Designer Beatnik
''Designer Beatnik'' is the only album by English electronic act Dr Calculus, a duo of Stephen Duffy and former Pigbag trombonist Roger Freeman. Released in August 1986 through 10 Records, it was produced by Duffy and Freeman with Paul Staveley O'Duffy. Dr Calculus were inspired the emergent ecstasy culture in London and, in January 1985, released the single "Programme 7", leading to the record's production. Inspired by 'cut-and-paste' music and fashion, ''Designer Beatnik'' is considered a work of funk, rock and experimental music that mixes dance rhythms, rap, found noises, brass and horns, prominent beats, and spoken dialogue and voiceovers. Largely instrumental, the record largely avoids vocal melodies, with nonsensical lyrics being recited by friends of Duffy and Freeman. Aiming to achieve a French New Wave-inspired sound, the duo used the cut-up technique to collage texts from numerous writers. Several of Freeman's former Pigbag bandmates contribute to the recording. In Ju ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Stephen Duffy
Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England) is an English musician, singer and songwriter of Irish ancestry. He was a founding member, vocalist, bassist, and then drummer of Duran Duran. He went on to record as a solo performer under several different names, and is the singer and songwriter for The Lilac Time with his elder brother Nick. He has also co-written with Robbie Williams and Steven Page. Career Duran Duran and other early work While attending the School of Foundation Studies & Experimental Workshop at Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University), Duffy met John Taylor. Together, along with Taylor's childhood friend Nick Rhodes, they formed the group Duran Duran. While Taylor was the guitarist (later switching to bass) and Rhodes played the synthesizer, Duffy was the band's vocalist/lyricist and bassist. When bass player Simon Colley joined, Duffy moved to drums. He left both the school and the band in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sleng Teng
"Sleng Teng" is the name given to one of the first fully computerized riddims, influential in Music of Jamaica, Jamaican music and beyond. The riddim, which was the result of work by Noel Davey, Wayne Smith (musician), Ian "Wayne" Smith, and King Jammy, Lloyd "King Jammy" James, was first released with Wayne's vocals under the title "Under Mi Sleng Teng" in early 1985. Composition In mid-1984, Jamaican musician George "Buddy" Haye went on tour in the United States with the The Wailing Souls, Wailing Souls. Before he left Jamaica, Buddy had promised a young musician named Noel Davey that he would buy a synthesizer while in the United States and bring it back to him. Wailing frontman Garth Dennis, Rudolph "Garth" Dennis had recommended Davey as an up-and-coming talent to foster. Although Davey was expecting a programmable synthesizer (he had been promised a Yamaha DX7) Garth delivered a consumer-grade Casio MT-40, Casiotone MT-40 keyboard. This keyboard only held recordings of soun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, bassist John Greaves, and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members alongside Frith and Hodgkinson. An inherent anti-commercial attitude kept them at arm's length from the mainstream music business, enabling them to experiment at will. Critic Myles Boisen writes, "heir soundwas so mercurial and daring that they had few imitators, even though they inspired many on both sides of the Atlantic with a blend of spontaneity, intricate structures, philosophy, and humor that has endured and transcended the ' progressive' tag." While it was generally thought that Henry Cow took their name from 20th-century American composer Henry Cowell, this has been repeatedly denied by band members. According to Hodgkinson, the name "He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a guitarist, Oldfield played a range of instruments, which included keyboards and percussion, as well as vocals. He had adopted a range of musical styles throughout his career, including progressive rock, World music, world, Folk music, folk, Classical music, classical, Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and new age music. Oldfield took up the guitar at age ten and left school in his teens to embark on a music career. From 1967 to 1970, he and his sister Sally Oldfield were a folk duo, the Sallyangie, after which he performed with Kevin Ayers. In 1971, Oldfield started work on ''Tubular Bells'' which caught the attention of Richard Branson, who agreed to release it on his new label, Virgin Records. Its opening was used in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age. His first business venture, at the age of 16, was a magazine called ''Student''. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. He opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records—later known as Virgin Megastores—in 1972. His Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he started the Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label. In 1997, he founded the Virgin Rail Group to bid for Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain, passenger rail franchises during the privatisation of British Rail. The Virgin Trains brand operated the InterCity West Coast franchise from 1997 to 2019, the Virgin CrossCountry, InterCity CrossCountry franchise from 1997 to 2007, and the Virgin Trains East Coast, InterC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Narrowboat
A narrowboat is a particular type of Barge, canal boat, built to fit the narrow History of the British canal system, locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commercial canal traffic gradually diminished and the last regular long-distance transportation of goods by canal had virtually disappeared by 1970. However, some commercial traffic continued. From the 1970s onward narrowboats were gradually being converted into permanent residences or as holiday lettings. Currently, about 8,580 narrowboats are registered as 'permanent homes' on Britain's waterway system and represent a growing alternative community living on semi-permanent moorings or continuously cruising. For any boat to enter a narrow lock, it must be under wide, so most narrowboats are nominally wide. A narrowboat's maximum length is generally , as anything longer will be unable to navigate much ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
The Ups And Downs (album)
''The Ups and Downs'' is the debut album by the English singer/songwriter Stephen Duffy (released under the name Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy). It was released in April 1985 and reached No. 35 on the UK Albums Chart. It includes the UK No. 4 single, " Kiss Me", a solo re-recording of a song originally recorded with his earlier band, Tin Tin. A second single from the album, "The Icing on the Cake" reached #14 in the UK. Although further singles from the album were released, none charted within the top 75. During a 2008 interview to promote its expanded CD reissue, Duffy commented that "I never liked ''The Ups and Downs''. I enjoyed mixing with Stephen Street and making 'The Icing on the Cake' but the rest of it is just a mess." Track listing All tracks composed by Stephen Duffy; except where noted. Personnel *Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy - vocals *Guy Pratt, Eluriel "Tinker" Barfield, David Levy - bass *Andy Richards, Danny Schogger - keyboards *Charley Charles - drums *Toni Childs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rave Culture
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance music scene when DJs played at illegal events in musical styles dominated by electronic dance music from a wide range of sub-genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, trap, break, happy hardcore, trance, techno, hardcore, house, and alternative dance. Occasionally live musicians have been known to perform at raves, in addition to other types of performance artists such as go-go dancers and fire dancers. The music is amplified with a large, powerful sound reinforcement system, typically with large subwoofers to produce a deep bass sound. The music is often accompanied by laser light shows, projected coloured images, visual effects and fog machines. Fuelled by the emerging dance scene, and spearheaded by acid house music and undergr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Anthony Reynolds
Anthony Reynolds is a Welsh musician. He has worked as a solo artist and in collaboration with others in his bands Jack and Jacques. Jack In 1993, Reynolds moved to London, where he formed the group Jack, on lead vocals, signing a music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music as well as a record deal with independent label Too Pure. Jack released three full-length albums, the first two of which – '' Pioneer Soundtracks'' (1996) and '' The Jazz Age'' (1998) – garnered excellent reviews and placed highly in critics' end-of-year polls. Despite the overwhelmingly positive critical reaction and extensive UK and European touring, sales for both records although respectable, were ultimately disappointing, and no Jack record would ever make the UK Top 40 singles or albums charts. The third album, '' The End of the Way It's Always Been'', was released on the Les Disques du Crépuscule label. The record featured collaborations with writer/musician Kirk Lake and American poet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag
"Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" is an instrumental performed by British dance-punk band Pigbag and released as a single in 1981. The track was written by Chris Hamlin and James Johnstone before Pigbag was formed and produced by Dave Hunt and Dick O'Dell. In the United States, it was released as an import on the Rough Trade label, where it made it to number 56 on the US dance chart. A 1982 re-release of "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" went to number three in the United Kingdom. Several covers of the instrumental have been released, including popular versions by Perfecto Allstarz and Thunderpuss. The piece's title is a play on the James Brown song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". Whilst the track is well known for its brass riff, the bassline of the track was also ranked by ''Stylus Magazine'' at number 40 in their 2005 list of the "Top 50 Basslines of All Time". Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Perfecto Allstarz version On 23 January 1995, Paul Oakenfold released the t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. They grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis (band), Genesis, Phil Collins, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, the Spice Girls, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M Records, A&M and Island Records. Virgin Records was sold to Thorn EMI in 1992. EMI would later be acquired by Universal Music Group (UMG) in 2012 with UMG creating the Virgin EMI Records division. The Virgin Records name continues to be used by UMG in certain ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |