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Replicas (album)
''Replicas'' is the second and final studio album by the English new wave band Tubeway Army, released on 6 April 1979 by Beggars Banquet Records. It followed their self-titled debut from the previous year. After this, Tubeway Army frontman Gary Numan would continue to release records under his own name, though the musicians in Tubeway Army would continue to work with him for some time. ''Replicas'' was the first album of what Numan later termed the "machine" phase of his career, preceding '' The Pleasure Principle'' (1979) and '' Telekon'' (1980), a collection linked by common themes of a dystopian science fiction future and transmutation of man/machine, coupled with an androgynous image and a synthetic rock sound. Fuelled by a surprise No. 1 hit single, "Are 'Friends' Electric?", the album also reached No. 1 in the UK charts in July 1979 and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. Background A loose concept album, ''Replicas'' was based on a dy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army were a London-based new wave music, new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. Formed at the height of punk rock in 1977, the band gradually changed to an electronic music, electronic sound. They were the first band of the electronic era to have a synthesiser-based number-one hit, with their single "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and its parent album ''Replicas (album), Replicas'' both topping the UK charts in mid-1979. After its release, Numan opted to drop the Tubeway Army name and release music under his own name as he was the sole songwriter, producer and public face of the band, but he retained the musicians from Tubeway Army as his backing band. History Early years Aged 18 years, Gary Webb had fronted London band Mean Street in 1976 (their song "Bunch of Stiffs" appeared on the ''Live at the Vortex'' compilation, and was the B-side of the ''Vortex'' 7-inch). After leaving this band, he auditioned as lead guitarist for another band called The Lasers, where he met ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transmutation Of Species
The Transmutation of species and transformism are 18th and early 19th-century ideas about the change of one species into another that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection. The French ''Transformisme'' was a term used by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1809 for his theory, and other 18th and 19th century proponents of pre-Darwinian evolutionary ideas included Denis Diderot, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Erasmus Darwin, Robert Grant, and Robert Chambers, the anonymous author of the 1844 book '' Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation''. Such ideas were associated with 18th century ideas of Deism and human progress. Opposition in the scientific community to these early theories of evolution, led by influential scientists like the anatomists Georges Cuvier and Richard Owen, and the geologist Charles Lyell, was intense. The debate over them was an important stage in the history of evolutionary thought and influenced the subsequent reaction to Dar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speed Of Life (David Bowie Song)
"Speed of Life" is the first instrumental by David Bowie. It is the opening track on his album ''Low'' from 1977. "Speed of Life" introduces the ''Low'' album, and, coupled with the instrumental " A New Career in a New Town", provides a front bookend for the A-side of the album. The track opens with its heavy use of synthesizers as both effects and instruments, with the presence of Dennis Davis' drums and the overlaid harmonizer creating a distinctly different mix than any previous Bowie album. The song includes the refrain from Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again. Lyrics were originally planned for this song, but Bowie abandoned the idea after several attempts, deciding that the piece stood better on its own. Live versions * Performances from the Isolar II Tour have been released on ''Stage'' (1978) and '' Welcome to the Blackout'' (2018). The song was also performed during the 2002 tour, in which Bowie played the ''Low'' album in its entirety on selected dates. Othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultravox (band)
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna". From 1974 until 1979, singer John Foxx was frontman and the main driving force behind Ultravox. Foxx left the band in March 1979 to embark on a solo career. Midge Ure took over as lead singer, guitarist and frontman after he and keyboardist Billy Currie worked on the studio project Visage. Ure revitalised the band and steered it to commercial chart success lasting until 1987, at which time the group disbanded. A new line-up, led by Currie, was formed in 1992, but achieved limited success with two albums failing to chart and one solitary single reaching 90 in the UK Singles Chart. The band's best-known line-up of Currie, Ure, bassist Chris Cross and drummer Warren Cann re-formed in 2008 and performed a serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Foxx
John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the New wave music, new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a solo career in 1980 with the album ''Metamatic''. Primarily associated with Electronic music, electronic synthesizer music, he has also pursued a parallel career in graphic design and education. Andy Kellman of AllMusic described Foxx as an influential cult figure whose "detached, jolting vocal style inspired mainstream and underground artists across the decades". Early life and education Leigh was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England. His father was a coal miner and Boxing, pugilist, his mother a millworker. He was raised Catholic and educated at St Mary's Primary and St Augustine Secondary schools. Next he attended Harris College of Art in Preston, Lancashire, Preston and then the Royal College of Art in London. Durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel '' Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthetic humans known as '' replicants'' are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on space colonies. When a fugitive group of advanced replicants led by Roy Batty (Hauer) escapes back to Earth, burnt-out cop Rick Deckard (Ford) reluctantly agrees to hunt them down. ''Blade Runner'' initially underperformed in North American theaters and polarized critics; some praised its thematic complexity and visuals, while others critiqued its slow pacing and lack of action. The film's soundtrack, composed by Vangelis, was nominated in 1982 for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe as best original score. ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. He ranks among the List of highest-grossing film directors, highest-grossing directors, with his films grossing a cumulative $5 billion worldwide. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ridley Scott, many accolades, including the BAFTA Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement in 2018, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was Knight Bachelor, knighted by Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II in 2003, and appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, Knight Grand Cross by Charles III, King Charles III in 2024. An alumnus of the Royal College of Art in London, Scott began his career in television as a designer and director before moving into advertising as a director o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Replicant
A replicant is a fictional bioengineered humanoid featured in the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'' and the 2017 sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' which is physically indistinguishable from an adult human and often possesses superhuman strength and intelligence. A replicant can be detected by means of the fictional Voight-Kampff test in which emotional responses are provoked; a replicant's nonverbal responses differ from those of a human. Failing the test leads to execution, which is euphemistically referred to as "retiring". Several models of replicant were produced. The first seen model, the Nexus-6, has a four-year lifespan. The successor model, the Nexus-7, were limited experimental models with the ability to procreate. Nexus-8 and Nexus-9 replicants also have open-ended lifespans, but the Nexus-9 line was incapable of disobeying human orders. Term origin In his novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (the inspiration for ''Blade Runner''), Philip K. Dick used the term android (r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (retrospectively titled ''Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' in some later printings) is a 1968 dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where Earth's life has been greatly damaged by a nuclear global war. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who has to "retire" (i.e. kill) six escaped Nexus-6 model androids, while a secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-par IQ who aids the fugitive androids. The book served as the basis for the 1982 film '' Blade Runner'' and, even though some aspects of the novel were changed, many elements and themes from it were used in the film's 2017 sequel '' Blade Runner 2049''. Plot summary In a futuristic 1992 ( 2021 in later editions), after a global war that rendered Earth's atmosphere highly radioactive, most animal species are now endangered or extinct. As a result, owning real animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip K
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include List of kings of Macedonia, kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has #Philip in other languages, many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips (surname), Phillips. The original Greek spelling includes two Ps as seen in Philippides (other), Philippides and Philippos, which is possible due to the Greek endings following the two Ps. To end a word with such a double consonant—in Greek or in English—would, however, be incorrect. It has many diminutive (or even hypocorism, hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly (other)#People, Philly, Phillie, Lip (other), Lip, and Pip (other), Pip. There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Android (robot)
An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being, often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids existed only in the domain of science fiction and were frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robotics, robot technology have allowed the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots. Terminology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' traces the earliest use (as "Androides") to Ephraim Chambers' 1728 ''Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, Cyclopaedia,'' in reference to an automaton that St. Albertus Magnus allegedly created. By the late 1700s, "androides", elaborate mechanical devices resembling humans performing human activities, were displayed in exhibit halls. The term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature human-like toy automatons. The term ''android'' was used in a more modern sense by the French author Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam in his work ''The Future Eve, Tomorrow's E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Albums Chart, UK album chart was published in ''Record Mirror'' in 1956, and during the 1980s it was the only consumer music paper to carry the official UK Singles Chart, UK singles and UK albums charts used by the BBC for BBC Radio 1, Radio 1 and ''Top of the Pops'', as well as the USA's ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' charts. The title ceased to be a stand-alone publication in April 1991 when UBM plc, United Newspapers closed or sold most of their consumer magazines, including ''Record Mirror'' and its sister music magazine ''Sounds (magazine), Sounds'', to concentrate on trade papers like ''Music Week''. In 2010, Giovanni Di Stefano (fraudster), Giovanni di Stefano bought the name ''Record Mirror'' and relaunched it as an online music go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
