1.
Birmingham
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Birmingham is a major city and metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England lying on the River Rea, a small river that runs through Birmingham. It is the largest and most populous British city outside London, the city is in the West Midlands Built-up Area, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2,440,986 at the 2011 census. Birminghams metropolitan area is the second most populous in the UK with a population of 3.8 million and this also makes Birmingham the 8th most populous metropolitan area in Europe. By 1791 it was being hailed as the first manufacturing town in the world, perhaps the most important invention in British history, the industrial steam engine, was invented in Birmingham. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive demolition. Today Birminghams economy is dominated by the service sector and its metropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121. 1bn, and its six universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, Birminghams sporting heritage can be felt worldwide, with the concept of the Football League and lawn tennis both originating from the city. Its most successful football club Aston Villa has won seven league titles, people from Birmingham are called Brummies, a term derived from the citys nickname of Brum. This originates from the citys name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the citys earlier names. There is a distinctive Brummie accent and dialect, Birminghams early history is that of a remote and marginal area. The main centres of population, power and wealth in the pre-industrial English Midlands lay in the fertile and accessible river valleys of the Trent, the Severn and the Avon. The area of modern Birmingham lay in between, on the upland Birmingham Plateau and within the wooded and sparsely populated Forest of Arden. Birmingham as a settlement dates from the Anglo-Saxon era, within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years, by 1700 Birminghams population had increased fifteenfold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The importance of the manufacture of goods to Birminghams economy was recognised as early as 1538. Equally significant was the emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment
2.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
Reggae
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Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A1968 single by Toots and the Maytals Do the Reggay was the first popular song to use the word reggae, effectively naming the genre, Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz field, being known first as ‘Rudie Blues’, then ‘Ska’, later ‘Blue Beat’ and it is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rock steady, from the latter, stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento, calypso, African music, as well as other genres. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms, staccato chords played by a guitar or piano on the offbeats of the measure, the tempo of reggae is usually slower than ska but faster than rocksteady. The concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music, the genre of reggae music is led by the drum and bass. The bass guitar often plays the dominant role in reggae, the bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized. The guitar in reggae usually plays on the off beat of the rhythm and it is common for reggae to be sung in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, and Iyaric dialects. Reggae is noted for its tradition of criticism and religion in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love. Reggae has spread to countries across the world, often incorporating local instruments. Reggae en Español spread from the mainland South America countries of Venezuela, Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, and there have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica, Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. In Jamaica, authentic reggae is one of the biggest sources of income, the 1967 edition of the Dictionary of Jamaican English lists reggae as a recently estab. Sp. for rege, as in rege-rege, a word that can mean either rags, ragged clothing or a quarrel, a row. Reggae as a term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit Do the Reggay by The Maytals which named the genre of Reggae for the world. Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles with altering the Jamaican patois word streggae into reggae, however, Toots Hibbert said, Theres a word we used to use in Jamaica called streggae. If a girl is walking and the look at her and say Man, shes streggae it means she dont dress well
4.
Cooking Vinyl
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Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and managing director, the company is based in Acton, London. Established in 1986, Cooking Vinyl has developed a reputation as one of Europes most innovative independent labels, key to the companys longevity is its emphasis on artist-driven deals with its pioneering introduction of bespoke services-only contracts that claim no stake in artists copyrights. The first such deal drawn up in 1993 with Billy Bragg who has since re-signed to the label a total of seven times, as for recent years,2015 and 2016 were remarkable for the label, described by Uncut magazine “a template for modern independent record companies”. After topping the charts in 2015 with The Prodigy’s “The Day is My Enemy”, both records qualified for a silver disc in the UK. This same year, Richard Ashcroft reached the UK top 3 with “These People”, in these years, Cooking Vinyl Australia notched up a number 1 album with Parkway Drive, and top 5 entries with City and Colour and Kate Miller-Heidke. In 1986 Cooking Vinyl famously recorded a live performance around a campfire at a folk festival by the singer Michelle Shocked. One of its first releases, Cooking Vinyl released the recording as The Campfire Tapes, as well as its more traditional royalty agreements, Cooking Vinyl is widely regarded as a pioneer of ‘artist services’ deals where the artist retains ownership of the copyrights. The company’s first such deal came in 1993 with a reissue of Billy Braggs Back To Basics compilation, since then, Bragg has re-signed to Cooking Vinyl a total of six times, most recently in 2013 for the release of studio album Tooth And Nail. Cooking Vinyl has consistently been in the forefront of the digital revolution and it was the first European label to do a deal with the MP3 download site eMusic and the first to enter negotiations with the peer to peer file-sharing company Kazaa. In 2005 Cooking Vinyl set up its own distribution company, Uploader. Who were in turn bought by The Orchard, Cooking Vinyl has had international success from the start with Michelle Shocked The Texas Campfire Tapes selling 250,000 worldwide. Other notable releases include the Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions and Ryan Adams debut solo studio album Heartbreaker in 2000, the album was funded through a high-profile Kickstarter campaign that raised over $1.2 million in 30 days. Another notable campaign from that year was the release of Marilyn Manson’s Born Villain under a partnership between Mansons own label Hell, etc. and Cooking Vinyl. The album was a success charting at #5 in Germany, #10 in the US. Across the rest of Europe the album peaked at #4 in Austria, #6 in France, in the UK Manson reached #14 in the Official Albums Chart and #1 in the UK Rock Albums Chart. Cooking Vinyl is noted for its long relationships with many of its artists, the Pixies Charles Thompson was signed in 2000 and has had 17 releases to date with the label as Frank Black and Black Francis. Since 1994, former Doll By Doll man Jackie Leven has had 23 releases, RED, the Sony Music UK artist and label services division, announced the acquisition of Essential Music and Marketing in March 2016
5.
UB40
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UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and they have been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album four times, and in 1984 were nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. One of the worlds best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records, the ethnic make-up of the bands original line-up was diverse, with musicians of English, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish and Yemeni parentage. Their hit singles include their debut Food for Thought and two Billboard Hot 100 number ones with Red Red Wine and Cant Help Falling in Love, both of these also topped the UK Singles Chart, as did the bands version of I Got You Babe. Their two most successful albums, Labour of Love and Promises and Lies, reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. The bands line-up was stable for nearly 29 years, from March 1979 until January 2008, another member, Astro, remained with the band until November 2013, when he departed the original band to team up with Campbell and Virtue in a new version of UB40. In 2014, legal advice was sought by the band against the group containing Campbell, Virtue. The band members began as friends who each other from various schools across Birmingham. The name UB40 was selected in reference to the document issued to people claiming unemployment benefit from the UK governments Department of Employment at the time of the bands formation. The designation UB40 stood for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40, following a serious assault on Ali Campbell, he received a hefty compensation package which he put towards funding musical instruments for the fledgling band members. They were soon joined by several of their friends, firstly percussionists Yomi Babayemi and Norman Hassan, prior to this, Travers had work as an electrical apprentice for NG Bailey, whilst Robin Campbell had been an apprentice toolmaker. A month later UB40s classic lineup was rounded out with the inclusion of percussionist and vocalist Astro, Astro had previously been working for Duke Alloys sound system attending reggae dances in Birmingham. Before some of them could play their instruments, Ali Campbell and Brian Travers travelled around Birmingham promoting the band and their sound was created and honed through many long jam sessions at various locations in Birmingham. Their first gig took place on 9 February 1979 at The Hare & Hounds Pub in Kings Heath and this was commemorated in October 2011 by the unveiling of a plaque at the venue, indicating the band receiving the Performing Rights Societys Music Heritage Award. UB40 caught their first break when Chrissie Hynde saw them at a pub and gave them an opportunity as an act to her band. UB40s first single, King/Food for Thought was released on Graduate Records and it reached No.4 on the UK Singles Chart. The title of their first album, Signing Off, indicates the band was signing off from, or ending and it was recorded in a bedsit in Birmingham and was produced by Bob Lamb. Norman Hassan said of the recording, if you stripped my track down and this is because his tracks were recorded outside in the garden
6.
New Zealand's Got Talent
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New Zealands Got Talent is a New Zealand reality television show which premiered in 2008. The show is based on the Got Talent series format that originated from Americas Got Talent, the show originally screened on Prime for one series before being dropped. TV One later revived the show, with series produced in 2012 and 2013, the original line-up on Prime included Andrew Mulligan and Jason Reeves as hosts, with Miriama Smith, Paul Ellis and Richard Driver as judges. After the show was revived in 2012, the show was presented by Tamati Coffey, with Ali Campbell, Rachel Hunter, choreographer Cris Judd replaced Campbell for the shows 2013 series. Three judges appear on the show each week to provide feedback for the contestants, in 2008, New Zealand broadcaster Prime Television launched a local version of the hit international show. The hosts were TV presenter Andrew Mulligan and radio host Jason Reeves, with actress Miriama Smith, former NZ Idol judge Paul Ellis, the series had a top prize of NZ$100,000. The first episode went on air on 8 September 2008, despite good ratings for the network, Prime was unable to outrun costs and decided not to renew the series for another season. Toyota was confirmed to be the foundation partner, TVNZ confirmed a third series would be produced in 2013. Tamati Coffey returned as host, and Jason Kerrison and Rachel Hunter returned as judges, the series began on 8 September 2008 on Prime and ended on 29 October 2008. It was produced by South Pacific Pictures, starting 29 September, the live semi-finals started aired on Monday nights, with the results show on Tuesday nights. The top two finalists were dancer Chaz Cummings and musical group TMC, with Chaz Cummings eventually becoming the winner of the first series of New Zealands Got Talent, series two ran from 9 September 2012 and ended on 2 December 2012. Episodes were pre-recorded and broadcast on Sunday evenings at 7. 30pm, in February 2012, TVNZ announced that a new local version of the show was in the early stages of production and would screen on TV One. Broadcast funding agency NZ On Air committed to $1.6 million in funding to the new show, the series was hosted by Tamati Coffey, with Ali Campbell, Rachel Hunter, and Jason Kerrison as the judges. The series was won by 15-year-old singer-songwriter Clara van Wel from Blenheim who performed her own song Where Do You Find Love, 11-year-old singer Jessie Hillel from Wellington was the runner-up, with 17-year-old singer-songwriter Evan Sinton from Auckland in third place. In November 2012, TVNZ confirmed the show would return for a series in 2013. Applications for the 2013 series also opened in November, series three premiered on 15 September 2013. Host Tamai Coffey and judges Rachel Hunter and Jason Kerrison returned to the series, NZ On Air funded $800,000 towards the series, a 50% reduction from the 2012 series production. NZ On Air noted that any series would not be eligible for funding
7.
Sibling
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A sibling is one of two or more individuals having one or both parents in common. A male sibling is a brother, and a sibling is a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings often grow up together, the emotional bond between siblings is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality, and personal experiences outside the family. However, there are cases where siblings grow up in separate homes and it is known that both nature and nurture figure in development, researchers are attempting to ascertain just which one plays the larger role. Identical twins share 100% of their DNA, full siblings are first-degree relatives and, on average, share 50% of their genes out of those that vary among humans. Half-siblings are second-degree relatives and have, on average, a 25% overlap in their genetic variation. Full siblings have the same parents and are 50% related. Identical twins by definition are 100% related, there are two types of twins, identical and fraternal. Identical twins have exactly the same genes, fraternal twins are no more similar than regular siblings, often, twins with a close relationship will develop a twin language from infanthood, a language only shared and understood between the two. Studies suggest that identical twins appear to display more twin talk than fraternal twins, at about 3 years of age, twin talk usually ends. Researchers were interested in subjects who were in the years of life. They knew that past studies suggested that genetics played a role in ones personality in the earlier years of their life. However, they were curious about whether or not this was later on in life. They gathered subjects with an age of 59, who included 99 pairs of identical twins. They also gathered twins who were reared together,160 pairs of identical twins and they studied the most heritable traits in regard to personality, which are emotionality, activity level and sociability, also known as EAS. This study found that identical twins resembled each other twice as much as fraternal twins, furthermore, environment influences personality substantially, however, it has little to do with whether they are reared together or apart. This study also suggests that heritability is substantial, but not as substantial as for younger subjects, half-siblings are people who share one parent but not both. They may share the same mother but different fathers, or they may have the same father and they share only one parent instead of two as full siblings do and are on average 25% related
8.
Duncan Campbell (UB40)
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Duncan Campbell is an English musician and current lead singer of the reggae band, UB40. He joined the band in 2008 after the departure of his brother Ali Campbell, Campbell was born in Birmingham on 3 April 1958. He is the brother of former UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell and current bandmate Robin Campbell, Campbell sang in a harmony group with his brothers as children and performed with their father on stage. He also recorded an album in Jamaica for his brother Alis record label. He was a professional spoon player, I was the only professional spoon player in the country registered with the Musicians Union – until they registered me as a vocalist, said Campbell. He also worked as a manager in Barbados, ran a fish and chip shop in Perth, Australia. On 24 January 2008, UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell announced that he was leaving the band after a dispute with the management, on 30 April 2008 UB40 unveiled Duncan as their new lead singer. Duncan was offered the position of the singer in 1978. However, he turned it down at the time, and said that he wouldnt get the chance in another 30 years, Ali Campbell was disappointed but didnt object to him joining UB40. When asked why he did not join UB40 in 1978, he joked because they were crap, in 2014, Ali formed a rival version of UB40 with Astro and Mickey Virtue. He said of his brothers singing, I sat back for five years and watched my brother Duncan murdering my songs
9.
Red, Red Wine
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Red Red Wine is a song written, performed and originally recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967, included on Neils second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of someone who finds drinking red wine the way to forget his woes. For the Red Red Wine single, Bang added a choir without Neils involvement or permission. Diamonds version reached number sixty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968, a live version was released on Diamonds The Greatest Hits but the 1968 single version has never been issued on a vinyl album or CD. The song was covered by several artists shortly after Diamonds recording was released, in 1968 the Dutch singer Peter Tetteroo had a hit with a cover of the song in The Netherlands. Tony Tribe covered the song in 1969 in a reggae-influenced style, fourteen years later, UB40 recorded it in 1983 in a lighter reggae style, a version which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Diamond later performed a UB40-inspired version of the song on tour, UB40 recorded their rendition for their album of cover versions, Labour of Love. According to the band, they were familiar with Tony Tribes version. In 1988, the song was re-released as a single in the U. S. this time including the toast from Astro as he performed it at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert a few prior to its release. The single climbed to one on the Billboard Hot 100. In September 2014 the Official Charts Company announced that sales in the UK had reached 1 million, songwriter Neil Diamond has stated that it is one of his favourite covers of his songs. Diamond frequently performs the song using the UB40 reggae arrangement as opposed to the original version. Swedish group Tom & Mick & Maniacs released their version of the song in 1967 and this appears to be the first recorded version of the song. Jimmy James and The Vagabonds released a version the same year as Diamonds version. In 1968 singer Peter Tetteroo, of Dutch beat group Tee Set, the song was also covered in 1969 by singer Charles Mann. In 1970, a remake by Vic Dana became a minor Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at number 72 and reached number 30 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In early 1972, singer Roy Drusky enjoyed a top 20 hit with his version, reaching number 17 in Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the Hobos included the song on their 2004 double studio album, Radio Jah Jah. Red Red Wine was also performed by Peter Tetteroo, former singer of Tee Set, the song has also been performed by Cas Haley along with UB40 on the last episode of the season 2 show Americas Got Talent
