Drum and bass is a genre of electronic music characterised by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, sampled sources, synthesizers. The music grew out of breakbeat hardcore; the popularity of drum and bass at its commercial peak ran parallel to several other homegrown dance styles in the UK. A major influence was the original Jamaican reggae sound. Another feature of the style is the complex syncopation of the drum tracks' breakbeat. Drum and bass subgenres include breakcore, ragga jungle, darkstep, neurofunk, ambient drum and bass, liquid funk, jump up, funkstep and drill'n' bass. From its roots in the UK, the style has established itself around the world. Drum and bass has influenced many other genres like hip hop, big beat, house, trip hop, ambient music, jazz and pop. Drum and bass is dominated by a small group of record labels. Major international music labels had shown little interest in the drum and bass scene until BMG Rights Management acquired RAM in February 2016. Drum and bass remains most popular in the UK, although it has developed scenes all around the world in countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Australia.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a growing nightclub and overnight outdoor event culture gave birth to new genres in the rave scene including breakbeat hardcore and hardcore jungle, which combined sampled syncopated beats, or breakbeats, other samples from a wide range of different musical genres and samples of music and effects from films and television programmes. From as early as 1991, tracks were beginning to strip away some of the heavier sampling and "hardcore noises" and create more bassline and breakbeat led tracks; some tracks took their influence from reggae and this style would become known as hardcore jungle, whilst darkcore were experimenting with sounds and creating a blueprint for drum and bass noticeable by late 1993. By 1994, jungle had begun to gain mainstream popularity, fans of the music became a more recognisable part of youth subculture; the genre further developed and fusing elements from a wide range of existing musical genres, including the raggamuffin sound, dancehall, MC chants, dub basslines, complex edited breakbeat percussion.

Despite the affiliation with the ecstasy-fuelled rave scene, jungle inherited associations with violence and criminal activity, both from the gang culture that had affected the UK's hip-hop scene and as a consequence of jungle's aggressive or menacing sound and themes of violence. However, this developed in tandem with the positive reputation of the music as part of the wider rave scene and dancehall-based Jamaican music culture prevalent in London. By 1995, whether as a reaction to, or independently of this cultural schism, some jungle producers began to move away from the ragga-influenced style and create what would become collectively labelled, for convenience, as drum and bass; as the genre became more polished and sophisticated technically, it began to expand its reach from pirate radio to commercial stations and gain widespread acceptance. It began to split into recognisable subgenres such as jump-up and Hardstep; as a lighter and jazz-influenced style of drum and bass called "intelligent drum and bass" gained mainstream appeal, additional subgenres emerged including techstep, which drew greater influence from techno music and the soundscapes of science fiction and anime films.

The popularity of drum and bass at its commercial peak ran parallel to several other genres native to the UK, including big beat and hard house. Towards the turn of the millennium, its popularity was deemed to have dwindled, as the UK garage offshoot known as speed garage yielded several hit singles. Speed garage shared high tempos and heavy basslines with drum and bass, but otherwise followed the established conventions of "house music", with this and its freshness giving it an advantage commercially. Di Vogli says, "It is forgotten by my students that a type of music called "garage house" existed in the late 1980s alongside hip house, acid house and other forms of house music." He continues, "This new garage of the mid-90s was not a form of house or a progression of garage house. The beats and tempo that define house are different; this did cause further confusion in the presence of new house music of the mid-1990s being played alongside what was now being called garage." Despite this, the emergence of further subgenres and related styles such as liquid funk brought a wave of new artists incorporating new ideas and techniques, supporting continual evolution of the genre.

