Francis Monkman
Anthony Francis Keigwin Monkman (9 June 1949 – 12 May 2023) was an English rock, classical and film score composer, and a founding member of both the progressive rock band Curved Air and the classical/rock fusion band Sky. Life and career Early years Francis Monkman was the son of Kenneth Monkman, an authority on the writer Laurence Sterne and Vita née Duncombe Mann. He was a pupil at Westminster School, where he studied organ and harpsichord, later studying at the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Raymond Russell prize for virtuosity on the harpsichord and becoming a member of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Wanting to experiment with more spontaneous music forms, Monkman learned how to play guitar and began to associate himself with rock music. Curved Air In the late 1960s Monkman co-founded the rock band Sisyphus, which evolved into the pioneering band Curved Air. Monkman played on their first three albums, doubling on keyboards and guitar and explorin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsize Park to the south and is surrounded from the northeast by Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. Hampstead is known for its intellectual, artistic, liberal, and literary associations. It contains a number of listed buildings, such as Burgh House, Kenwood House, the Spaniard's Inn, and the Everyman cinema. With some of the most expensive housing in London, Hampstead has had many notable residents, both past and present, including King Constantine II of Greece and his wife Queen Anne Marie, Helena Bonham Carter, Agatha Christie, T. S. Eliot, Jon English, Sigmund Freud, Stephen Fry, Ricky Gervais, Jim Henson, George Orwell, Harry Styles and Elizabeth Taylor. As of 2004, Hampstead has been home to more Prime Mini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Renaissance (band)
Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit " Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", " Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements and vocal harmonies. The band was founded by vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty, formerly of the Yardbirds; along with John Hawken, Louis Cennamo and Relf's sister Jane. They intended to put "something together with more of a classical influence". Lyricist Betty Thatcher attributed the classical influence specifically to Keith Relf: “ I think it was mainly Keith. He always loved classical music, Keith, it was Canon yPachelbel that was his favourite piece of music. He played it all the time, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tristan Fry
Tristan Frederick Allan Fry (born 25 October 1946, London) is a British drummer and percussionist. Career Fry began his career by joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra as a timpanist at the age of 17. He was a founding member of a number of ensembles, including the Nash, Fires of London and the London Sinfonietta. He also worked as a session musician with various pop and rock artists such as The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Olivia Newton-John, John Martyn, Elton John, Nick Drake, and David Essex, among others. Fry was percussionist on the Beatles' "A Day In The Life", contributing timpani to the song's two orchestral climaxes. He also played in various other recordings including TV and movie soundtracks, and as Tristan was the timpanist with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra he has performed on many of their recorded works and concerts. From 1979 - 1995 he was the drummer with the progressive rock group Sky [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Herbie Flowers
Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. Flowers contributed to recordings by Elton John, Camel, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roy Harper, David Essex, Al Kooper, Bryan Ferry, Harry Nilsson, Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He also played bass on '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds''. He created his most famous bassline for Lou Reed's 1972 hit single " Walk on the Wild Side" from the album ''Transformer''. By the end of the 1970s, Flowers had played bass on an estimated 500 hit recordings. Life and career Flowers was born in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, on 19 May 1938. He began his musical training in 1956 when conscripted into the Royal Air Force, electing at first to serve for nine years as a bandsman playing tuba. He took up d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kevin Peek
Kevin Peek (21 December 1946 – 11 February 2013) was an Australian guitarist, playing both Rock music, rock and classical music, best known for his work with the progressive rock band Sky (English/Australian band), Sky. Biography Peek was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and initially played classical percussion in the Adelaide Conservatorium of Music, before teaching himself the guitar. In 1967 Peek formed a Psychedelic pop / progressive rock group, James Taylor Move, but left by May 1968, moving to London. He returned to Adelaide, Australia, to join a newly formed rock band Quatro (band), Quartet which, despite a contract from England's Decca Records, proved unsuccessful. An Australian single, "Now"/"Will My Lady Come" [Decca Y-8977], was released in 1969. The A-side is credited to Terry Britten; the B-side to Trevor Spencer, Alan Tarney and Peek. For a time, following their move to London, he and his fellow Adelaide bandmates—guitarist Terry Britten, bassist Alan Ta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Williams (guitarist)
John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941) is an Australian-born classical guitarist renowned for his ensemble playing as well as his interpretation and promotion of the modern classical guitar repertoire. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award in the Best Chamber Music Performance category with fellow guitarist Julian Bream for ''Together'' (released in the US as ''Julian and John (Works by Lawes, Carulli, Albéniz, Granados)''). Guitar historian Graham Wade has said that "John is perhaps the most technically accomplished guitarist the world has seen." Early life John Williams is an only child who was born on 24 April 1941 in Melbourne to an English father, Len Williams, who bought John, at age four, his first guitar with a modified neck. Len would later found the Spanish Guitar Centre in London, England. John's mother Melaan (''née'' Ah Ket) was the daughter of William Ah Ket, the first Australian barrister of Chinese heritage. In 1952, the family moved to England, wher ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian Bennett (musician)
Brian Laurence Bennett (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band member Warren Bennett. Early life Bennett was born in Palmers Green, North London, England. Educated at Hazlewood Lane School, Palmers Green, London and Winchmore Council School, he finished school at the age of sixteen to play drums in a Ramsgate skiffle group performing for holiday makers. After returning to London he studied drums with Max Abrams and became the in-house drummer at The 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho and was a regular performer on Jack Good's TV show '' Oh Boy!'' Early career He then became a member of Marty Wilde's Wildcats in 1959. After a successful period with the Wildcats, during which he appeared on their instrumental record without Wilde (recorded as the Krew Kats), "Trambone", he backed Tommy Steele for some of his Lo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian Eno
Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambient music and electronica, and for producing, recording, and writing works in rock music, rock and pop music. A self-described "non-musician", Eno has helped introduce unconventional concepts and approaches to contemporary music. He has been described as one of popular music's most influential and innovative figures. In 2019, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Roxy Music. Born in Suffolk, Eno studied painting and experimental music at the art school of Ipswich Civic College in the mid-1960s, and then at Winchester School of Art. He joined the glam rock group Roxy Music as its synthesiser player in 1971 and recorded two albums with them before departing in 1973. He then released solo albums, beginning with ''He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phil Manzanera
Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. In 2006, Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album ''On an Island'', and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America. He wrote and presented a series of 14 one-hour radio programmes for station Planet Rock entitled ''The A-Z of Great Guitarists''. Early life Manzanera was born on 31 January 1951 in London, England, to a Colombian mother (''née'' Manzanera) and an English father, who worked for British Overseas Airways Corporation. He spent most of his childhood in different parts of the Americas, including Hawaii, Venezuela, Colombia, and Cuba. It was in Havana, Cuba, living under Batista, that the young Manzanera, aged six, encountered his first guitar, a Spanish guitar owned by his mother. His earliest musical a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard from 1958 to 1968, and have joined him for several reunion tours. The Shadows had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 as the Shadows and 34 as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, ranging from Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, surf rock and Sentimental ballad, ballads with a jazz influence. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the four-member instrumental format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. The Shadows built their signature sound on Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Fender guitars and Vox (musical equipment), Vox amplifiers, but around 1964, they replaced their F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Surprise (Lynsey De Paul Album)
''Surprise'' is the first album released by Lynsey de Paul on the MAM record label in 1973. In Australia, the album name was changed to ''Sugar Me'', after de Paul's first hit single. All of the songs on the album were written or co-written by de Paul (half the tracks were re-recordings of her songwriting demos). Production On the album, de Paul was accompanied by some of the UK's leading session musicians including Terry Cox, Ralph McTell, Ray Cooper, Jeff Daly, John Gustafson, Chris Rae, Danny Thompson, Gary Boyle, Barry de Souza, Dick Katz, Robert Kirby, Francis Monkman, John Richardson (who would later become the drummer in The Rubettes) and violinist Johnny Van Derrick. Her debut single "Sugar Me" was re-recorded for this album and has a much longer fade out with de Paul being the producer on this version rather than Gordon Mills, who produced the hit single version. Release and promotion Although no other tracks were released by de Paul from the album as si ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lynsey De Paul
Lynsey de Paul (born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin; 11 June 1948 – 1 October 2014) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting with UK top 10 single " Sugar Me", and became the first British female artist to achieve a number one with a self-written song (in 1972 in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands). She represented the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in second place and scoring another chart-topping hit in Switzerland, and had a successful career as a songwriter, record producer, actress and television celebrity. Early life Lyndsey Monckton Rubin was born to Meta (née de Groot) and Herbert Rubin, a property developer. They were a Jewish family with a Dutch, Austrian and German background,Interview "I have always had my eye on the exit", Choice Magazine, December 2007, p23 - p25, Choice Publishing Ltd and had one other child, John (b. 1944). ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |