HOME





The Icicle Works
The Icicle Works (also known as Icicle Works in the United States) are an English alternative rock band, named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. They had a top 20 UK hit with " Love Is a Wonderful Colour" (1983). In the US and Canada, they had one top 40 hit, the 1984 single " Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)". Consisting of singer/guitarist/keyboardist/songwriter Ian McNabb, drummer Chris Sharrock, and bassist Chris Layhe, the band released four albums from 1984 to 1988. The original band broke up in 1989, but McNabb has continued to perform under the Icicle Works name with various replacement members. After an absence of 35 years, Layhe rejoined the group in 2024; the current Icicle Works line up consists of Ian McNabb and Chris Layhe, who tour as an acoustic duo. History 1980–1983: Formation and early years The band was founded in Liverpool in 1980 when bassist Chris Layhe (who had been in a couple of l ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Chris Layhe
Chris Layhe is an English musician, and founding member of Liverpool alternative rock band, The Icicle Works. Signed to Beggar's Banquet, The Icicle Works had a handful of chart hits (notably "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)") and toured the US and mainland Europe before the departure of original members Layhe and drummer Chris Sharrock in 1989. In the 1990s, Layhe worked as events organiser at Blue Coat Arts Centre in Liverpool, co-ordinating appearances by Tori Amos and Doris Lessing, among others. Though originally a bassist, Layhe currently teaches guitar at the Manchester Adult Education Service. Co-writer (with Ian McNabb) of several early Icicle Works songs, he has also performed his own work solo, and with blues rock band Oyster, in venues throughout the north of England. In 2009, Layhe formed the indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Althou ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Paul Burgess (musician)
Paul Burgess (born 28 September 1950) is an English rock drummer, notable for his association with a wide range of British rock and folk-rock bands. In addition to extensive session work, he has been a member of 10cc, Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works. Career Burgess was born in Manchester, England. He started playing drums in 1965 and played in 60s Stockport four piece band Axis, which he left in July 1971. He then joined 10cc on their 1973 UK tour and subsequently played with the band on most of their tours until 1983. He played on the ''10cc Live: King Biscuit Flower Hour'' album recorded in 1975 and officially joined 10cc as drummer, percussionist and occasional keyboardist in 1976 after the departure of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. His first studio album with the band was ''Deceptive Bends'', which featured the hits " The Things We Do for Love", "Good Morning Judge" and "People in Love". During the 1977 10cc tour Burgess was joined on drums by Stuart T ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Del Amitri
Del Amitri is a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1980. They are best known for their 1990 single "Nothing Ever Happens" which reached No. 11 in the UK, and their 1995 hit "Roll to Me", which charted in the top 10 in both Canada and the United States. They have released seven studio albums, five of which have reached the UK top 10. Del Amitri has sold over six million albums worldwide. History Band name Del Amitri's founding member and main songwriter, Justin Currie, explained in 2010 that the band's name "was invented to be meaningless – basically a corruption of the Greek name 'Dimitri'." In 2018, Currie clarified that 'Del Amitri' is a bastardisation of the name of a film producer who appeared in the closing credits of a film he saw in 1979: "probably Dimitri-something, but we couldn't remember... so eventually through osmosis or maybe Chinese whispers, Chinese Whispers 'Dimitri' became 'Del Amitri'." Many sources have repeated a claim that the name was ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was released in 1997, and included his best-selling single "Angels (Robbie Williams song), Angels". His second album, ''I've Been Expecting You'', featured the songs "Millennium (song), Millennium" and "She's the One (World Party song), She's the One", his first and second number one singles. Robbie Williams discography, His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached List of artists by number of UK Albums Chart number ones, No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom, top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling List of fastest-selling concert tours, 1. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

World Party
World Party was a musical group, predominantly the solo project of its sole consistent member, the songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger.Karl Wallinger obituary
by Robin Denselow in ''The Guardian'', 13 March 2024
"World Party’s Karl Wallinger was a pick’n’mix songwriter with a total, titanic love of music"
– article by Graeme Thomson in ''The Guardian'', 12 March 2024
Wallinger started the band in 1986 in

The La's
The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badger in 1983 and Mavers joined the next year, although for most of the group's history, the frequently changing line-up revolved around the core duo of Lee Mavers (vocals, guitar) and John Power (bass, backing vocals) along with numerous other guitarists and drummers including Paul Hemmings, John "Timmo" Timson, Peter "Cammy" Cammell, Iain Templeton, John "Boo" Byrne, Chris Sharrock, and Neil Mavers. After the departure of Badger in late 1986, the band signed to Go! Discs in 1987 and started recording their debut album. Following the release of singles " Way Out" (1987), "There She Goes" (1988) and " Timeless Melody" (1990) and having aborted several recording sessions with different producers, the band released their debut album, '' ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Ian Broudie
Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (sometimes under the name Kingbird) for artists including Echo & the Bunnymen, the Fall, the Coral, the Zutons and the Subways. Around 1989, he began writing and recording under the name Lightning Seeds, releasing the album '' Cloudcuckooland'' through Rough Trade on the independent label Ghetto Records, eventually putting together a live touring band in 1994. The Lightning Seeds achieved great commercial success during much of the 1990s. In 2004, Broudie released an album titled '' Tales Told'' under his own name. The Lightning Seeds reformed in 2006 and released their sixth studio album '' Four Winds'' in 2009. A seventh album, ''See You in the Stars'', was released in 2022. Early life and career Ian Broudie was born into an Orthodox Jewish ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Octobans
Octobans, also known as tube toms, are deep, small diameter, single-head Tom-tom drum, tom-toms. Octobans were originally grouped in melodically-tuned sets of eight, hence the name, in reference to octave and from octo meaning "eight". Part sets of two or four drums or an individual drum or octo are common Drum kit#Extended kits, additions to a drum kit. Complete and half sets of octobans are commonly mounted in clusters of four, in a square pattern. Mounts for four drums in a straight line, dual mounts for two drums, and individual mounts are all also reasonably common. History Octobans were introduced by Tama Drums in 1978, and endorsed by Billy Cobham, at that time one of the most popular drummers who had switched to Tama drums. Tama octobans were made with fiberglass using a patented molding process. The naked shells were then painted in black lacquer (the raw color is something close to light brown, visible inside the shell where not completely painted). Since they were ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays (previously Sundays). It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 (top 5) and found on the OCC website as a Top 100 or on ''UKChartsPlus'' as a Top 200, with positions continuing until all sales have been tracked in data only available to industry insiders. However, even though number 100 was classed as a hit album (as in the case of ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') in the 1980s until January 1989, since the compilations were removed, this definition was changed to Top 75 with follow-up books such as ''The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums'' only including this data. As of 2021, Since 1983, the OCC generally provides a public charts for hits and weeks up to the Top 100. Business customers can require a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


UK Independent Singles And Albums Charts
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the relevance of the chart dwindled in the 1990s as major-label ownership blurred the boundary between independent and major labels. Separate independent charts are currently published weekly by the Official Charts Company. History In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered commercially attractive to those companies. By 1978, labels like Cherry Red, Rough Trade, and Mute had started up, and a support structure soon followed, including independent pressing, distribution and promotion. These labels got bigger and bigger, and by 1980 they were having Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart. Chart success was limi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Virgin Books
Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm in the late 1970s; in the latter part of the 1980s Virgin purchased several existing companies, including WH Allen, well known among '' Doctor Who'' fans for their Target Books imprint; Virgin Books was incorporated into WH Allen in 1989, but in 1991 WH Allen was renamed Virgin Publishing Ltd. Virgin Publishing's early success came with the ''Doctor Who'' New Adventures novels, officially licensed full-length novels carrying on the story of the popular science-fiction television series following its cancellation in 1989. Virgin published this series from 1991 to 1997, as well as a range of ''Doctor Who'' reference books from 1992 to 1998 under the Doctor Who Books imprint. In recent times the company is best known for its commercia ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Encyclopedia Of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Knowledge'', Christmas edition, 22 December 2007 – 4 January 2008. It is published by the Oxford University Press and was described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". History of the encyclopedia Larkin believed that rock music and popular music were at least as significant historically as classical music, and as such, should be given definitive treatment and properly documented. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is the result. In 1989, Larkin sold his half of the publishing company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an encyclopedia of popular music. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a pre-internet age, "relying instead on information ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]