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Yazoo (band)
Yazoo (known as Yaz in North America) were an English synth-pop duo from Basildon, Essex, formed in late 1981 by former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke (keyboards) and Alison Moyet (vocals). The pair released two albums, ''Upstairs at Eric's'' and ''You and Me Both''. Yazoo played a key role in shaping the emerging genre of synth-pop, particularly in the mid-1980s house music scene. The duo split in May 1983, and later reunited for a tour in 2008. History Formation and ''Upstairs at Eric's'' (1982) Clarke and Moyet grew up in Basildon and attended the same Saturday music school when they were eleven years old. Clarke was inspired to make electronic music after hearing Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Wirral synth-pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD): he became co-founder and original bandleader of Depeche Mode, who in 1981 released an album and three Clarke-penned singles through Mute Records. Moyet spent her teens singing in various punk rock, punk and blues band ...
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Basildon
Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and west of the city of Southend-on-Sea. Nearby towns include Billericay to the north-west, Wickford to the north-east and South Benfleet to the south-east. It was created as a New towns in the United Kingdom, new town after World War II in 1948, to accommodate the London overspill, London population overspill from the conglomeration of four small villages: Pitsea, Laindon, Basildon (the most central of the four) and Vange. The local government district of Basildon, which was formed in 1974 and received Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in 2010, encapsulates a larger area than the town itself; the two neighbouring towns of Billericay and Wickford, as wel ...
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House Music
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground Clubbing (subculture), club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, house became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat. House was created and pioneered by DJs and producers in Chicago such as Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, Jesse Saunders, Chip E., Joe Smooth, Steve "Silk" Hurley, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Marshall Jefferson, Phuture, and others. House music initially expanded to New York City, then internationally to cities such as London, and ultimately became a worldwide phenomenon. House has a large influence on pop music, especially dance music. It was incorporated into works by major international artists including Whitney Hou ...
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Only You (Yazoo Song)
"Only You" is a song by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. It was written by member Vince Clarke, while he was still with Depeche Mode, but recorded in 1982 after he formed Yazoo with Alison Moyet. It was released as Yazoo's first single on 15 March 1982 in the United Kingdom, taken from their first album, '' Upstairs at Eric's'' (1982), and became an instant success on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two on 16 May 1982. It would also reach the top 10 in neighbouring Ireland as well as Australia. In the US, "Only You" was released as the band's second single in November 1982 and charted at number 67 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also made the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart (number 38). A remix of "Only You" made the UK top 40 again in 1999, while reaching number 16 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The music video for the new version was created using the Houdini 3D animation software package. An orchestral remix of "Only You" was create ...
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Andy Fletcher (musician)
Andrew John Fletcher (8 July 1961 – 26 May 2022), also known as Fletch, was an English keyboard player and founding member of the electronic band Depeche Mode. In 2020, he and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Early life Fletcher was the eldest of four siblings born to Joy and John Fletcher. The family moved to Basildon from Nottingham when he was two years old, when his father, an engineer, was offered a job at a cigarette factory. He was active in the local Boys' Brigade from an early age, primarily to play football. He attended Nicholas Comprehensive where he was in the same sixth form class as Martin Gore and Alison Moyet. After leaving school he worked as an insurance clerk. Career Depeche Mode Fletcher, and acquaintances Vince Clarke and Martin Gore, were in their mid-teens when punk rock arrived on the music scene. Fletcher said this was "obviously the perfect age to experience it", noting that "we were very lucky in life". Fletcher and Clar ...
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Martin Gore
Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English musician and songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the electronic music band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist and keyboardist, and occasionally provides lead vocals. Gore possesses a tenor singing voice which contrasts with lead vocalist Dave Gahan's dramatic baritone. He is also known for his flamboyant and (sometimes) androgynous stage persona. Gore has also released several solo albums and collaborated with former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke as part of VCMG. Gore's songs include themes such as sex, religion and politics. He has said he feels lyrical themes that tackle issues related to solitude and loneliness are a better representation of reality, whereas he finds "happy songs" fake and unrealistic. At the same time, he asserts that the band's music contains "an element of hope". In 1999, he received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Com ...
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Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand for a spin-off digital television channel, which was later renamed Box Hits, and website. A digital radio station was also available but closed on 5 August 2013. Overview ''Smash Hits'' featured the lyrics of latest hits and interviews with big names in music. It was initially published monthly, then went fortnightly. The style of the magazine was initially serious, but from the mid-1980s became increasingly irreverent. Its interviewing technique was novel at the time and, rather than looking up to the big names, it often made fun of them, asking strange questions rather than talking about their music. Created by journalist Nick Logan, the title was launched in 1978 and appeared monthly for its first few issues. He based the idea on ...
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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 ...
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Punk Rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation. Punk rock lyrics often explore anti-establishment and Anti-authoritarianism, anti-authoritarian themes. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent record label, independent labels. The term "punk rock" was previously used by American Music criticism, rock critics in the early 1970s to describe the mid-1960s garage bands. Certain late 1960s and early 1970s Detroit acts, such as MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges, and other bands from elsewhere created out-of-the-mainstream music that became highly influential on what was to come. Glam rock in the UK and the New York Dolls from New York ha ...
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PRS For Music
PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes collective rights management for musical works on behalf of its 175,000 members. PRS for Music was formed in 1997 following the MCPS-PRS Alliance. In 2009, PRS and MCPS-PRS Alliance realigned their brands and became PRS for Music. PRS represents their songwriter, composer and music publisher members’ performing rights, and collects royalties on their behalf whenever their music is played or performed publicly. MCPS also represents songwriters, composers and music publishers – representing their mechanical rights, and collects royalties whenever their music is reproduced as a physical product – this includes CDs, DVDs, digital downloads and broadcast or online. PRS (Performing Right Society) and MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Prote ...
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Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic music, OMD combined an Experimental music, experimental, Minimal music, minimalist ethos with pop sensibilities, becoming key figures in the emergence of synth-pop; McCluskey and Humphreys also introduced the "synth duo" format to British popular music. In the United States, the band were an early presence in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion. McCluskey and Humphreys led The Id (band), the Id, a precursor group, from 1977 to 1978 and re-recorded their track "Electricity (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song), Electricity" as OMD's debut single in 1979. Weathering an "uncool" image and a degree of hostility from music critics, the band achieved popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 List of anti-war songs, anti-war song "Enola Gay (s ...
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Metropolitan Borough Of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. It is one of the six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region, a combined authority area with a population of more than 1.5 million. Wirral is England's westernmost metropolitan borough, faced by the Liverpool, City of Liverpool to the northeast over the River Mersey. Geography Bordering is the River Mersey to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and the River Dee, Wales, River Dee to the west; the borough of Cheshire West and Chester occupies the remainder of the Wirral Peninsula and borders the borough of Wirral to the south. History The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the county boroughs of Birkenhead and Wallasey, along with the municipal bo ...
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Electronic Music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means (electroacoustic music). Pure electronic instruments depend entirely on circuitry-based sound generation, for instance using devices such as an electronic oscillator, theremin, or synthesizer: no acoustic waves need to be previously generated by mechanical means and then converted into electrical signals. On the other hand, electromechanical instruments have mechanical parts such as strings or hammers that generate the sound waves, together with electric elements including pickup (music technology), magnetic pickups, power amplifiers and loudspeakers that convert the acoustic waves into electrical signals, process them and convert them back into sound waves. Such electromechanical devices in ...
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