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Matt Johnson (singer)
Matthew Johnson (born 15 August 1961) is an English singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and only constant member of his band The The. He is also a film soundtrack composer (Cinéola), publisher (Fifty First State Press), broadcaster (Radio Cineola), conservationist, and local activist. Early life Johnson grew up with his three brothers, Eugene, Andrew (the artist Andy Dog Johnson), and Gerard, in East London. Much of his youth was spent in or around the Two Puddings, a London pub run by his family over the course of 40 years. Music career In 1979, Johnson placed an advert in ''NME'' looking for like-minded fans of the Velvet Underground, the Residents and Throbbing Gristle to form a band with him. The The began as a duo, then a four-piece, then a singular entity with a rotating cast of musicians that has included Sinéad O'Connor, Gail Ann Dorsey, Simon Fisher Turner, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, and David Palmer of ABC. "I like to think of The The as a fluid thin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock City (venue)
Rock City is a music venue and nightclub located in Nottingham, England. It is owned by venue operator and concert promoter DHP Family. It opened in December 1980, first hosting The Undertones, and has gone on to host some of the biggest names in alternative music, as well as maintaining a number of weekly club nights. It has been described by ''NME'' as "sweaty but truly indie" and has received numerous awards, including ''Kerrang!'' magazine's Venue of the Year for ten consecutive years. Overview Rock City is based in Nottingham City Centre, with a capacity of 2,000. The club features six bars spread across three rooms. The Main Hall and the Basement (Beta) rooms are all-standing during gigs. The third room, the Black Cherry Lounge, is operated separately (prior to September 2011 it was known as The Rig). Rock City plays host to various sized gigs, from smaller upcoming bands of the underground and local scene, to bands that are in the charts. History Pre-Rock City and foun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Residents
The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects, and ten DVDs over the course of over half a century. They have undertaken seven major world tours and film score, scored multiple films. Pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have won several awards for their multimedia projects. They founded Ralph Records, a record label focusing on avant-garde music, in 1972. Throughout the group's existence, the individual members have ostensibly attempted to work anonymously, preferring to have attention focused on their art. Much speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, they appear silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tails—a costume now recognized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album ''Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret''. In the United Kingdom, Soft Cell had twelve top 40 hits, including "Tainted Love" (number 1), "Torch (song), Torch" (number 2), "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", "What (song), What" (both number 3), and "Bedsitter (song), Bedsitter" (number 4). They also had four top 20 albums between 1981 and 1984. The duo split in 1984 but reformed in 2001 to tour and release a new album. They held a reunion concert in London on 30 September 2018, stating it would be their last live UK performance as a duo but that they may still perform abroad and record together. Soft Cell's songs have been covered by several artists, including David Gray (British musician), David Gray, C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marc Almond
Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a solo artist. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s with Soft Cell's hit "Tainted Love" (1981), which became a defining track of the new wave and synth-pop movement. After Soft Cell disbanded in 1984, Almond pursued a solo career, incorporating elements of pop, cabaret, and electronic music. His hits include a duet with Gene Pitney on the 1989 UK number one single " Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". and "Tears Run Rings". He has released numerous albums and collaborated with artists such as Jools Holland, Nico, and Siouxsie Sioux, exploring diverse musical styles ranging from torch songs to Russian folk music. Almond's career spanning over four decades has enjoyed critical and commercial acclaim, and he has sold over 30 million reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Untitled (Marc And The Mambas Album)
''Untitled'' is the first studio album by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond's band Marc and the Mambas. It was released by Some Bizzare in September 1982. Background ''Untitled'' was Almond's first album away from Soft Cell and was made in collaboration with a number of artists, including Matt Johnson of The The and Anni Hogan. The album was produced by the band, with assistance from Stephen Short (credited as Steeve Short) and Flood. Jeremy Reed writes in his biography of Almond, ''The Last Star'', that ''Untitled'' was "cheap and starkly recorded". He states that Almond received "little support from Phonogram for the Mambas project, the corporate viewing it as non-commercial and a disquieting pointer to the inevitable split that would occur within Soft Cell". An article in ''Mojo'' noted that "from the beginning, Almond and Ball had nurtured sideline projects, though only the former's – the 1982 double 12-inch set ''Untitled'' – attracted much attention, most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burning Blue Soul
''Burning Blue Soul'' is the debut studio album released by Matt Johnson in 1981. The album is commonly regarded as an accomplished debut, with a mix of guitar riffs, tape loops, experimental electronics and heavily filtered vocals. The album was re-released in 1993 under Johnson's band's name, The The. Johnson requested that 4AD do this so that all his albums would be racked together in record stores. Despite rumours to the contrary, all releases of ''Burning Blue Soul'' contain the same mix. Background The album was made on a budget of £1,800 with Matt Johnson living on benefits in "a tiny bedsit and no money.", due to these circumstances he "would beg, steal or borrow time at the studio I used to work for". Johnson was influenced by musique concrète and tape manipulation at the time of the album's creation, with the majority of the album being created on tape loops as it predated sampling technology. Along with the knowledge he learnt from people working for De Wolfe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publication) ''New Musical Express''. 1920s–1940s It was founded in 1926 by Leicester-born composer and publisher Lawrence Wright as the house magazine for his music publishing business, often promoting his own songs. Two months later it had become a full scale magazine, more generally aimed at dance band musicians, under the title ''The Melody Maker and British Metronome''. It was published monthly from the basement of 19 Denmark Street in LondonPeter Watts. ''Denmark Street: London's Street of Sound'' (2023), pp. 30-31 (soon relocating to 93 Long Acre), and the first editor was the drummer and dance-band leader Edgar Jackson (1895-1967). Jackson instigated a jazz column, which gained in credibility once it was taken over by Spike Hughes in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ABC (band)
ABC are an English pop band which originated in Sheffield in 1980, evolving from the earlier ensemble Vice Versa. They are best known as pioneers of the new wave and sophisti-pop movements, blending synth-pop with orchestral and jazz influences. The band achieved mainstream success with their debut album, ''The Lexicon of Love'' (1982), which featured the hit singles "The Look of Love" and "Poison Arrow" and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Fronted by Martin Fry, the band's only constant member, the band's classic formation featured Fry as the lead vocalist, Mark White on guitar and keyboards, Stephen Singleton on saxophone, and David Palmer on drums. ABC achieved ten UK and five US top 40 hit singles from 1981 to 1990. Their 1982 debut studio album, '' The Lexicon of Love'', was a UK number one. Their early-1980s success in the US saw them associated with the Second British Invasion. ABC continued to release music throughout the 1980s, with notable albums such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwriting partnership. The Smiths are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerge from 1980s British independent music. The Smiths signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records in 1983 and released their debut album, ''The Smiths (album), The Smiths'', in 1984. Their focus on a guitar, bass and drum sound, fusing 1960s rock and post-punk, was a rejection of the synth-pop sound 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). The band achieved mainstream success in Europe with ''The Queen Is Dead'' (1986) and ''Strangeways, Here We Come'' (1987), which both ent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Marr
John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous other bands and embarked on a solo career. Born and raised in Manchester, England, Marr formed his first band at the age of 13. He was part of several bands with Andy Rourke before forming the Smiths with Morrissey in 1982. The Smiths attained commercial success and were critically acclaimed, with Marr's jangle pop guitar style becoming a distinctive part of the band's sound, but separated in 1987 due to personal differences between Marr and Morrissey. Since then, Marr has been a member of the Pretenders, the The, Electronic (band), Electronic, Modest Mouse, and the Cribs, and he has become a prolific session musician, working with names such as Kirsty MacColl, Pet Shop Boys, Talking Heads, Bryan Ferry and Hans Zi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Fisher Turner
Simon John Fisher Turner (born 21 November 1954) is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor. After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of '' Tom Brown's Schooldays'' and roles in films such as '' The Big Sleep'' (1978), Turner rose to fame as a teenage star in Britain when his mentor, Jonathan King, released Turner's eponymous first album on UK Records in 1973. For a period of two years Turner was a member of The Gadget and also joined The The. He has used several names as a recording artist, including Simon Fisher Turner, The King of Luxembourg, Deux Filles and Simon Turner. He continues to record albums for Mute Records as Simon Fisher Turner. Turner was also a member of The Portsmouth Sinfonia Orchestra, and plays clarinet on the orchestra's only live album recorded at The Albert Hall, London. Career In the 1980s, Turner released several singles on the él record label as the King of Luxembourg, many of them having been given airpl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
