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The Housemartins

The Housemartins

The Housemartins were a British indie rock band that was active in the 1980s. The band was formed in 1983 by Paul Heaton on vocals, Stan Cullimore on guitar, Ted Key on bass and Chris Lang on drums. The bands membership changed quite a lot over the years. on bass Ted Key was replaced by Norman Cook - the future Fatboy Slim. And drummer Chris Lang was replaced by Hugh Whittaker who in turn was replaced with Dave Hemingway. After the bands split Paul, Dave and roadie Sean Welch went off to form The Beautiful South The band often referred to themselves as "the 4th best band in Hull," referring to the city in England where the band formed in 1983. (The three bands that were "better" were Red Guitars, Everything But The Girl, and The Gargoyles.) In 1986, the band broke through with the innovative Happy Hour, which reached No.3 in the UK charts helped by a claymation animated pop promo of a type that was in vogue at the time. At the end of the same year, they had a No.1 single with a cover version of Isley Jasper Isley's Caravan of Love. They released three albums: London 0 Hull 4, The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, and the greatest hits Now That's What I Call Quite Good. The Housemartins lyrics were an odd mixture of Marxist politics and born-again Christianity - reflecting Paul Heaton's beliefs at the time. The band split in 1988 and the members have since remained friends and worked on each other's projects. Despite repeated requests from fans, they have never reformed. In 1993, former drummer Hugh Whittaker was convicted of assault after attacking his business partner James Hewitt with an axe. Whittaker has since been released from prison and now resides in Leeds.

Discography

Albums


- London 0 Hull 4 (June 1986, UK #3)
- The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death (Sep 1987, UK #9)

Singles


- Flag Day / Stand At Ease (Oct 1985)
- Sheep / Drop Down Dead (Mar 1986, UK #54)
- Happy Hour / The Mighty Ship (May 1986, UK #3)
- Think For a Minute / Who Needs the Limelight (Sep 1986, UK #18)
- Caravan of Love / When I First Met Jesus (Nov 1986, UK #1)
- Flag Day / The Mighty Ship (Feb 1987, US issue)
- Five Get Over Excited / Rebel Without the Airplay (May 1987, UK #11)
- Me and the Farmer / I Bit My Lip (Aug 1987, UK #15)
- Build / Paris in Flares (Nov 1987, UK #15)
- There Is Always Something There To Remind Me / Get Up Off Your Knees (live) (Apr 1988, UK #35)

Compilations


- The Housemartins Christmas Box Set (Nov 1986, UK #84)
- Now That's What I Call Quite Good (Apr 1988, UK #8)
- The Best of the Housemartins (Mar 2004)

External links


- [http://thehousemartins.com/ Fan site]
- [http://www.paulheaton.com/ Paul Heaton's official webpage] Housemartins, The Housemartins, The

Britain

:This article deals with the history of the word Britain. For clarification of terminology and an overview of articles about Britain and Ireland see British Isles (terminology). The word Britain is an informal term used to refer to
- the island of Great Britain which consists of the nations of England, Scotland and Wales.
- the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or UK,
- sometimes the Roman province called "Britain" or "Britannia" The word British generally means belonging to or associated with Britain in one of the first two senses above (i.e. the United Kingdom or the island of Great Britain). However, the term has a range of related usages, as described in this article. Etymologically, these words are closely related to Brittany, the name of the western French peninsula, and its adjective Breton.

Earliest attested references


- Pretaniké; Pretanikai nesoi (Pretanic isles) - 325 BC
- Britannia - 55 BC (Julius Caesar, Roman invasion of Britain)
- Breten - 855 (Old English Chronicle, introduction)
- Brittisc - 855 (OED)
- Grate Briteigne - 1548 (OED)
- British isles - 1550 (in Latin; map of Sebastian Munster cited in British Isles article)

Etymology

The etymology of the name Britain is thought to derive from a Celtic word, Pritani, "painted people/men", a reference to the inhabitants of the islands' use of body-paint and tattoos. If this is true, there is an interesting parallel with the name Pict, connected with a Latin word of the same meaning. The modern Welsh name for Britain is Prydain. The Q-Celtic form was Cruithin, showing that the Common Celtic singular form was qr[ui]tanos. The root is presumably that of the modern Gaelic/Irish word cruth 'shape, form'. It has also been postulated that Britain may derive from the Celtic goddess Brigid; the form of the word, however, is against this postulation. In 325 BC the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia visited a group of islands which he called Pretaniké, the principal ones being Albionon (Albion) and Ierne (Erin). The records of this visit date from much more recent times, so there is room for these details to be disputed, but it does seem to attest pre-Roman use of the name by Celtic-speaking inhabitants of the islands - or the names used by the Phoenecians Pytheas went with. The Roman geographer Ptolemy called the larger island Megale Brettania (Great Britain), and the smaller island Micra Bretannia (Little Britain).

Britain and Brittany

The original reference seems to have been to the territory in which the Brythonic languages were spoken, which more or less coincided with the Roman province of Britannia, an area equivalent to modern England, Wales and southern Scotland. In the Early Middle Ages speakers of a Brythonic language which later evolved into Breton migrated from Cornwall to Armorica, Western France, possibly because of pressure from Saxon invasions. This is why different forms of the same name apply to insular Britain and continental Brittany. In French the similarity is even more obvious: Bretagne and Grande Bretagne. Geoffrey of Monmouth used the names Britannia minor to refer to the Armorican region and Britannia major for the island. The element great in the term Great Britain thus simply means large, to make the distinction from Brittany.

Historical evolution of the term Britain

The kingdoms established on the island of Great Britain were perceived to be dominant over the whole archipelago, which thus came to be known as the British Isles. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the queen's astrologer and alchemist, John Dee, wrote mystical volumes predicting a British Empire and using the terms Great Britain and Britannia. After Elizabeth's death in 1603 the kingdoms shared one King, James VI of Scotland and I of England. On 20 October 1604 he proclaimed himself "King of Great Brittaine" (thus including Wales and also avoiding the cumbersome title "King of England and Scotland"). This title was eventually adopted formally in 1707 when the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed. Politically, then, British has been used to described someone or something from the United Kingdom, in its various forms, since 1707. Briton or Brit are also used colloquially in this form, though the use of Briton here is incorrect. Since its formation, the kingdom was enlarged in 1801 by the addition of the island of Ireland - already ruled by the British monarchy - to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was then reduced in 1922 by the independence of the Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland. The name of the kingdom changed accordingly, in 1927 becoming The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. British was also used to describe members of nations that formed part of the British Empire. This use now, however, could be seen as justifying the colonial era, even if only applied historically.

Modern use of the term 'British'

The modern use of the term 'British' is as an adjective to describe someone or something from the United Kingdom. It is officially used as the term to describe the nationality of a citizen of the United Kingdom. Irish Nationalists may reject this term as offensive, as it is used to describe Irish people in Northern Ireland. Many people from England, Scotland and Wales also dislike the term, preferring to define themselves as natives of their own particular country. It is also frequently used to describe residents of the United Kingdom's current colonies. This may still offend some people, though since the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 all residents of the United Kingdom's remaining colonies have been eligible for British citizenship, making the term more apt. British occurs in the legal term British Islands . This was coined to describe all of the islands of the British Isles, exlcuding those that form part of the Republic of Ireland, when they act together as a political whole. Geographically, the term can be used in various ways:
- To describe someone from the island of Great Britain
- In the term British Isles, the traditional term for the entire archipelago of islands that lie off the north west coast of France, of which Great Britain and Ireland are the two biggest. Note that this is not intended to imply that all of these islands are part of the United Kingdom, for many of them are part of the Republic of Ireland. However, confusion caused by this term can lead to offense.
- The term has historically been used to describe someone or something from the British Isles. Due to the above mentioned potential for offense, this rarely happens today. For example the British Lions a rugby team which draws players from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland has been renamed to the British and Irish Lions.
- Sometimes British applies to an area or territory currently or formerly governed by or a dependent territory of the United Kingdom, for example the British Virgin Islands, the British Indian Ocean Territory, or British Columbia which is now a province of Canada.

Brutus of Troy

In keeping with the mediaeval penchant for etymologising country names in terms of eponomous heroes, English historians of the late mediaeval and early modern periods charted the history of the nation from Brutus of Troy, supposedly a hero of the Trojan war who founded Britain just as Aeneaus' descendant Romulus founded Rome, Frankus France, and so forth. The life of Brutus, anglicised as Brute, was recorded in the literary tradition of the Prose Brute. This was long accepted as the etymology of Britain.

See also


- List of country name etymologies
- List of United Kingdom topics
- British Isles
- United Kingdom
- Great Britain
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Constitutional status of Cornwall The Cornish question
- Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 merging the Kingdom of England and the Principality of Wales
- Act of Union 1707 merging Scotland and England to form Great Britain
- History of Britain
- History of Wales
- History of Scotland
- History of England
- British Kings
- List of British monarchs

Sources and further reading


- A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World, 3000 BC - 1603 AD by Simon Schama, BBC/Miramax, 2000 ISBN 0786866756
- A History of Britain, Volume 2: The Wars of the British 1603-1776 by Simon Schama, BBC/Miramax, 2001 ISBN 0786866756
- A History of Britain - The Complete Collection on DVD by Simon Schama, BBC 2002
- The Isles, A History by Norman Davies, Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0195134427
- Shortened History of England by G. M. Trevelyan Penguin Books ISBN 0140233237
- Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English by Eric Partridge, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1966

External links


- [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/ British History Online] Category:British Isles Category:History of Britain Category:Europe simple:Britain

Indie rock

Indie rock is rock music that falls within the indie music description. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with indie music as a whole, though more specifically implies that the music meets the criteria of being rock, as opposed to indie pop or other possible matchups. These criteria vary from an emphasis on rock instrumentation (electric guitars, bass guitar and live drums) to more abstract (and debatable) rockist constructions of authenticity. The music commonly regarded as indie rock is descended from what was known as alternative rock during the 1980s; this name refers to the fact that it was an alternative to mainstream rock. Alternative bands of the time, in turn, were influenced by the punk rock, post-punk, and New Wave movements of the 1970s and early 1980s. During the first half of the 1990s alternative music, led by grunge bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, broke into the mainstream and achieved commercial chart success. Shortly thereafter, the alternative genre became commercialised, as mainstream success attracted major-label investment and commercially-oriented or manufactured acts with a formulaic, conservative approach. With this, the meaning of the label "alternative" changed away from its original, more countercultural meaning, and the term "indie rock" fell into greater use. "Indie rock" is shorthand for "independent rock," which stems from the general rule that most of its artists are signed to independent record labels, rather than major record labels. It is not strictly a genre of music (given that musical style and independence are not always correlated), but is often used as an umbrella term covering a wide range of artists and styles, connected by some degree of allegiance to the values of underground culture, and (usually) describable as rock and roll. Genres or subgenres often associated with indie rock include lo-fi, post-rock, shoegazer, garage punk, emo, slowcore, c86, twee pop, and math rock, to list but a few; other related (and sometimes overlapping) categories include alternative rock and indie pop. Typically, indie artists place a premium on maintaining complete control of their music and careers, often releasing albums on their own independent record labels and relying on touring, word-of-mouth, and airplay on independent or college radio stations for promotion. Some of its more popular artists, however, may end up signing to major labels, though often on favourable terms won by their prior independent success.

Indie: status or genre?

In the UK, indie music charts have been compiled since at least the 1980s. These charts initially featured independent bands that emerged from punk and post-punk, as well as indie pop artists such as Aztec Camera and Orange Juice, the C86 jangle-pop movement and the twee pop of Sarah Records artists. The bands were distinguished by having their records released by small labels, independently of the major record companies. The 1980s indie scene directly influenced 1990s Britpop artists such as Blur and Suede (though many of these were technically not wholly "indepedent" artists, being signed to major labels). More recently, the term "indie rock" has become so incredibly broad that almost anything from post-punk to alt-country to synth-pop to afrobeat to ambient to noise pop to IDM to psychedelic folk to hundreds of other genres can fall under its umbrella. In fact, there are likely to be several popular, and wildly varying, strains of indie rock going at any given time. For example, some of the more popular recent strains include:
- New folk, an updated take on the folk music of the 1960s, typically designated by quiet vocals and more ornate, orchestral instrumentation and arrangements. (See: Sufjan Stevens, Iron and Wine)
- Freak-folk, a more experimental take on New Folk that generally revolves around quirky, psych-inflected folk songs and ballads. (See: Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Animal Collective, Six Organs of Admittance)
- New Weird America, the most heavily psych-damaged strain of New Folk, frequently consisting of avant-garde noise, drones, or dissonance, and often employing natural field recordings for added atmosphere. (See: No-Neck Blues Band, Tower Recordings, Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice)
- Dance-punk, a hybridization of electronic dance music and punk rock aesthetics. (See: LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, !!!, Out Hud, Radio 4)
- Garage rock revival, a throwback to a more primitive 60s rock and roll sound which was heavily influenced by Delta blues. (See: The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Hives, The Von Bondies)
- Nu-gaze, an updated version of shoegazer that tends to lean more heavily on synths than its more guitar-focused predecessor. (See: Sigur Ros, Ulrich Schnauss, M83, Serena Maneesh)
- Indietronic, a descendent of electropop that finds a more conventional approach to indie rock or indie pop backed almost exclusively by highly digitized electronic instrumentation. (See: The Postal Service, The Notwist, Manitoba, Dntel, Lali Puna) Also among the most popular strains of indie rock at present is Neo-Wave. Popularized by bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and Futureheads, it is influenced primarily by the New Wave and post-punk movements of the 1980s. The core of this movement has mostly been the resurgence of spiky 80's post punk rhythms and riffs akin to those played by Gang of Four, Television and Wire. Often this style has been blended with other alternative genres such as garage rock (Death From Above 1979), synth rock (The Killers) and post-punk (Interpol). Some would also classify the Scissor Sisters and many others within this genre, which is very popular in the UK, forming the backbone of the Zane Lowe show, a popular evening radio show on Radio 1. Whether this particular movement embodies the indie ethos is debatable. Many of these bands are signed to independent labels, and express a disdain of the major-label marketing apparatus. (In the 8th January 2005 issue of NME, Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand authored an article championing the genre, saying independent labels 'have character', how they are 'run by people who are passionate about music' and stressing 'why independent record labels are so important' as the saviour of good music.) Critics point out that, while many of the bands are signed to labels technically independent of the Big Four, the movement is highly commercial, image-oriented and market-driven, with millions of dollars spent on marketing and the investment of corporate promoters such as MTV, Clear Channel and Carling; a far cry from the traditional indie world of labels run out of bedrooms by friends of the bands and unconcerned with commercial success. Furthermore, much of this movement has been said to be rigidly formulaic, with a set of aesthetic stances (i.e., the severe black suits and thin ties of bands such as Interpol and Kaiser Chiefs) and sounds imitating a small number of 1970s/1980s post-punk and New Wave bands, and thus not particularly independent in spirit. While some artists in this movement may embody the DIY aesthetic and unconcerned attitude of indie more than others, it cannot be said to infuse the entire movement. Further muddying the waters of the technical definition of "indie" is the fact that independence from major labels and independence from market-driven commercialism are not always correlated. For a time in the late 1990s, three of the most successful artists in the UK indie charts were
- NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. All three were signed to Zomba, which was technically an independent label at the time. (Zomba has since become part of major label Sony BMG). In contrast, there have been a small number of notable artists (such as Radiohead, Pulp and The Flaming Lips) who have maintained considerable creative independence and won critical acclaim whilst signed to major labels.

Indie Rock in North America

"Scenes" are localized music-oriented communities that exist in many cities, especially in the U.S. and Canada. These have existed for decades now, in one way or another, but it is now commonplace for a city or town to have a punk scene, a metal scene, or many other scenes based on other forms of art. Indie music scenes became important in the early 1980s, when the rest of the country caught up with punk rock music from New York and London. Scenes are important in keeping indie and punk rock fresh and inventive, because it allows people from a wide audience to hear new independent music and contribute their own talents to it. Obviously, depending on what town one is in, the feel of the scene (and therefore the music that comes out of it) may change significantly. Arguably, the 1980s indie scene in Washington D.C. was pivotal in changing the outcome of punk and indie rock for decades to come. Bands like Minor Threat, the Bad Brains, Fugazi, and Rites of Spring helped to shape the sound of underground music for years to come. Los Angeles was important around this this time as well, producing bands like the Descendents, Bad Religion, and Black Flag. Around the mid-1980s, as punk and New-Wave's mainstream influence died down considerably, there rose a couple of other important movements. Minneapolis was very important around this time. Bands like Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen, and the Replacements would influence many punk bands after them. People involved in these bands, such as Bob Mould and Paul Westerberg still contribute to the music scene today. During the late 1980s in the Bay Area of California, bands like Operation Ivy, Green Day, and later, Rancid would take form to give a new sound to punk rock. On the opposite end of the country, Frank Black, Kim Deal, and Kristin Hersh were forming bands like the Pixies, Throwing Muses, and eventually The Breeders. These bands would influence the next wave of indie rock, which came from Seattle. The Seattle scene became popular in the early 1990s, when bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and the Screaming Trees had immense success with their music. This was unique since it signaled the first time in a long time that punk rock or indie rock had become once again in vogue with the masses. Bands such as the Pixies and Sonic Youth, who were not given much mainstream credibility up to this point, found themselves adored by new fans. As of the new millenium, there are many new scenes appearing on the radar in North America, all with unique sounds. One is the Omaha-based Saddle Creek Records, which is home to several highly regarded indie rock acts, most notably Bright Eyes and Cursive. Bright Eyes singer/songwriter and Omaha native Conor Oberst, who started the label, has been called the "King of Indie Rock" by Rolling Stone magazine, although his "indie cred" is often less than high. Some publications such as Pitchfork Media are now claiming Montreal as North America's indie rock capital, due to bands such as The Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes and The Unicorns. Other Canadian indie-rock notables include The Organ. Portland, Oregon has also become a hot spot for indie bands, being the home of such acts as The Decemberists, The Dandy Warhols, Quasi, and the late Elliott Smith. San Diego has bred its fair share of influential bands such as The Locust, Black Heart Procession, Three Mile Pilot, and The Album Leaf. New York City (notably the neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn) has also been cited as a major scene for recent indie rock music with such bands as The Walkmen, TV on the Radio, Interpol, the Strokes, the French Kicks and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Los Angeles' indie scene is mostly centered in the gritty Koreatown and the bohemian Silverlake areas of the city, which have given rise to such bands as Moving Units, Autolux, the Midnight Movies, the Movies, Giant Drag, Icebird, and the Blood Arm. The Washington, DC area has also re-emerged as a hotbed of indie music. The area gained notoriety in the 1980s when it became one of the flagship cities of the American hardcore punk movement, with bands such as Minor Threat, Government Issue and Rites of Spring. All of these bands were on Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye's own record label, Dischord Records. Now the city is re-emerging as a hotbed of indie rock acts, namely MacKaye's own Fugazi, as well as Q and Not U, Black Eyes, Dead Meadow, Decahedron, and The Evens: Who have inspired many local DC bands such as pg. 99, Make Up Crestfallen, Haram, Reactor No. 7, Majority Rule and many others who are all just as equal and talented because they're all helping make the Washington, DC area a major factor in the indie rock movement thats been growning since the 1960's throughout all of Northern America and largly the world over.

See also


- List of indie rock artists
- List of independent record labels
- List of Australian indie rock bands
- Questionable Content

External links


- [http://www.extremeindieradio.com eXtreme Indie Radio - Unsigned Music Without Limits!]
- [http://www.indiebandradio.com Indie Band Radio - All Unsigned... All the Time!]
- [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com Pitchfork Media: The definitive online resource for independent music news and reviews]
- [http://www.nme.com/ NME: Britain's original indie-friendly publication]
- [http://www.trouserpress.com/ Trouserpress: Massively influential 1980s indie publication, now an online record guide]
- [http://www.last.fm/tag/indie Last.fm's indie radio]
- [http://www.xfm.co.uk/ XFM: main UK indie radio station]
- [http://www.quoster.com/ Quoster: Quote database targeted at indie kids]

References


- Mathieson, Craig (2000), The Sell-In: How the Music Business Seduced Alternative Rock, Sydney, Allen and Unwin Category:Alternative music

Paul Heaton

Paul David Heaton (born May 9, 1962 in Bromborough, Merseyside, United Kingdom) is the lead singer and songwriter of The Beautiful South, and previously of The Housemartins. In 2001, he released his first solo album 'Fat Chance' under the alias of 'Biscuit Boy'. The album was then re-issued in 2002 using his real name. He lives in Manchester.

External links


- [http://www.paulheaton.com/ paulheaton.com]

Chris Lang

Chris Lang is the voice of all the characters except for Kipper.They include Tiger,Pig,Arnold,Jake and the Bleeper People.

Norman Cook

Fatboy Slim (born on July 16, 1963, Quentin Leo Cook) also known as Norman Cook is a British musician in the dance music genre. His style is known as big beat, a combination of hip hop, breakbeat, rock, and rhythm and blues. He stopped using 'Quentin' and began calling himself 'Norman' long before he adopted any other pseudonym.

History

Cook grew up in Reigate, Surrey, and was educated at Reigate Grammar School. He started a punk fanzine as a teenager and at sixth-form college met Paul Heaton. At 18, Cook went to university to study a BA in English, Politics and Sociology. Although he had begun DJing some years before, it was at this time that he began to develop his skills on the thriving Brighton club scene. In 1985 he was diverted by a call from his old friend, Paul Heaton. Heaton had moved to Hull and had formed a guitar band called The Housemartins. The Housemartins' bassist had just quit on the eve of their first national tour and, although Cook had lost interest in the rock scene and could barely play a musical instrument, he agreed to move to Hull to join them. The band soon had a hit single with "Happy Hour". They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of "Caravan of Love". However, by 1988 they had split up. Heaton and the band's drummer Dave Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South, while Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred. It was at this time that he first started working with young studio engineer Simon Thornton, with whom he continues to make records. All Cook's records released from that point onwards have involved both of them to varying degrees (Thornton is credited in 2004 as "Executive Producer" for example). Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton and Lester Noel, rapper MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo (included the Number 1 single, "Dub Be Good to Me"). "Dub Be Good To Me" caused a legal dispute revolving around allegations of infringement of copyright through the liberal use of unauthorised samples: the bassline was a note-for-note lift from The Clash's "The Guns Of Brixton" and the song also borrowed heavily from the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good To Me". The 1991 follow-up album Excursion on the Version, an exploration of dub and reggae rhythms, failed to repeat the success of its predecessor. Cook then formed Freakpower, with horn player and singer Ashley Slater. The duo released their debut album, Drive Thru Booty, in 1994, which contained the single "Turn On Tune In Cop Out". The cut was picked up by the Levi's company for use in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign. In 1995, Cook enlisted help from producer friends Tim Jeffery and JC Reid to create a solo album, Pizzaman. The album featured one track ("Happiness") that was picked up by the Del Monte Foods corporation for use in a UK fruit juice ad. In 1996, Cook then re-joined Ashley Slater for the second Freakpower album, titled Everything for Everybody. Later that same year, Cook adopted the alter-ego pseudonym Fatboy Slim and began frequenting the Brighton club The Big Beat Boutique. While DJing at the club, Cook befriended the Chemical Brothers, who suggested that he work on his own material instead of merely DJing. The Fatboy Slim album Better Living Through Chemistry (released through Skint Records) marked Cook's emergence into the big time. Filled with retro samples and funk-laden grooves, the album was among the first in the then-new big beat sound. It also spawned one Top 40 UK hit, "Everybody Needs a 303". After Cook's remix of Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha" topped the charts, such musical heavy hitters as Madonna and U2 asked him to produce for them. Fatboy Slim's next work was the single "The Rockafeller Skank" which was released prior to the album You've Come a Long Way, Baby, both of which came out in 1998 to rave reviews. This album also produced the single "Praise You", which also became a major dance hit, giving Cook his first UK solo number one. Its video, directed by Spike Jonze, won numerous awards. Further Fatboy Slim works have appeared in movies, television series, and more ads. Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars was released in 2000 and featured two collaborations with Macy Gray. It also included "Sunset (Bird of Prey)", a slower tempo piece based around a sample of Jim Morrison from The Doors, and "Weapon of Choice", which also boasted an award-winning video starring Christopher Walken. Cook was recently awarded a star on the city of Brighton's Walk of Fame, next to that of Winston Churchill. He married TV personality Zoë Ball in 1999; the couple have one son named Woody. Cook is also a minority owner of the football club he has supported since moving to Brighton in the late 80's, Brighton & Hove Albion. In 2002, Q magazine named Fatboy Slim in their list of the 50 Bands to See Before You Die. In January 2003, Cook and his wife underwent a very public break-up, but three months later, they were reconciled. In 2004, Cook released two remixes in June and July, based on Max Sedgley's "Happy" and "Follow Me Follow Me (Quem Que Caguetou)" by Black Alien & Speed. The latter, a Hip Hop hit from Brazil, became popular in europe after having appeared on the Nissan X-Trail advert (portraying a more extreme type of marathon). Fatboy Slim's remix was then used in the advert itself. His first album in four years, Palookaville, was also announced in July. Cook's next studio album was confirmed for release on 4th October in the UK (Skint records) and 5th October for the US (Astralwerks). In the UK, Radio 1 received an exclusive play of the first single "Slash Dot Dash", while in the US "The Joker" (a collaboration with Bootsy Collins) had been exclusively aired. The song was appearing on the radio and was made quickly available on iTunes months ahead of the album release. Palookaville represented a significant shift in style for Cook, with a reduction in the traditional Fatboy Slim reliance on vocal loops, and the introduction of real instruments (Cook himself plays bass on some of the album's tracks, with Simon Thornton playing various other instruments, along with various guests, e.g. Justin Robertson) and more conventional song structures. More "traditional" Fatboy Slim tracks such as "Jin Go Lo Ba" coexist with full-length vocal tracks such as a rendition of the Steve Miller Band's "The Joker". The album also features many more vocal collaborations, including with rapper Lateef and Brighton-based band Johnny Quality. In 2005, his 2004 hit single "Wonderful Night" was placed on Konami's Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 for Playstation 2. In October 2005 Fatboy Slim and Talking Heads singer David Byrne revealed their plans for a musical about Imelda Marcos, the controversial ex-First Lady of the Philipines (during the notorious dictatorship of her husband, the Marcos family stole billions of dollars from that country's treasury) . It is set to premier at Australia's Adelaide Festival of Arts in March 2006

Bands & Pseudonyms


- The Housemartins
- Beats International
- Freakpower
- Pizzaman

Discography

Albums


- Pizzaman (1995) pre-Fatboy Slim moniker
- Better Living Through Chemistry (1996)
- On the Floor at the Boutique (Live) (1998)
- You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998)
- Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000)
- Live on Brighton Beach (Live) (2002)
- Big Beach Boutique II (Live) (2002)
- My Game (Live) (2002)
- Palookaville (2004)

Hit singles


- 1997 "Everybody Needs a 303" #34 UK
- 1998 "The Rockafeller Skank" #6 UK
- 1998 "Gangster Trippin'" #3 UK
- 1999 "Praise You" #1 UK, #36 US
- 1999 "Right Here Right Now" #2 UK
- 1999 "Badder Badder Schwing" (Freddy Fresh feat. Fatboy Slim) #34 UK
- 2000 "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" #9 UK
- 2001 "Demons" (feat. Macy Gray) #16 UK
- 2001 "Star 69" / "Weapon of Choice" #10 UK
- 2001 "A Song for Shelter" / "Ya Mama" #30 UK
- 2004 "Slash Dot Dash" #12 UK
- 2004 "Wonderful Night" #59 UK
- 2005 "The Joker" #32 UK
- 2005 "Don't Let The Man Get You Down" - Didn't Chart

External links


- [http://www.fatboyslim.net/ Fatboy Slim's official website]
-
- [http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/norman_cook.htm A Conversation with Norman Cook] Slim, Fatboy Category:British musicians Category:Electronic musicians Category:English football chairmen and investors ja:ファットボーイ・スリム

Chris Lang

Chris Lang is the voice of all the characters except for Kipper.They include Tiger,Pig,Arnold,Jake and the Bleeper People.

Sean Welch

Sean Welch (born April 12 1965) is the bassist for The Beautiful South and former roadie for The Housemartins. Born in Enfield, he played in a number of school bands, but unlike many budding musicians he was dismissed for his lack of musical skill. By the time he was twenty years of age he was on the dole and wondered what to do with his life. When he heard John Peel play "Flag Day" on the radio, he wrote to the Housemartins to ask them if they would play in Norfolk. Although his first reply said that they had never played there but hoped to, another reply shortly afterwards said that they would soon be playing in Norwich. When he arrived, he found the place deserted. Paul Heaton was playing with a ball, and Paul asked Sean if he wanted to go to the pub with him. Sean agreed, and Paul asked him to become the tour bus driver and part of the "A-team" for the Housemartins; Sean accepted. Sean often showed off his bass skills while working for the Housemartins, so it was no surprise that, when the Beautiful South was formed, he was one of the first to be asked to join. Welch, Sean Welch, Sean

Kingston-Upon-Hull

Hull or Kingston upon Hull is a city and unitary authority situated on the north bank of the Humber estuary. It is surrounded by the East Riding of Yorkshire and forms part of that county for ceremonial purposes. It is part of the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England.

Details

Unlike many other aged English cities, Hull has no cathedral. It does, however, contain the Holy Trinity Church, which claims to be the largest parish church in England. Hull has an extensive museum and visitor quarter which includes Wilberforce House, Hull and East Riding Museum, the Ferens Art Gallery, the Maritime Museum, Streetlife and Transport Museum, the Spurn Lightship, the Arctic Corsair and the Deep. It also features the University of Hull as well as a smaller campus for the University of Lincoln, and a large FE college, Hull College. Hull is the home of the Queens Gardens, the Hull Marina and is close to the Humber Bridge, the fourth-longest single-span suspension bridge in the world. The city has a football team playing at national league level, Hull City, who play at the Kingston Communications Stadium. The city has two Rugby League teams, Hull FC in the Super League who, along with Hull City AFC, play at the Kingston Communications Stadium and Hull Kingston Rovers in League One of the National Leagues playing at "New" Craven Park. Hull is the only city in the UK with its own independent telephone network company, Kingston Communications, with its distinctive cream telephone boxes. Formed in the 1910s as a municipal department by the City Council, it remains the only locally-operated telephone company in the UK, although now privatised. Kingston upon Hull has one of the most advanced computer networks in the world — a metropolitan area network. The local accent is distinctive and noticeably different from the standard Yorkshire accent. The most notable feature of the accent is the strong "goat fronting"; a word like goat, which is in standard (southern) English and across most of Yorkshire, becomes ("geurt") in and around Hull. Hull's daily newspaper is the Hull Daily Mail. BBC Radio Humberside, Viking FM, the University of Hull's Jam 1575 and Kingstown Radio the hospital-based radio station, all broadcast to the city. Transport within the city is provided by two main bus operators — Stagecoach in Hull and East Yorkshire Motor Services. A smaller operator, Alpha Bus and Coach, provides one of the three Park and Ride services in the city, whilst East Yorkshire and Stagecoach provide the other two. Hull is twinned with Freetown in Sierra Leone, Niigata in Japan, Raleigh, North Carolina in the USA, Reykjavik in Iceland, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Szczecin in Poland. Hull, Massachusetts in the USA is named for this city, as is Hull, Quebec, which is part of the Canadian national capital region.

History

The original settlement of Wyke, or Wyke-Upon-Hull, was probably established by the Cistercian monastery of Meaux. A few miles upstream of the modern city, the port was used by the abbey for distribution of its wool. The location became strategically important to the English in conflict with the Scottish in the late 13th century. Edward I selected the site for its ideal proximity to his kingdom's adversary. Kingston-Upon-Hull was an advantageous port from which to launch his campaigns, sufficiently deep within the boundaries of England to afford security. The associated royal charter, dated April 1, 1299 remains preserved in Hull's Guildhall Archives. Guildhall Archives The charter of 1440, constituted Kingston upon Hull a corporate town and granted that instead of a Mayor and Baliffs there should be a Mayor, Sheriff and twelve Aldermen who should be Justices of the Peace within the town and county. Hull was a major port during the Later Middle Ages and its merchants traded widely to ports in Northern Germany, the Baltics and the Low Countries. Wool, cloth and hides were exported, and timber, wine, furs and dyestuffs imported. Leading merchant, Sir William de la Pole, helped establish a family prominent in government. Bishop John Alcock, founder of Jesus College and patron of the grammar school in Hull, hailed from another Hull mercantile family. Hull grew in prosperity and importance during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This is reflected in the construction of a number of fine, distinctively decorated brick buildings of which Wilberforce House (now a museum dedicated to the life of William Wilberforce) is a rare survival. In 1642 Hull's governor Sir John Hotham declared for the Parliamentarian cause and later refused Charles I entry into the City and access to its large arsenal. He was declared a traitor and despite a parliamentarian pardon was later executed. (He was actually executed by the parliamentarians, not the royalists, when he tried to change sides.) This series of events was to precipitate the English Civil War since Charles I felt obliged to respond to the 'insult' by besieging the City; an event that played a critical role in triggering open conflict between the Parliamentarian and Royalist causes. Hull developed as a British trade port with mainland Europe, Whaling until the mid 19th Century and deep sea fishing until the Anglo-Icelandic Cod War 1975-1976, which resolution led to a major decline in Hull's economic fortune. It remains a major port dealing mostly with bulk commodities and commercial road traffic by RORO ferry to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge on mainland Europe. The city remains a UK centre of food processing. Because of its docks and proximity to continental Europe the city sustained particularly significant damage in bombing raids during the Second World War and much of the city centre was devastated. Most of the centre was rebuilt in the years following the war, but it is only recently that the last of the "temporary" car parks that occupied the spaces of destroyed buildings have been redeveloped. Hull's administrative status has changed several times. It was a county borough within the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1889 and in 1974 it became a non-metropolitan district of Humberside. When that county was abolished in 1996 it was made a unitary authority. In 2003 Hull came top of a so-called 'Crap Towns' survey in the book edited by Sam Jordison and Dan Kieran. Two years later it was also deemed the 'worst town in the UK' in a Channel 4 television programme. It is now a thriving city with many new developments in the process of completion. [http://www.hull.co.uk/index.aspx link Hull]

Notable residents


- Andrew Marvell, poet and parliamentarian grew up in Hull and represented the town in Parliament. A secondary school is named after him in the Bilton Grange area of the city.
- William Wilberforce, the leading slavery abolitionist, was born in Hull 1759, baptised at Holy Trinity church and represented the City as its Member of Parliament until his death in 1833. A sixth form college is named after him in the east of the city.
- Joseph Malet Lambert, a British education reformer who proposed universal education as an economic stimulus was born in Hull in 1853. A secondary school in the east of the city is named after him.
- Thomas R. Ferens philanthropist, industrialist and Member of Parliament for East Hull from 1906-1918, proved to be one of the city's greatest benefactors, endowing among others University College, the Ferens Art Gallery, and East Park in 1927.
- Amy Johnson, the pioneering aviator who was the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, was born in Hull in 1903. A statue depicting her can be found near to the city centre's main Library.
- Though not born in the city, the notorious arsonist and serial killer Bruce Lee lived in Hull and committed his crimes there in the 1970s.
- Tom Courtenay, the highly respected actor, was born in Hull.
- Roland Gift, actor and singer with the Fine Young Cannibals, was born in Hull in 1962.
- Lene Lovich, punk singer, attended school in Hull in the 1960s.
- Hull is also the adopted home of Paul Heaton, of The Housemartins and now The Beautiful South. The other members of the Beautiful South are all from Hull.
- BBC Weatherman Alex Deakin comes from the area.
- Kelly Bailey, singer, model and dramatic actress was born in Hull in 1981.
- Jon Culshaw, the impressionist and comedian, began his career as a DJ on Hull station Viking FM.
- BBC Radio 1 presenters JK and Joel first honed their partnership on Viking FM.
- Stevie Smith, poet, was born in Hull.
- Lionel Davidson, novelist, was born in Hull.
- Philip Larkin, poet and librarian, worked in Hull University.
- Douglas Dunn, poet, worked in Hull.
- Maureen Lipman, actress.
- Ian Carmichael, actor.
- Andrew Lincoln, actor.
- Brian Rix, actor.
- Debra Stephenson, actress.
- Benjamin Stonehouse
- Nick Barmby, footballer.
- Mick Ronson, guitarist with David Bowie's Spiders From Mars and musical partner of Ian Hunter.
- Reece Shearsmith, comedian, born in Hull Norma Watterson, folk singer
- Thomas Perronet Thompson, radical reformer, MP and advocate of universal suffrage was born in Hull in 1783.
- Rob Hubbard, a very famous Commodore 64 SID6581 composer was born in Hull.
- Gerald Thomas, famous Carry-On director was born in Hull. Hull had a thriving music scene in the early eighties with bands such as The Red Guitars, Jane's Plane, Bushfire, The Housemartins, and Everything But the Girl (who took their name from a local furniture shop's advertising slogan). The Housemartins and EBTG went on to achieve international fame, and to a lesser extent, so did the Red Guitars. Bushfire moved down to London and became well known on the music scene there, while Jane's Plane, an all-women band of great local popularity, broke up. Later, the Hull band Kingmaker achieved moderate chart success. Roland Gift DJed at local nightclub Spiders and owned another nightclub in the city. The city currently has a moderately large hardcore punk and emo music scene. The Music scene in Hull is thriving at present with over a hundred bands playing at various venues across the city throughout the week. Some bands have gone on to receive national recognition. Fonda 500 and Freaks Union are regularly playlisted on MTV and The Paddingtons have been signed by former Oasis mentor Alan McGee and have had two singles enter the UK's Top 30. The Adelphi is still probably the most famous of venues in the city having hosted the likes of Radiohead, Stone Roses, Mardrae, The Fabulators and Oasis back in their formative years. Just recently in the last two years, The Sesh at Linnet & Lark has hosted weekly Live Music events with attendances averaging 300+. Bands to take note of include The Beautiful South [http://www.beautifulsouth.co.uk/bs/ link Beautiful South] ERNEST (http://www.ernestnet.com/), The Landau's, Turismo, The Applewhites, Dirty Dreamers, The Bonnitts[http://www.thebonnitts.co.uk www.thebonnitts.co.uk], Last People On Earth and the 59 Violets.

External links


- [http://www.vrhull.co.uk/ Virtual Reality Tour Of Hull]
- [http://www.holy-trinity.org.uk/ Holy Trinity church]
- [http://www.theadelphi.com/ The Adelphi Club]
- [http://www.g1ksw.co.uk G1KSW Homepage. Info on Hull] Category:Cities in Yorkshire Category:Cities in England Category:Local government districts in Yorkshire Category:Coastal cities Hull Category:Unitary authorities in England nb:Kingston upon Hull

1983 in music

See also: 1982 in music, other events of 1983, 1984 in music, 1980s in music and the list of 'years in music'

Events

The most long-term influential release of 1983 is probably Head over Heels by the Cocteau Twins, which sold poorly upon its initial release. In the ensuing years, the album's eclectic assortment of alternative rock, New Wave and synth pop influences became a cornerstone of later alternative rock groups, most especially in the United Kingdom, where the Cocteau Twins' mix of airy textures and breathless vocals (dream pop) mutated into genres like twee pop, space rock and shoegazing, and eventually hit mainstream success with a psychedelic-influenced form, Britpop. Another album that eventually became enormously influential is Kill 'Em All by Metallica. This, their debut, is often considered the first purely thrash metal album, and helped lead the way for the diversification of heavy metal genres in the later part of the decade. Kill 'Em All 's popular success was quite limited, though it received rave reviews from metal critics and fans for its then-unique blend of earlier heavy metal pioneers, especially the New Wave of British heavy metal like Judas Priest, and hardcore punk, such as The Ramones. Quiet Riot's Metal Health was enormously popular in 1983, and was the first heavy metal album to go to #1 on the pop charts. The lead single, "Cum on Feel the Noize" (cover of Slade) was also a huge hit, and set the stage for the mainstream crossover of later hair metal bands like Guns n' Roses and Def Leppard. Metal Health is also the only album in Quiet Riot's catalogue to achieve much success critically or popularly. The country music legend Kenny Rogers records his 23rd studio album "We've Got Tonight," which is his last album for Liberty records. He signs to RCA for a guaranteed sum of no less than $20 million for 6 albums, the biggest record deal of all-time up to that point. His earnings for those recordings will amount to even more, but no details have ever been made public. Some releases from 1983 deserve special mention:
- The Police's Synchronicity was their final release together before breaking up, and was enormously popular, including one of their more popular songs, "Every Breath You Take"
- Culture Club's Kissing to Be Clever was their popular breakthrough, and included one of their most well-known songs, the hit single "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
- Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) was also their breakthrough success, and included their signature tune, the title track
- Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil was their breakthrough, and included "Looks That Kill", though they would go on to greater popular and critical success in the later part of the decade after recovering from the shock of member Vince Neil's near-fatal car accident
- Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones was his first album for Island Records, and the first in a series of three thematically and stylistically linked albums that established him as a critical darling and cult favorite
- New Order's Power, Corruption & Lies released. In some countries, it included the best-selling 12" record of all time, "Blue Monday"; the album was the second since forming from the ashes of Joy Division (after the suicide of Ian Curtis) and the first to achieve critical or popular success, as it was a stylistically innovative mix of synth vocals and dance-heavy beats
- Duran Duran scored hits from three separate albums in this year (Rio, the reissue of Duran Duran, and Seven and the Ragged Tiger)
- Merle Haggard began a run of chart success in this year, which continued for about two years. His duet album with Willie Nelson, Pancho & Lefty, was an enormous critical and popular success and did much to revitalize the careers of both entertainers, especially the hit title track
- Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood was more popular than any blues album since the late 1960s, and did much to establish country-blues as a commercially viable genre
- George Strait's Right or Wrong sold extremely well, and is a pivotal album in the development of the honky tonk revival during the rest of the decade.
- Publication of A Generative Theory of Tonal Music by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff.
- February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York
- November - first Now That's What I Call Music! compilation released in the UK.
- Diana Ross performs in Central Park in the pouring rain
- The Police breakup
- Highest point of the 1981-1985 Menuditis and Menudomania all over Latin America.
- Run DMC releases their debut single, "It's Like That"/"Sucker M.C.'s"
- The Dust Brothers form
- The Misfits break up; Glenn Danzig forms Samhain
- A-Ha forms in Norway
- Death forms
- Dinosaur Jr. forms
- Megadeth form
- Phish forms
- Red Hot Chili Peppers form
- Youth Choir forms (later called The Choir)
- Budgie breaks up
- The UK singles chart starts to use electronic terminals in selected stores to gather sales information. The old "sales diary" method will be gradually phased out over the next few years.

Albums released


- Restless and Wild - Accept
- Flick of the Switch - AC/DC
- No Parole From Rock & Roll - Alcatrazz
- Forged in Fire - Anvil
- Lesson Well Learned EP - Armored Saint (first release)
- High Land, Hard Rain - Aztec Camera
- Into the Unknown - Bad Religion
- Live From Earth - Pat Benatar
- The Crossing - Big Country
- Live Evil - Black Sabbath
- Let's Dance - David Bowie
- Johnny 99 - Johnny Cash
- Hello, I Must Be Going! - Phil Collins
- Colour By Numbers - Culture Club
- Head over Heels - Cocteau Twins
- Punch the Clock - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
- Da Da - Alice Cooper
- Yes Sir, I Will - Crass
- Japanese Whispers - The Cure
- Les p'tits mots - Dalida
- Ton prénom dans mon coeur - Dalida
- Canterbury - Diamond Head
- Pyromania - Def Leppard
- Construction Time Again - Depeche Mode
- Holy Diver - Dio
- Breaking the Chains - Dokken (major label debut), (rerelease)
- Seven and the Ragged Tiger - Duran Duran
- Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. (Drawings of Patient O. T.) - Einstürzende Neubauten
- Europe - Europe
- Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
- Touch - The Eurythmics
- Let's Start A War (Said Maggie One Day) - The Exploited
- Fastway - Fastway
- Out For Blood - Lita Ford (solo debut)
- What Funk? - Grand Funk Railroad
- Samurai - Grand Prix
- Ageless Medley EP - Amy Grant
- A Christmas Album - Amy Grant
- Heart to Heart - Merle Haggard
- Pancho & Lefty - Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson
- That's the Way Love Goes - Merle Haggard
- Rock 'n' Soul, Part 1 - Hall & Oates
- Back to the Mystery City - Hanoi Rocks
- Self-Destruction Blues Hanoi Rocks
- The Luxury Gap - Heaven 17
- No Rest For The Wicked - Helix
- Riding with the King - John Hiatt
- Feel My Soul - Jennifer Holliday
- Metal Circus - Hüsker Dü
- Piece of Mind - Iron Maiden
- Night And Day - Joe Jackson
- Waylon & Company - Waylon Jennings
- Take It to the Limit - Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
- Too Low for Zero - Elton John
- Shine On - George Jones
- Frontiers - Journey
- Pipes of Peace - Paul McCartney
- Lick It Up - KISS
- Headhunter - Krokus
- Madness - Madness
- Into Glory Ride - Manowar
- Script for a Jester's Tear - Marillion
- Confrontation - Bob Marley and the Wailers
- We Are One - Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
- Behind the Scene - Reba McEntire
- Business As Usual - Men At Work
- A Volar - Menudo
- Kill 'Em All - Metallica (debut)
- Offramp - The [[Pat Metheny]] Group
- Travels(Live) - The [[Pat Metheny]] Group
- 31 July: Oriental Towers - The Modern Art
- Shout at the Devil - Mötley Crüe
- Another Perfect Day - Motörhead
- Sound Elixir - Nazareth
- Take it to the River - Willie Nelson
- Tougher than Leather - Willie Nelson
- Without a Song - Willie Nelson
- Dazzle Ships - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
- Power, Corruption & Lies - New Order
- Trouble in Paradise - Randy Newman
- American Made - The Oak Ridge Boys
- Dreamgirls - Original Broadway Cast Album
- Bark At the Moon - Ozzy Osbourne
- Metal Magic - Pantera
- Principle of Moments - Robert Plant
- Urban Dance Floor Guerillas - P-Funk All Stars
- The Final Cut - Pink Floyd
- Works - Pink Floyd
- Everywhere at Once - The Plimsouls
- Break Out - The Pointer Sisters
- Synchronicity - The Police
- Queensrÿche EP - Queensrÿche
- Metal Health - Quiet Riot (American debut)
- Bent Out of Shape - Rainbow
- Subterranean Jungle - The Ramones
- Ratt EP - Ratt
- All for One - Raven
- Neruda - Red Rider
- Imagination - Helen Reddy
- Hootenanny - The Replacements
- Murmur - R.E.M. (full length debut)
- Can't Slow Down - Lionel Richie
- We've Got Tonight - Kenny Rogers
- Eyes That See In The Dark - Kenny Rogers
- In Heat - The Romantics
- Assault Attack - The Michael Schenker Group
- Built to Destroy - The Michael Schenker Group
- Hearts and Bones - Paul Simon
- Show No Mercy - Slayer
- Mommy's Little Monster - Social Distortion
- Confusion Is Sex - Sonic Youth (debut)
- Southern Death Cult EP - Southern Death Cult (first release by the band to eventually be known as The Cult)
- Works - Status Quo
- All the Best - Stiff Little Fingers
- Right or Wrong - George Strait
- Steeler - Steeler (Yngwie Malmsteen & Ron Keel's 1st band, This band's only release)
- Yentl (soundtrack) - Barbra Streisand
- Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies (debut)
- She Works Hard For The Money - Donna Summer
- Speaking in Tongues - Talking Heads
- The Hurting - Tears for Fears (debut)
- Life - Thin Lizzy
- Thunder and Lightning - Thin Lizzy
- Hand of Kindness - Richard Thompson
- Never Surrender - Triumph
- You Can't Stop Rock & Roll - Twisted Sister (major label debut)
- Lost in the Feeling - Conway Twitty
- Merry Twistmas - Conway Twitty
- Faster Than The Speed Of Night - Bonnie Tyler
- Labour Of Love - UB40
- Under A Blood Red Sky - U2
- War - U2
- Peace Thru Vandalism - The Vandals
- 1984- Van Halen
- Flashdance (soundtrack) - Various Artists
- Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan
- At War with Satan - Venom
- Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (debut)
- Swordfishtrombones - Tom Waits
- The Waterboys - The Waterboys (debut)
- Even the Strong Get Lonely - Tammy Wynette
- Good Love & Heartbreak - Tammy Wynette
- 90125 - Yes
- Mean Streak - Y&T
- No Parlez - Paul Young
- Zebra - Zebra
- Eliminator - ZZ Top

Top hits on record


- "1999" - Prince
- "A Girl Called Johnny" - The Waterboys
- "Add It Up" - Violent Femmes
- "Africa" - Toto
- "All Night Long (All Night)" - Lionel Richie
- "All Time High" - Rita Coolidge
- "Always Something There to Remind Me" - Naked Eyes
- "Another State Of Mind" - Social Distortion
- "Australiana" - Austen Tayshus #1 (a)
- "Baby, Come to Me" - Patti Austin with James Ingram
- "Baby Jane" - Rod Stewart
- "Bad Boys" - Wham!
- "Bad Day" - Carmel
- "Bark At The Moon" - Ozzy Osbourne
- "Beat It" - Michael Jackson
- "Big Log" - Robert Plant
- "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
- "Blind Vision" - Blancmange
- "Blister In The Sun" - Violent Femmes
- "Bloodstone" - Judas Priest
- "Blue Monday" - New Order
- "Blue World" - The Moody Blues
- "Bop Girl - Pat Wilson #1 (a)
- "Boxerbeat" - JoBoxers
- "Breaking Us In Two" - Joe Jackson
- "Buffalo Soldier" - Bob Marley and the Wailers
- "Buried Treasure" -Kenny Rogers
- "Burning Down The House" - Talking Heads
- "Calling Your Name" - Marilyn
- "Candy Girl" - New Edition
- "Can't Get Used To Losing You" - The Beat
- "Cattle And Cane" - The Go-Betweens
- "Chance" - Big Country
- "Change" - Tears For Fears
- "China Girl" - David Bowie
- "Chinese Cafe" - Joni Mitchell
- "Church of the Poison Mind" - Culture Club
- "Club Tropicana" - Wham!
- "Come Back And Stay" - Paul Young
- "Countdown/New World Man" - Rush
- "Cruel Summer" - Bananarama
- "Cry Me A River" - Mari Wilson
- "Dark Is The Night" - Shakatak
- "Dear Prudence" - Siouxsie and the Banshees
- "Delirious" - Prince
- "Did You Have To Love Me Like You Do?" - The Coconuts
- "Dirty Laundry" - Don Henley
- "Don't Cry" - Asia
- "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away" - Phil Collins
- "Don't Talk To Me About Love" - Altered Images
- "Double Dutch" - Malcolm McLaren
- "Down Under" - Men at Work
- "Drop The Pilot" - Joan Armatrading
- "Electric Avenue" - Eddy Grant
- "Every Breath You Take" - The Police
- "Everyday I Write The Book" - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
- "Everything Counts" - Depeche Mode
- "Family Man" - Hall & Oates
- "Femme" - Dalida
- "Fields Of Fire(400 Miles)" - Big Country
- "Flashdance... What a Feeling" - Irene Cara
- "Foolin'" - Def Leppard
- "Garden Party" - Marillion
- "Gimme All Your Lovin'" - ZZ Top
- "Give It Up" - KC and the Sunshine Band
- "Gloria" - Laura Branigan
- "Gold" - Spandau Ballet
- "He Knows You Know" - Marillion
- "Heartache Avenue" - The Maisonettes
- "Hold Me Now" - The Thompson Twins
- "Hungry Like The Wolf" - Duran Duran
- "I Am (I'm Me)" - Twisted Sister
- "I Cannot Believe It's True" - Phil Collins
- "I Don't Care Anymore" - Phil Collins
- "I Don't Remember(Live)" - Peter Gabriel
- "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" - Elton John
- "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" - Culture Club
- "I'm Still Standing" - Elton John
- "In A Big Country" - Big Country
- "In The Neighborhood" - Tom Waits
- "I.O.U." - Freeez
- "Is There Something I Should Know?" - Duran Duran
- "Islands In The Stream" - Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
- "It Don't Matter To Me" - Phil Collins
- "It's Raining Men" - The Weather Girls
- "Johnny B. Goode" - Peter Tosh
- "Jump (For My Love)" - Pointer Sisters
- "Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club
- "Keep Feeling (Fascination)" - The Human League
- "Kiss The Bride" - Elton John
- "Le restaurant italien" - Dalida
- "Les p'tits mots" - Dalida
- "Let The Music Play" - Shannon (singer)
- "Let's Dance" - David Bowie
- "Let's Stay Together" - Tina Turner
- "Lick It Up" - Kiss
- "Listen To The Radio:Atmospherics" - Tom Robinson
- "Little Red Corvette" - Prince
- "Long Hot Summer" - The Style Council
- "Love Blonde" - Kim Wilde
- "Love is a Battlefield" - Pat Benatar
- "Love Is A Stranger" - Eurythmics
- "Love Of The Common People" - Paul Young
- "Love On Your Side" - The Thompson Twins
- "Love Town" - Booker Newberry III
- "Mama" - Genesis
- "Many Rivers To Cross" - UB40
- "Marguerita Time" - Status Quo
- "Market Square Heroes" - Marillion
- "Maxine" - Sharon O'Neil
- "Modern Love" - David Bowie
- "