and a major axis of about . They come in eight colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, mauve, pink and brown, although the blue variety was temporarily replaced by a white variety in some countries, whilst an alternative natural colouring dye of the blue colour was being researched. Smarties are sold primarily in Europe, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the Middle East. Smarties are not distributed (except via parallel import) in the United States, where the trademark name is held by the Smarties Candy Company, which manufactures its own hard tablet sweet under the trademark name '' Smarties''. In 2007, production moved from York to Hamburg. History Confectionery company Rowntree's of York, England, have been making "Chocolate Beans" since at least ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w .... It was a primarily classical music, classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal jazz, folk music, folk, and blues musicians. The Bach Guild was a subsidiary label. The label was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music in April 2015. History The newly founded venture's first record was of J.S. Bach's 21st cantata, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21, ''Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis'', BWV 21 ("I had much grief"), with Jonathan Sternberg conducting the tenor Hugues Cuénod and other soloists, chorus and orchestra. "What speaks for the Solomons' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
AWAL
AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label while allowing them to retain ownership and control of their music. In 2021, Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment purchased AWAL from Kobalt Music Group for $430 million. Services AWAL's services include global marketing and creative services, A&R, playlist & radio promotion, publicity, synch, and brand partnerships, and access to real-time comprehensive music data and insights. In November 2018, Billboard (magazine), Billboard wrote an article titled, "Can Kobalt Disrupt the Label Game With AWAL," outlining the company's approach and how it pays out as much as 80 percent of streaming revenue to its artists. In March 2017, AWAL introduced its music analytics app designed to collect and display data from an artist's Spotify and Apple Music ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
