Womad
WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, with Thomas Brooman, Bob Hooton, Mark Kidel, Stephen Pritchard, Martin Elbourne and Jonathan Arthur. Original designers were Steve Byrne and Valerie Hawthorn. The first WOMAD festival was in Shepton Mallet, UK in 1982. The audience saw Peter Gabriel, Don Cherry, The Beat, Drummers of Burundi, Echo & The Bunnymen, Imrat Khan, Prince Nico Mbarga, Peter Hammill, Simple Minds, Suns of Arqa, The Chieftains and Ekome National Dance Company, founded by Barrington, Angie, Pauline and Lorna Anderson, the pioneering African arts company in the UK amongst others performing. Peter Gabriel's performance included a dynamic inclusion of the Ekome National Dance Company, fusing live African Drums on Gabriel's track " The Rhythm of the Heat". ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thomas Brooman
Thomas Brooman is a life-long music fan and a festival organiser. He is best known as the co-founder and artistic director of the WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance Festival. Early life Born in Bristol in 1954, he attended Bristol Grammar School and spent time during his childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He attended Oxford University, reading English Language and Literature at Exeter College under the tutorship of Jonathan Wordsworth, graduating in 1976. The second child in an academic family, his father Frederick S. Brooman was an author and economics lecturer at Bristol University, subsequently Professor of Economics at The Open University. Returning to Bristol after graduation from Oxford, Thomas took a path in music, firstly as a drummer during the heyday of punk music in the late 'seventies with several bands in Bristol, including The Media, The Spics and The Tesco Chainstore Massacre. In 1980, with a group of friends, he established a record magazine publication calle ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career with " Solsbury Hill" as his first single. After releasing four successful studio albums, all titled ''Peter Gabriel'', his fifth studio album, '' So'' (1986), became his best-selling release and is certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the US. The album's most successful single, " Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards. A 2011 ''Time'' report said "Sledgehammer" was the most played music video of all time on MTV. A supporter of world music for much of his career, Gabriel co-founded the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festival in 1982, and has continued to produce and promote world music through his Real World Records label. He has pioneered digital distribution met ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough of Reading, although some outer suburbs are parts of neighbouring local authority areas. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centres, including The Oracle, Reading, the Oracle, the Broad Street Mall, and the pedestrianised area around Broad Street. It is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading and Leeds Festivals, Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has a professional association football team, Reading F.C., and partici ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Kidel
Mark Kidel (born 6 July 1947) is a documentary filmmaker, writer and critic, working mostly in France and the UK. His award-winning films include portraits of Cary Grant, John Adams (composer), Elvis Costello, Boy George, Ravi Shankar, Rod Stewart, Bill Viola, Iannis Xenakis, pianists Alfred Brendel and Leon Fleisher, Derek Jarman, Brian Clarke Balthus, Tricky, Robert Wyatt and American theatre and opera director Peter Sellars. A pioneer of the " rockumentary", Kidel was also the first rock critic of the ''New Statesman'' and contributed pieces on rock, soul, and world music, to ''The Observer'', ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Guardian''. Early life Kidel grew up in Paris and Vienna and attended the Lycée français de Vienne and Bedales School in England. In 1965, he won a scholarship to the University of Oxford where he studied for a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at New College, graduating in 1968, and edited ''Isis'', the renowned student weekly. During his te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Toots And The Maytals
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. Frontman Toots Hibbert, who died in 2020, was considered a reggae pioneer on par with Bob Marley. His soulful vocal style was compared to Otis Redding, and led him to be named by ''Rolling Stone'' as one of the 100 Greatest Singers. After Hibbert's death, the Maytals indicated that they would continue as a working group. Their 1968 single " Do the Reggay" was the first song to use the word "reggae", coining the name of the genre and introducing it to a global audience. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' credits Toots and the Maytals in the etymology of the word "Reggae". According to Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, "The Maytals were unlike anything else ... sensational, raw, and dynamic." Career Formation and early success Frede ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Rhythm Of The Heat
"The Rhythm of the Heat" is a song written and performed by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. Released in 1982, it is the opening track off his fourth self-titled album. In 1985, the song was used during the opening scene of "Evan" in season one of Miami Vice and also appeared in the Oliver Stone film ''Natural Born Killers'' in 1994. An instrumental reworking of the song, titled "The Heat", was later included on Gabriel's 1985 '' Birdy'' soundtrack album. Gabriel also did an orchestral re-recording of "The Rhythm of the Heat" on his '' New Blood'' album in 2011. Background The working title for "The Rhythm of the Heat" was "Jung in Africa", referring to Swiss psychologist Carl Jung's experiences visiting Africa. Gabriel was a reader of Jung's work and learned that the psychologist had observed a group of African drummers and dancers in Kenya. During Jung's time with them, he became overwhelmed by their performance and worried that the music and dancing would subsume him ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Six Of The Best
Six of the Best was a reunion concert between the English rock band Genesis and their original frontman Peter Gabriel, with former guitarist Steve Hackett joining the band for the two encores. The one-off event took place on 2 October 1982 at the Milton Keynes Bowl, England, and staged as a benefit to raise funds for Gabriel who faced considerable financial debts after the first WOMAD festival. It was the only time Gabriel and Hackett have performed with the band since their departures in 1975 and 1977, respectively. Background The "classic" line-up of Genesis featured frontman Peter Gabriel, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, keyboardist Tony Banks, drummer Phil Collins, and guitarist Steve Hackett. After Gabriel left the band to pursue a solo career in 1975, Hackett followed suit in 1977, leaving Genesis as a core trio of Banks, Rutherford, and Collins, who took over from Gabriel as lead vocalist on subsequent albums and live shows. The concert originated after Gabriel help ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Suns Of Arqa
Suns of Arqa are a world music collective founded in 1979 by Michael Wadada. Since the group's formation, over 200 people from around the world have played and recorded with them, and in many cases these were like-minded musicians Wadada met as he travelled the world.Suns Of Arqa Biography Pioneers of World Beat, Ambient, Downtempo and Electro-Dub, Suns of Arqa draw inspiration from around the world, interpreting indigenous, tribal and classical folk traditions. They have created an impressive legacy and earned worldwide recognition. Early days Suns of Arqa started out in the World Music scene in 1979, recording their debut album ''Revenge of the ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Martin Elbourne
Martin Elbourne (born 19 January 1957 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is an English performing arts promoter. Elbourne was brought up near the village of Knebworth, Hertfordshire. His first job, at age fifteen, was working for the local stately home Knebworth House which in the mid-seventies became the biggest venue in the United Kingdom for outdoor shows and hosted bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. He is best known as the promoter of rock concerts and is a well-known figure for his work in music and music festivals in the UK. He has been an advisor to, and one of main bookers for, the Glastonbury Festival for 30 years and has helped and advised numerous other festivals. Career Born on 19 January 1957 in Carlisle, Cumbria, Elbourne grew up in Hertfordshire, north of London. In 1977, he set up his own political party the Epicurean (ethical hedonist '0' movement) which won the student union elections. One of the election pledges was to open up the stude ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drummers Of Burundi
The Royal Drummers of Burundi, commonly known in recordings as The Drummers of Burundi or as The Master Drummers of Burundi, is a percussion ensemble originally from Burundi. Their performances are a part of ceremonies such as births, funerals, and coronations of ''mwami'' (Kings). Drums (called karyenda) are sacred in Burundi, and represent the mwami, fertility and regeneration. The Royal Drummers use drums made from hollowed tree trunks covered with animal skins. In addition to the central drum, called ''Inkiranya'', there are ''Amashako'' drums which provide a continuous beat, and ''Ibishikiso'' drums, which follow the rhythm established by the Inkiranya. The performance of the Royal Drummers has been the same for centuries, and their techniques and traditions are passed down from father to son. The members of the ensemble take turns playing the Inkiranya, dancing, resting, and playing the other drums, rotating throughout the show without interruptions. At the start of their pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Echo & The Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer. Their 1980 debut album ''Crocodiles (album), Crocodiles'' went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. After releasing their second album ''Heaven Up Here'' in 1981, the band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK in 1983 when they scored a UK Singles Chart, UK Top 10 hit with "The Cutter (song), The Cutter", and the album which the song came from, ''Porcupine (album), Porcupine'', hit number 2 in the UK. ''Ocean Rain'' (1984), continued the band's UK chart success with its lead single "The Killing Moon" entering into the top 10. After they released a Echo & the Bunnymen (album), self-titled album in 1987, McCulloch left the band and was replaced by singer Noel Burke. In 1989, de Freitas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |