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Les Gray
Thomas Leslie Gray (9 April 1946 – 21 February 2004) was an English musician best known for his work with glam rock pop band Mud (band), Mud. Gray was also known for his distinctive vocal impersonator, impersonation of Elvis Presley, as well as being a lifelong supporter of Leeds United. Early life and career Gray was born in Carshalton, Surrey, in 1946.Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 203 He was a self-taught musician, and during his school years he played trumpet with a jazz band, and then, with a younger brother, went on to form the skiffle unit The Mourners. After leaving school he worked for Pearl & Dean, writing commercials, and later for Moss Bros before finding success with Mud.Obituaries: Les Gray , ''Daily Telegraph'', 24 February 2004, retrieved 2010 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carshalton
Carshalton ( ) is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated around southwest of Charing Cross and around east by north of Sutton town centre, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton Ponds in the south of the village. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Carshalton was in the Administrative counties of England, administrative county of Surrey. Carshalton consists of a number of neighbourhoods. The main focal point, Carshalton Village, is visually scenic and picturesque. At its centre it has two adjoining ponds, which are overlooked by the Grade II listed All Saints Church on the south side and the Victorian Grove Park (Sutton), Grove Park on the north side. The Grade II listed Honeywood Museum sits on the west side, a few yards from the water. There are a number of other listed buildings, as well as three conservation areas, including one in the village. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickie Most
Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and the Jeff Beck Group, often issued on his own RAK Records label. Biography Early career Most was born as Michael Peter Hayes in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The son of a regimental sergeant-major, he moved with his parents to Harrow, Middlesex in 1951. He was influenced by skiffle and early rock and roll in his youth. Leaving school at 15, he worked as a singing waiter at London's The 2i's Coffee Bar where he made friends with future business partner Peter Grant, and formed a singing duo with Alex Wharton (aka Alex Murray) who billed themselves as the Most Brothers. They recorded the single "Takes A Whole Lotta Loving to Keep My Baby Happy" with Decca Records before disbanding. Wharton later went on to produce the Moody Blues single ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " contemporary hit radio" is also a radio format. History According to producer Richard Fatherley, Todd Storz was the inventor of the format, at his radio station KOWH in Omaha, Nebraska. Storz invented the format in the early 1950s, using the number of times a record was played on jukeboxes to compose a weekly list for broadcast. The format was commercially successful, and Storz and his father Robert, under the name of the Storz Broadcasting Company, subsequently acquired other stations to use the new Top 40 format. In 1989, Todd Storz was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The term "Top 40", describing a radio format, appeared in 1960. The Top 40, whether surveyed by a radio station or a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Backup Band
A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such as " The Heartbreakers" (the band of Tom Petty), or "Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys" in the 1930s. Often, backup bands contain sidemen who are skilled but not known to the public; these musicians may be replaced or substituted at any time without noticeable impact on the performance. A number of cohesive stand-alone groups of musicians have emerged from the shadow of the starring celebrity (whom they are backing) to achieve a stature of their own. An example is the Eagles in 1971, emerging from being the backing band for Linda Ronstadt. Another example is The Band, a group who backed Bob Dylan on his world tour in 1966, his first tour with electric instruments. A backing band may also be a cadre of elite studio musicians who serve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his two siblings. Holly made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group Buddy and Bob with his friend Bob Montgomery (songwriter), Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening once for Elvis Presley, Holly decided to pursue a career in music. He played with Presley three times that year, and his band's style shifted from country and western to rock and roll. In October that year, when Holly opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records. Holly's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley, who ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oh, Boy! (The Crickets Song)
"Oh, Boy!" is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty. The song was included on the album ''The "Chirping" Crickets'' and was also released as the A-side of a single, with " Not Fade Away" as the B-side. The song peaked at number 10 on the US charts, number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958, and number 26 in Canada. (See 1958 in music for more context.) Background The song was originally recorded as a demo by Sonny West as "All My Love (Oh Boy!)" at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico in early 1957. Petty presented West's demo to Buddy Holly with the intention of Holly recording the song. On the BBC's Classic Albums series in 2019, West said, "I had a decision to make whether to say I want to do it myself and I said 'No, I want Buddy to do it', it can't hurt anything and if it didn't work I could go back and do it myself someday." It was subsequently recorded by Holly's group The Crickets between June 29 and July 1, 1957, at Norman Petty Studios wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiger Feet
Tiger Feet is a popular song by the English glam rock band Mud, released in January 1974. Written and produced by the songwriting team of Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, it was the first of three number No. 1 singles for the band, in the UK Singles Chart. followed later that year by "Lonely This Christmas", and then in 1975 by " Oh Boy!" The band appeared on ''Top of the Pops'' wearing tiger-skin-patterned slippers. Release details According to his son, Calvin Hayes, Mickie Most added the song to RAK records' lineup on the basis of the title alone. The single was released on the 7-inch vinyl record format by the RAK music label. The B-side of the single is ''Mr Bagatelle''. "Tiger Feet" was featured as part of a medley on Mud's album ''Mud Rock'', which reached number No. 8 in the UK Albums Chart. Chart position and sales "Tiger Feet" was a huge success, it was number No. 1 in the UK and Ireland charts for four consecutive weeks, from 26 January to 16 February, in 1974 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lonely This Christmas
"Lonely This Christmas" is a Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974, selling more than 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one. Song Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, "Lonely This Christmas" was Mud's second number one single in the UK, spending four weeks at the top in December 1974 and January 1975. It was the third number one single that year for the ChinniChap writing and production team, and was performed in the style of Elvis Presley's slower songs from his later career. Performances The song was performed on ''Top of the Pops'', with guitarist Rob Davis covered in tinsel and wearing Christmas baubles as earrings, while vocalist Les Gray sang to a ventriloquist's dummy. Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications Freezing This Christmas In December 2024, a parody version was released entitled "Freezing This Christmas". A backlash against the means-testing of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Chapman
Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Mud and Racey with business partner Nicky Chinn, creating a sound that became identified with the "Chinnichap" brand. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and the Knack. Chapman received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2014 Australia Day Honours. Early career Chapman was born in Queensland, Australia, and was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane. He emigrated to Britain where he became a member of the Downliners Sect and then in 1968 joined the group Tangerine Peel. They released an album in 1969 and had several near-hit singles between 1967 and 1970. In 1970 he met Nicky Chinn while working as a waiter at a London nightclub, Tramp. The pair struck up a song-writing partn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicky Chinn
Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the US and UK in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international record chart, number-one gramophone record, records. The duo wrote hits for The Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Mud (band), Mud, New World (band), New World, Arrows (British band), Arrows, Racey, Smokie (band), Smokie, Tina Turner, Huey Lewis and the News, Exile (American band), Exile and Toni Basil. Career Chinn was born in London to an affluent Jewish family that owned a string of service stations and car sales distributorships. As a young man his talent for writing successful pop songs was obvious and within a month or two of his first efforts as a songwriter, Chinn co-wrote with Mike d'Abo the two main songs for the hit film, ''There's a Girl in My Soup'' (1970). It was at this point that Chinn met Australian-born Mike Chapman, who was a waiter at a nigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chart-topper
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include record sales, the amount of radio airplay, the number of downloads, and the amount of streaming activity. Some charts are specific to a particular musical genre and most to a particular geographical location. The most common period covered by a chart is one week with the chart being printed or broadcast at the end of this time. Summary charts for years and decades are then calculated from their component weekly charts. Component charts have become an increasingly important way to measure the commercial success of individual songs. A common format of radio and television programs is to run down a music chart. History The first record chart was founded in 1952 by Percy Dickins, who was working at ''New Musical Express'' at the time. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
