1.
Alternative rock
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Alternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s and 2000s. In this instance, the word refers to the genres distinction from mainstream rock music. The terms original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their debt to either the musical style or simply the independent. Ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music, Alternative rock is a broad umbrella term consisting of music that differs greatly in terms of its sound, its social context, and its regional roots. Most of these subgenres had achieved minor mainstream notice and a few bands representing them, such as Hüsker Dü, with the breakthrough of Nirvana and the popularity of the grunge and Britpop movements in the 1990s, alternative rock entered the musical mainstream and many alternative bands became successful. By the end of the decade, alternative rocks mainstream prominence declined due to a number of events that caused grunge and Britpop to fade, emo attracted attention in the larger alternative rock world, and the term was applied to a variety of artists, including multi-platinum acts. Post-punk revival artists such as Modest Mouse and The Killers had commercial success in the early, before the term alternative rock came into common usage around 1990, the sort of music to which it refers was known by a variety of terms. In 1979, Terry Tolkin used the term Alternative Music to describe the groups he was writing about, in 1979 Dallas radio station KZEW had a late night new wave show entitled Rock and Roll Alternative. College rock was used in the United States to describe the music during the 1980s due to its links to the radio circuit. In the United Kingdom, dozens of small do it yourself record labels emerged as a result of the punk subculture, according to the founder of one of these labels, Cherry Red, NME and Sounds magazines published charts based on small record stores called Alternative Charts. The first national chart based on distribution called the Indie Chart was published in January 1980, at the time, the term indie was used literally to describe independently distributed records. By 1985, indie had come to mean a particular genre, or group of subgenres, at first the term referred to intentionally non–mainstream rock acts that were not influenced by heavy metal ballads, rarefied new wave and high-energy dance anthems. The use of alternative gained further exposure due to the success of Lollapalooza, for which festival founder, in the late 1990s, the definition again became more specific. Defining music as alternative is often difficult because of two conflicting applications of the word, the name alternative rock essentially serves as an umbrella term for underground music that has emerged in the wake of punk rock since the mid-1980s. Alternative bands during the 1980s generally played in clubs, recorded for indie labels. Sounds range from the gloomy soundscapes of gothic rock to the guitars of indie pop to the dirty guitars of grunge to the 1960s/1970s revivalism of Britpop. This approach to lyrics developed as a reflection of the social and economic strains in the United States and United Kingdom of the 1980s, by 1984, a majority of groups signed to independent record labels mined from a variety of rock and particularly 1960s rock influences. This represented a break from the futuristic, hyper-rational post-punk years
2.
Portishead, Somerset
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Portishead /pɔːrtɪsˈhɛd/ is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary, close to Bristol, but within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It has a population of around 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, by the time of the 2011 Census the population had increased to approximately 24,000. Portishead has a history as a fishing port. As a Royal Manor it expanded rapidly during the early 19th century around the docks, a power station and chemical works were added in the 20th century, but the dock and industrial facilities have since closed and been redeveloped into a marina and residential areas. Portishead was also the control centre used by British Telecom for non-direct dialled calls to maritime vessels. The towns population is expanding, and Portishead is now primarily a town for Bristol and its environs. The headquarters of Avon and Somerset Constabulary are in Portishead, the name Portishead derives from the port at the head of the river. It has been called Portshead and Portschute at times in its history and Portesheve in the Domesday Book, the town’s recorded history dates back to Roman times, although there is also evidence of prehistoric settlement, including polished flint axe heads. There were also Iron Age settlements in the area, of which Cadbury Camp was the largest, other sites that have been identified include a 1,200 by 600 feet site that was successively occupied by the Romans, Britons and Danes. The Berkeley family held it for generations until it passed by marriage to the Cokes of Holkham in Norfolk, in the 14th century it belonged to Everard le Frenshe. In 1621 the Bristol Corporation purchased large portions of land in Portishead, the rights of the corporation over the manor was disputed but they held it until 1836 when they sold it for £8,050. The parish of Portishead was part of the Portbury Hundred, the town was built on the mouth of a small tributary of the Severn Estuary near the mouth of the River Avon. The old pill or jetty provided protection for craft against the Bristol Channels large tidal range and its position meant Portishead was used to guard the King Road, as the waters around the headland are called. In 1497 it was the point for John Cabot on the Matthew. A fort was built on Battery Point, and was used during the English Civil War when the town supported the Royalists, guns were also placed at Battery Point during World War II. The King Road was the site of an action in 1758 when HMS Antelope captured HMS Belliqueux. A mill was built on Welhay stream but this was replaced by tidal mills, an outer sea wall was built allowing the local marshes to be drained and increased the land available for farming. The dominant architecture is early Victorian, with some maintaining their original features
3.
Melody Maker
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Melody Maker was a British weekly pop/rock/disco music newspaper, one of the worlds earliest music weeklies. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born composer, publisher Lawrence Wright, in 2000 it was merged into long-standing rival New Musical Express. Originally the Melody Maker concentrated on jazz, and had Max Jones, one of the leading British proselytizers for that music and it was slow to cover rock and roll and lost ground to the New Musical Express, which had begun in 1952. MM began its Melody Maker LP charts in November 1958, two years after the Record Mirror published the first UK Albums Chart, MM had larger and more specialised advertising, soon-to-be well-known groups would advertise for musicians. It ran pages devoted to minority interests like folk and jazz, a 1968 Melody Maker poll named John Peel best radio DJ, attention which John Walters revealed may have helped Peel keep his job despite concerns at BBC Radio 1 about Peels style and record selection. Melody Maker supported glam rock and progressive rock in the 1970s, Coleman had been insistent that the paper should look like The Daily Telegraph, but Williams wanted the paper to look more contemporary. He commissioned a design, but this was rejected by Coleman. During this period Melody Maker was described as the journal. In January 1972, in a moment for rock journalism. It was during this interview that Bowie claimed, Im gay, OH YOU PRETTY THING ran the headline, and swiftly became part of pop mythology. Bowie later attributed his success to this interview, stating that, Yeah and it was that piece by Mick Watts. During his tenure at the paper, Watts also toured with and interviewed artists including Syd Barrett, Waylon Jennings, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, in 1980, after a strike which had taken the paper out of publication for a period, Williams left MM. Several journalists, such as Chris Bohn and Vivien Goldman, moved to NME, Coleman left in 1981, the papers design was updated, but sales and prestige were at a low ebb through the early 1980s, with NME dominant. While MM continued to devote most space to rock and indie music, it covered techno, rap and post rock, two of the papers writers, Push and Ben Turner, went on to launch IPC Medias monthly dance music magazine Muzik. The paper printed harsh criticism of Ocean Colour Scene and Kula Shaker, in 1992, they gave a French rock band called Darlin a negative review calling them a daft punky thrash. Darlin eventually became the music duo Daft Punk. The magazine retained its large classified ads section, and remained the first call for musicians wanting to form a band, Suede formed through ads placed in the paper. In early 1997, Allan Jones left to edit Uncut and he was replaced by Mark Sutherland, formerly of NME and Smash Hits, who thus fulfilled boyhood dream and stayed on to edit the magazine for three years
4.
Gothic rock
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Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the ties they had to the English punk rock. Proto-gothic bands include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, the genre itself was defined as a separate movement from post-punk due to its darker music accompanied by introspective and romantic lyrics. Gothic rock then gave rise to a subculture that included clubs, fashion. Reynolds described the style as consisting of deep, droning alloys of Jim Morrison. Siouxsie and the Banshees tended to use flanging guitar effects, producing a brittle, cold, several acts used drum machines downplaying the rhythms backbeat. Gothic rock typically deals with dark themes addressed through lyrics and the musics atmosphere, the poetic sensibilities of the genre led gothic rock lyrics to exhibit literary romanticism, morbidity, existentialism, religious symbolism or supernatural mysticism. Musicians who initially shaped the aesthetics and musical conventions of gothic rock include Marc Bolan, the Velvet Underground, the Doors, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, journalist Kurt Loder would write that the song All Tomorrows Parties by the Velvet Underground is a mesmerizing gothic-rock masterpiece. However, Reynolds considers Alice Cooper as the true ungodly godfather of goth due to his theatrics, Nicos 1969 album The Marble Index is sometimes described as the first Goth album. With its stark sound, somber lyrics, and Nicos deliberate change in her look, J. G. Ballard was a strong lyrical influence for many of the early gothic rock groups, the Birthday Party drew on Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire. In 1976, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice was published, the main character, although dark, wanted companionship and love. The book, according to music journalist Dave Thompson, slowly created an audience for gothic rock by word of mouth, the same year saw the punk rock band the Damned debut. The groups vocalist, Dave Vanian, was a gravedigger who dressed like a vampire. Critic John Stickney used the gothic rock to describe the music of the Doors in October 1967. Stickney wrote that the band met the journalists in the gloomy vaulted wine cellar of the Delmonico hotel, the author noted that contrary to the pleasant, amusing hippies, there was violence in their music and a dark atmosphere on stage during their concerts. In the late 1970s, the gothic was used to describe the atmosphere of post-punk bands like Siouxsie. In March 1979, Kent used the adjective in his review of Magazines second album. Kent noted that there was a new sense of authority to their music
5.
Brit Awards
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The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industrys annual pop music awards. The name was originally a form of British, Britain or Britannia. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for music, called the Classic Brit Awards, is held each May. Robbie Williams holds the record for the most Brit Awards,13 as a solo artist, the awards originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industrys trade association, the BPI. In 1989 they were renamed the Brit Awards, masterCard has been the long-term sponsor of the event. The Brit Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox, in subsequent years, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night. From 2007, the Brit Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV. In that year, comedian Russell Brand was presenter and three awards were dropped from the ceremony, Best British Rock Act, Best British Urban Act, on 18 February 2009, the venue for the BRITs was once again the Earls Court, London. The Brit Awards were held at The O2 in London for the first time in 2011, the Brit Award statuette given to the winners features Britannia, the female personification of Britain. The first awards ceremony was in 1977, as The BRITish Record Industry BRITannia Awards, there have been 36 editions to date. The 2016 Brit Awards was held on 24 February 2016, the 1988 BPI Awards was the first of the ceremonies to be broadcast on live television. The BBC had previously broadcast the ceremony from 1985, with the shows from 1982 to 1984 not broadcast on television, the BBC continued to broadcast the renamed BRIT Awards, live in 1989 and pre-recorded from 1990 to 1992. ITV have broadcast the awards since 1993, pre-recorded until 2006, BBC Radio 1 has provided backstage radio coverage since 2008. In 1987 the BPI Awards ceremony was held in the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel, at the time there was a BBC electricians strike in effect, and the organisers decided to use a non-TV events production company, called Upfront, to manage the show. Despite the show being picketed, the event was transmitted as intended, for a while the outdoor broadcast scanner was rocked on its wheels by the protesters and they managed to shut off the power to one of the big GE video screen projectors. In 1989, the ceremony was broadcast live and presented by Fleetwood Macs Mick Fleetwood, the inexperience of the hosts, an ineffective autocue and little preparation combined to create an unprofessional show that was poorly received. The 1990 awards ceremony saw the last public appearance of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, Queen appeared at the ceremony to receive the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Mercury did not make a speech, as Brian May did the talking on behalf of the other members, in 1992, dance/art band The KLF were awarded Best British Group and were booked to open the show
6.
Tom Jones (singer)
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Sir Thomas John Woodward OBE is a Welsh singer known by his stage name Tom Jones. Joness powerful voice has been described as a full-throated, robust baritone and his performing range has included pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, soul and gospel. In 2008, the New York Times called Jones a musical shape shifter, who could slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it was pretty. Jones received a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1966, an MTV Video Music Award in 1989, Jones was awarded an OBE in 1999 and in 2006 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music. Jones was born Thomas John Woodward, at 57 Kingsland Terrace, Treforest, Pontypridd, in Glamorgan and his parents were Thomas Woodward, a coal miner, and Freda Jones. His maternal grandfather, Albert Jones, was Welsh, and his grandmother, Ada Jones, was born in Pontypridd, to parents from Somerset. Jones attended Wood Road Infants School, Wood Road Junior School and he began singing at an early age, He would regularly sing at family gatherings, weddings and in his school choir. Jones did not like school or sports, but gained confidence through his singing talent, at 12 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Many years later he said, I spent two years in bed recovering and it was the worst time of my life. During convalescence he could do little else but listen to music, Joness bluesy singing style developed out of the sound of American soul music. His early influences included blues and R&B singers Little Richard, Solomon Burke, Jackie Wilson and Brook Benton, as well as Elvis Presley, in March 1957 Jones married his high school girlfriend, Linda Trenchard when they were expecting a child together, both aged 16. The couples son, Mark, was born in the month following their wedding, to support his young family Jones took a job working in a glove factory and was later employed in construction. Joness voice has been described as a full-throated, robust baritone and he became the frontman in 1963 for Tommy Scott and the Senators, a Welsh beat group. They soon gained a following and reputation in South Wales. In 1964, the group recorded several tracks with producer Joe Meek, who took them to various labels. Later that year, Decca producer Peter Sullivan saw Tommy Scott and the Senators performing in a club and directed them to manager Phil Solomon, the group continued to play gigs at dance halls and working mens clubs in South Wales. One night at the Top Hat in Cwmtillery, Wales, Jones was spotted by Gordon Mills, Mills became Joness manager and took the young singer to London, and also renamed him Tom Jones, to exploit the popularity of the Academy Award-winning 1963 film. Eventually, Mills got Jones a recording contract with Decca and his first single, Chills and Fever, was released in late 1964
7.
Serge Gainsbourg
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Serge Gainsbourg was a French singer, songwriter, pianist, film composer, poet, painter, screenwriter, writer, actor, and director. His lyrical work incorporated a vast amount of word play to hoodwink the listener, often for humorous, provocative. Common types of play in his songs include mondegreen, onomatopoeia, rhyme, spoonerism, dysphemism, paraprosdokian. Through the course of his career, Gainsbourg wrote over 550 songs, since his death, Gainsbourgs music has reached legendary stature in France. He has also gained a following in the English-speaking world. Born in Paris, France, Gainsbourg was the son of Jewish Ukrainian migrants, Joseph Ginsburg and Olga, who fled to Paris after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Joseph Ginsburg was a trained musician whose profession was playing the piano in cabarets and casinos, he taught his children - Gainsbourg. Gainsbourgs childhood was affected by the occupation of France by Germany in World War II. The identifying yellow star Jews were required to wear haunted Gainsbourg, during the occupation, the Jewish Ginsburg family was able to make their way from Paris to Limoges, traveling under false papers. Limoges was in the Zone libre under the administration of the collaborationist Vichy government, after the war, Gainsbourg obtained work teaching music and drawing in a school outside of Paris, in Mesnil-Le-Roi. The school was set up under the auspices of local rabbis, here Gainsbourg heard the accounts of Nazi persecution and genocide, stories that resonated for Gainsbourg far into the future. Before he was 30 years old, Gainsbourg was a disillusioned painter, Gainsbourg changed his first name to Serge, feeling that this was representative of his Russian background and because, as Jane Birkin relates, Lucien reminded him of a hairdressers assistant. He chose Gainsbourg as his last name, in homage to the English painter Thomas Gainsborough and he married Elisabeth Lize Levitsky on 3 November 1951 and divorced in 1957. He married a second time on 7 January 1964, to Françoise-Antoinette Béatrice Pancrazzi and he divorced Béatrice in February 1966. In late 1967 he had a short but ardent love affair with Brigitte Bardot, to whom he dedicated the song, in mid-1968 Gainsbourg fell in love with the younger English singer and actress Jane Birkin, whom he met during the shooting of the film Slogan. Their relationship lasted over a decade, in 1971 they had a daughter, the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. Although many sources state that they were married, according to their daughter Charlotte this was not the case. Birkin remembers the beginning of her affair with Gainsbourg, he first took her to a nightclub, then to a transvestite club, Birkin left Gainsbourg when pregnant with her third daughter Lou by the film director Jacques Doillon
8.
Minehead
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Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the bank of the Bristol Channel,21 miles north-west of the county town of Taunton,12 miles from the border with the county of Devon. The parish of Minehead has a population of approximately 11,981 making it the most populous town in the West Somerset local government district and this figure includes Alcombe and Woodcombe, suburban villages which have been subsumed into Minehead. There is evidence of occupation in the area since the Bronze. There was a port at Minehead by 1380, which grew into a major trading centre during the medieval period. Most trade transferred to larger ports during the 20th century, there was a marked increase in building during the early years of the 20th century, which resulted in the wide main shopping avenue and adjacent roads with Edwardian style architecture. The towns flood defences were improved after a storm in 1990 caused flooding, Minehead is governed by a town council, which was created in 1983 and has been part of the West Somerset local government district since 1974. In addition to the church of St. Michael on the Hill in Minehead. Alcombe is also home to the Spiritualist Church in Grove Place, since 1991, Minehead has been twinned with Saint-Berthevin, a small town close to the regional centre of Laval in the Mayenne département of France. Blenheim Gardens, which is Minehead’s largest park, was opened in 1925, the town is also the home of a Butlins Holiday Park which increases Mineheads seasonal tourist population by several thousand. There are a variety of schools and religious, cultural and sporting facilities including sailing and wind surfing, the town is the starting point of the South West Coast Path National Trail, the nations longest long-distance countryside walking trail. The Minehead Railway was opened in 1874 and closed in 1971 but has since reopened as the West Somerset Railway. The town sits at the foot of a steeply rising outcrop of Exmoor known as North Hill, and the name of the town was mynydd. It has also written as Mynheafdon, Maneheve, Menehewed and Menedun. Minehead was part of the hundred of Carhampton and it is mentioned as a manor belonging to William de Moyon in the Domesday Book in 1086, although it had previously been held by Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia. William de Mohun of Dunster, 1st Earl of Somerset and his descendants administered the area from Dunster Castle, which was later sold to Sir George Luttrell and his family. There was a port at Minehead by 1380, but it was not until 1420 that money given by Lady Margaret Luttrell enabled improvements to be made. During the reign of Elizabeth I, the town had its own Port Officer similar to the position at Bristol, vessels in the 15th century included the Trinite which traded between Ireland and Bristol, and others carrying salt and other cargo from La Rochelle in France
9.
