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The Only Way Is Up
"The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by American soul singer Otis Clay. In 1988, it became a chart-topping single in the United Kingdom for Yazz and the Plastic Population. The song is used as the theme tune to the popular ITV2/ITVBe reality television series '' The Only Way Is Essex''. Otis Clay version The song was written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson. It was first recorded by Otis Clay and released as a single by Echo Records in 1980. Though not a hit, the song became the title track of Clay's album ''The Only Way Is Up'', released in Japan in 1982 and then North America in 1985. It is also included on his 2012 album ''Truth Is''. Yazz version The Yazz version was produced by Jonathan More and Matt Black (better known as dance duo Coldcut, who had worked with British singer Yazz on their hit single " Doctorin' the House"). "The Only Way Is Up" was Yazz's first solo single, ...
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Otis Clay
Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, to a musical family, who moved in 1953 to Muncie, Indiana. After singing with local gospel group, the Voices of Hope, he returned to Mississippi to sing with the Christian Travelers, before settling in Chicago in 1957. There, he joined a series of gospel vocal groups including the Golden Jubilaires, the Famous Blue Jay Singers, the Holy Wonders, and the Pilgrim Harmonizers, before making his first solo secular recordings in 1962. They were unissued, and Clay joined the Gospel Songbirds, who recorded in Nashville in 1964 and who also included Maurice Dollison who sang R&B under the name Cash McCall, and then the Sensational Nightingales. Career In 1965, Clay signed with One-derful! Records in Chicago, to make secular recordings. After releasing a series ...
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Coldcut
Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, which featured cut-up samples of hip-hop, soul, funk, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia. According to '' Spin'', "in '87 Coldcut pioneered the British fad for 'DJ records'". Coldcut's records first introduced the public to pop artists Yazz and Lisa Stansfield, through which these artists achieved pop chart success. In addition, Coldcut has remixed and created productions on tracks by the likes of Eric B & Rakim, James Brown, Queen Latifah, Eurythmics, INXS, Steve Reich, Blondie, the Fall, Pierre Henry, Nina Simone, Fog, Red Snapper, and BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Beyond their work as a production duo, Coldcut are the founders of Ninja Tune, an independent record label in London, England (w ...
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Music & Media
''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later moved to London. The magazine focused specifically on radio, TV, music, charts and related areas of entertainment such as music festivals and events. ''Music & Media'' ceased publication in August 2003. ''Music & Media'' was the sister publication of '' Billboard'' magazine. Record charts Main charts * European Top 100 Albums (sales) * European Hot 100 Singles (sales) *European Airplay Top 50 (airplay) (previously called European Hit Radio Top 40) *European Border Breakers (airplay of European songs breaking out of their country of signing) *Top 10 Sales in Europe - top 10 singles and albums charts for sixteen European countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland, ...
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Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized in letter case, lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the music industry. Its Billboard charts, music charts include the Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100, the Billboard 200, 200, and the Billboard Global 200, Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in various music genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm and operates several television shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox ...
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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 ...
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Sampling (music)
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample might comprise only a fragment of sound, or a longer portion of music, such as a drum beat or melody. Samples are often layered, Equalization (audio), equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, Loop (music), looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using electronic music instruments (Sampler (musical instrument), samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations. A process similar to sampling originated in the 1940s with ''musique concrète'', experimental music created by Tape splice, splicing and Tape loop, looping tape. The mid-20th century saw the introduction of keyboard instruments that played sounds recorded on tape, such as the Mellotron. The term ''sampling'' was coined in the late 1970s by the creators of the Fairlight CMI, a synthesizer with th ...
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Wham!
Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, the singles " Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", " Careless Whisper", and " Everything She Wants" all topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Their 1984 Christmas hit " Last Christmas" has become a staple of the holiday season since its release, with all proceeds from the single going to charity. Influenced by funk and soul music and presenting themselves as disaffected youth, Wham!'s 1983 debut album '' Fantastic'' addressed the United Kingdom's unemployment problem and teen angst over adulthood. Their second studio album '' Make It Big'' in 1984 was a worldwide pop smash hit, charting at number one in both the UK and the United States. In 1985, Wham! made a highly publi ...
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Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), online streaming, and radio airplay in the U.S. A new chart is compiled and released online to the public by ''Billboard''s website on Tuesdays but post-dated to the following Saturday, when the printed magazine first reaches newsstands. The weekly tracking period for sales is currently Friday–Thursday, after being changed in July 2015. It was initially Monday–Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991. This tracking period also applies to compiling online streaming data. Radio airplay is readily available on a real-time basis, unlike sales figures and streaming, but is also tracked on the same Friday–Thursday cycle, effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021. Previously, radio was tracked Monday–Sunday and, before Ju ...
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Hot Dance Club Songs
The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the United States. History The Dance Club Songs chart underwent several incarnations since its inception in 1974. Originally a top-10 list of tracks that garnered the largest audience response in New York City discothèques, the chart began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action''. The chart went on to feature playlists from various cities around the country from week to week. ''Billboard'' continued to run regional and city-specific charts throughout 1975 and 1976 until the issue dated August 28, 1976, when a 30-position ''National Disco Action Top 30'' premiered. The first number-one song on the chart for the issue dated August 28, 1976, was "You Shou ...
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Eurochart Hot 100
The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately for Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. , the European Hot 100 had accumulated 400 number one hits. The final chart was published on December 11, 2010, following the news of ''Billboard'' closing their London office and letting their UK-based staff go. The final number one single on the chart was " Only Girl (in the World)" by Rihanna. History Europarade top 30 The first attempt at a Europe-wide chart was the Europarade, which was started in early 1976 by the Dutch TROS radio network. The chart initially consisted of only six countries: the Netherlands, UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Spain. In 1979 ...
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Matt Black (DJ)
Matthew Cohn, known by the stage name Matt Black, is a British DJ and one half of music duo Coldcut (along with Jonathan More), who founded the Ninja Tune record label. As a student at New College, Oxford, he was a member of a band called ''The Jazz Insects'', whose first single was played by John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ... in his radio show. Black is one of the inventors of the VJamm software used in the Coldcut live shows and also co-developed a "granular video synthesizer" titled Granul8. He is also a founding member of the (now defunct) VJ group Hex, and of the VJ group The VJamm Allstars with whom he continues to perform shows and has also worked alongside Crass Agenda as part of the Savage Utopia project. Cohn is the grandson of the archi ...
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