To this day and bass makes frequent appearances in mainstream media and popular culture including in television, as well as being a major reference point for subsequent genres such as grime and dubstep, producing successful artists including Chase & Status, Netsky and Pendulum. Drum and bass incorporates a number of scenes and styles, from the electronic, industrial sounds of techstep to the use of conventional, acoustic instrumentation that characterize the more jazz-influenced end of the spectrum; the sounds of

Grand Central Stockport is a retail and leisure complex in Stockport, Greater Manchester. It is adjacent to Stockport railway station and the complex first opened in 1991. Since it has included various leisure facilities such as a multiplex cinema, a swimming pool, a Cineworld Cinema a bowling alley, a gym, a Quasar complex, various food outlets; as of 2013, the area is being redeveloped and only half of the development is still open, including the pool, along with some other businesses. The remainder of the complex nightclub and cinema has been demolished in preparation for a new multi-storey car park and office complex. Grand Central Stockport was owned by Norwich-based private property company Targetfollow, who acquired the complex for £10.8m in 2004. In January 2011, after lack of progress on the development scheme, Stockport Council purchased the complex. In December 2011, Stockport Council announced that Muse Developments, the urban regeneration division of construction group Morgan Sindall had been selected as the preferred developer with a report to be presented to the council the following week.

The revamped regeneration plans include an office quarter for the town centre, a hotel, public space outside the railway station. In addition, the redevelopment would include a multi-storey car park and to make the site into a more attractive gateway into the town centre; the new redevelopment plans are valued at £145m. The Grand Central Pools have the only 50m Swimming Pool in Stockport, are operated by Life Leisure on behalf of Stockport Council. Life Leisure took over the running of the pool from Serco Leisure in October 2011. In 2008 the pool was named as a British Swimming Intensive Training Centre, one of only five across the United Kingdom. In addition the Stockport Metro Swimming Club are based at the pool. Former facilities include a Heaven and Hell nightclub, which closed in 2006 after the chain went into administration and the premises were reclaimed by Targetfollow; the centre contains all containing different tariffs. Some are in place to provide extra parking for rail users, with all day and longer stay tariffs, however the majority of space is for those using the complex.

It was announced in February 2007 that the complex was to be redeveloped by owners Targetfollow, at an estimated cost of £100 million. The development was to have been completed by 2010; the proposals were designed as a part of Stockport Council's Future Stockport masterplan. The redevelopment plans have been put on hold following the financial crisis, as of 2010 development has not commenced; the redevelopment plans include construction of a multi-storey car park, adding of a more significant retail element to the complex and a Travelodge hotel. In total the redevelopment will add 400,000 sq ft to the scheme and nearly triple the car parking spaces to 1,500, it will include 200 residential apartments and improved Public Spaces. The planning application was submitted in July 2007; the planning application was successful and outline planning permission for the entire scheme was granted. In July 2010 the owners of the complex, Targetfollow narrowly avoided going into administration, after loans exceeding £200m provided by Lloyds Banking Group, expired.

In total the companies debt in July 2010 was estimated at around £700m. In January 2011, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council purchased the complex, citing lack of progress on the redevelopment scheme, it is that under local authority ownership the redevelopment scheme will go ahead. In December 2011, Muse Developments were selected as the preferred developers for a revamped £145m scheme containing an office quarter, larger car park and more public space, with the exception of the swimming pool and cinema, demolition of the other buildings, including where the nightclubs stood, took place in the spring of 2012 as part of the future plans for the complex; the new multi storey car park opened in February 2014. As of 2013, the three detailed phases of the council's redevelopment plan are scheduled for completion in 2014, 2015, 2020. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Life Leisure Grand Central Pools

Mónica Carrió Esteban is a former weightlifter, competing in the 75 kg category and representing Spain at international competitions. She participated at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 75 kg event, she competed at world championships, most at the 2001 World Weightlifting Championships. Mónica is the sister of weightlifter Lorenzo Carrió. CARRIO Esteban Monica at the International Weightlifting Federation Monica CARRIO at the International Olympic Committee Mónica Carrió Esteban at Comité Olímpico Español "SPORTS – Turkey grabs 2 more weightlifting medals". Web.hurriyetdailynews.com. 1998-02-05. Retrieved 2017-02-25. "Mónica Carrió vence en su esperado regreso a la competición". Levante-EMV. Retrieved 2017-02-25. "Summer Olympics 2000 Results – Weightlifting". A.espncdn.com. 2000-09-26. Retrieved 2017-02-25. "The Sydney 2000 Olympic Summer Games sport result: weightlifting". Marcolympics.org. Retrieved 2017-02-25