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
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It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Live as of 2001. The event features many genres of music, including rock, indie, hip hop, across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music. The main stages are the, Coachella Stage, Gobi Tent, Mojave Tent, Outdoor Theatre, and Sahara Tent, the festivals origins trace back to a 1993 concert that Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Club while boycotting venues controlled by Ticketmaster. After no event was held in 2000, Coachella returned on an annual basis beginning in April 2001, in 2002, the festival reverted to a two-day format. Coachella was expanded to a day in 2007 and eventually a second weekend in 2012, it is currently held on consecutive three-day weekends in April. Organizers began permitting spectators to camp on the grounds in 2003, Coachella showcases popular and established musical artists, as well as emerging artists and reunited groups. Coachella is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States, the 2016 festival sold 198,000 tickets and grossed $94.2 million. On November 5,1993, Pearl Jam performed for almost 25,000 fans at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, the site was selected because the band refused to play in Los Angeles as a result of a dispute with Ticketmaster. Around 1997, Goldenvoice was struggling to book concerts against larger companies, Tollett said, We were getting our ass kicked financially. We were losing a lot of bands, and we couldnt compete with the money. As a result, the idea of a festival was conceived. While attending the 1997 Glastonbury Festival, Tollett began to brainstorm ideas for a festival of his own with multiple venues. His intent was to book artists who were not necessarily chart successes, Maybe if you put a bunch of them together. Press coverage leading up to the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was dominated by Woodstock 1999, a festival in July 1999 that was marred by looting, arson, violence, and rapes. Goldenvoices insurance costs increased 40% as a result and they faced uncertainty regarding Coachellas tickets, organizers were already aiming to provide a high-comfort festival experience for Coachella but rededicated themselves to those efforts after Woodstock 1999. Advertisements boasted free water fountains, ample restrooms, and misting tents, on October 9–10,1999, the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was held. Headlining the event were Beck, the Chemical Brothers, Tool, Morrissey, originally, promoters had hoped to make the event three days and even considered the UK band Massive Attack as the third-day headliner. The organizers strived to recreate European music festivals with small crowds in a setting with plenty of turntables
10.
Public Enemy (group)
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Public Enemy is an American hip hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, Khari Wynn, DJ Lord, and the S1W group. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called them the most influential and radical band of their time, in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Public Enemy number 44 on its list of the Immortals,100 Greatest Artists of All Time, the highest ranking for a hip hop act. The group was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007, the band were announced as inductees for the 2013 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on December 11,2012, making them the fourth hip-hop act to be inducted. Carlton Ridenhour and William Drayton met at Long Islands Adelphi University in the early-1980s. M. C. Chuck D put out a tape to promote WBAU and to fend off a local MC who wanted to battle him. He called the tape Public Enemy #1 because he felt like he was being persecuted by people in the local scene and this was the first reference to the notion of a public enemy in any of Chuck Ds songs. The single was created by Chuck D with a contribution by Flavor Flav, around 1986, Bill Stephney, the former Program Director at WBAU, was approached by Ali Hafezi and offered a position with the label. Stephney accepted, and his first assignment was to help fledgling producer Rick Rubin sign Chuck D, according to the book The History of Rap Music by Cookie Lommel, Stephney thought it was time to mesh the hard-hitting style of Run DMC with politics that addressed black youth. With the addition of Flavor Flav and another local mobile DJ named Terminator X, according to Chuck, The S1W, which stands for Security of the First World, represents that the black man can be just as intelligent as he is strong. It stands for the fact that were not third-world people, were people, were the original people. Public Enemy started out as opening act for the Beastie Boys during the latters Licensed to Ill popularity, and in 1987 released their debut album Yo. Bum Rush the Show. Over the next few years, Public Enemy released It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear of a Black Planet, and Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black. In addition to ushering in the age of hip hop, during this time, Public Enemy reached the height of their popularity, adulation. The group then separated from Def Jam and has since been producing, marketing. Their debut album, Yo. Bum Rush the Show, was released in 1987 to critical acclaim, the album was the groups first step toward stardom. In October 1987, music critic Simon Reynolds dubbed Public Enemy a superlative rock band, Nation of Millions. was the first hip hop album to be voted album of the year in The Village Voices influential Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 1989, the returned to the studio to record Fear of a Black Planet. The album was supposed to be released in late 1989, but was pushed back to April 1990 and it was the most successful of any of their albums and, in 2005, was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress. Fight the Power is regarded as one of the most popular and it was the theme song of Spike Lees Do the Right Thing
