1.
TalkTalk Group
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TalkTalk Telecom Group plc is a company which provides pay television, telecommunications, Internet access, and mobile network services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2003 as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse and was demerged as a company in March 2010. Like some other UK broadband providers, TalkTalk has invested in its own infrastructure, known as local-loop-unbundling. Since August 2012, TalkTalk has become the UKs second quadruple play service after Virgin Media, offering TV, broadband, phone, TalkTalk is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250 Index. The company has been rated multiple times among the worst landline, the Carphone Warehouses acquisition of Opal Telecom in November 2002 gave it its own switching network providing access to BT Wholesales landline network. An initial trial was conducted in the Manchester region, and three months later, TalkTalk launched with a guarantee that calls would be cheaper than with their chief competitor BT. TalkTalk Broadband was launched in November 2004. 99/month, conditions included signing up for a minimum 18-month contract and a £29.99 initial connection fee. That same year, the Advertising Standards Authority challenged the legitimacy of TalkTalks claim that this service was truly free, TalkTalk allowed customers to escape the binding 18-month contract for broadband if it had failed to keep its service commitments in their case. To the Mail on Sunday, Dunstone stated In about 20% of customers there is kind of problem with the phone exchange. A customer satisfaction poll by uSwitch in November 2006 placed TalkTalk, by 2005, TalkTalk had 2.5 million customers following the acquisitions of the UK subsidiaries of Tele2 for £11.5 million and One. Tel for £169.6 million. Carphone Warehouse purchased the UK ISP business of AOL in October 2006 for £370m and this had risen to 2.7 million customers by January 2009. In November 2008, Charles Dunstone was reported to be looking to demerge TalkTalk from the main Carphone Warehouse business, the split was confirmed in April 2009, with plans for TalkTalk to become a separate listed company. Carphone Warehouse agreed to purchase the UK subsidiary of Tiscali in May 2009 for £236 million, the purchase was approved by the European Union Competition Commission in June 2009, and the sale was completed on 6 July 2009. Carphone Warehouse confirmed the business would merge into TalkTalk ahead of the planned demerger, the Carphone Warehouses full-year earnings statement in November 2009 revealed the TalkTalk customer base had risen to 4.1 million following the purchase of Tiscali UK earlier in the year. Tiscali UK closed to new business on 7 January 2010, in March 2010, TalkTalk and Carphone Warehouse demerged becoming publicly listed companies. Dido Harding became CEO of TalkTalk and Roger Taylor CEO of New Carphone Warehouse, in January 2010, TalkTalk launched a protest against the introduction of the Digital Economy Act 2010, and released a video protesting against the law called Home taping is killing music. Upon the passing of the bill TalkTalk issued a statement on the company blog confirming it would resist attempts to use the bill against their customers. In a study carried out by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom in 2010, TalkTalk was found to have speeds of 7. 7-9.3 Mbit/sec
2.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
3.
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
4.
Art rock
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Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from teen entertainment to an artistic statement, influences may be drawn from genres such as experimental rock, avant-garde music, classical music, and jazz. The genres greatest level of popularity was in the early 1970s through British artists, art rock is most associated with a certain period of rock music, beginning in 1966–67 and ending with the arrival of punk in the mid 1970s. After, the genre would be infused within later popular music genres of the 1970s–90s, in the rock music of the 1970s, the art descriptor was generally understood to mean aggressively avant-garde or pretentiously progressive. Art rock is used synonymously with progressive rock. Historically, the term has been used to describe at least two related, but distinct, types of rock music, art rock emphasizes Romantic and autonomous traditions, in distinction to the aesthetic of the everyday and the disposable embodied by art pop. Common characteristics include album-oriented music divided into compositions rather than songs, with complicated and long instrumental sections. Its music was used within the context of concept records. Compared to progressive rock, art rock is more challenging, noisy and unconventional and less classically influenced, art rock can also to refer to either classically driven rock, or a progressive rock-folk fusion. S. Eliot than to Carl Perkins or Willie Dixon, the boundaries between art and pop music became increasingly blurred throughout the second half of the 20th century. The first usage of the art rock, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. As pop musics dominant format transitioned from singles to albums, many rock bands created works that aspired to make grand artistic statements, as it progressed in the late 1960s – in tandem with the development of progressive rock – art rock acquired notoriety alongside experimental rock. According to biographer Richard Williams, created a new concept, the producer as overall director of the creative process, Spector transformed rock music as a performing art to an art which could only exist in the recording studio, which paved the way for art rock. The Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson is also cited as one of the first examples of the music producer. Like Spector, Wilson was known as an eremitic studio obsessive who laboriously produced fantastical soundscapes through his mastery of recording technology. Biographer Peter Ames Carlin wrote that Wilson was the forerunner of a new kind of art-rock that would combine the transcendent possibilities of art with the accessibility of pop music. According to journalist Richard Goldstein, many musicians from California desired to be acknowledged as artists. They yearned for fame, as only needy people can, but they wanted to make art
5.
Synth-pop
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Synth-pop is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late-1970s to the mid-1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestras success opened the way for bands such as P-Model, Plastics. The development of polyphonic synthesizers, the definition of MIDI. This, its adoption by the acts from the New Romantic movement, together with the rise of MTV. Synth-pop is sometimes deployed interchangeably with electropop, but electropop may also denote a variant of synth-pop that places emphasis on a harder. In the late 1980s duos such as Erasure and Pet Shop Boys adopted a style that was successful on the US dance-charts. Some artists and bands were criticised for gender bending, Synth-pop was defined by its primary use of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, sometimes using them to replace all other instruments. Borthwick and Moy have described the genre as diverse but, many synth-pop musicians had limited musical skills, relying on the technology to produce or reproduce the music. The result was often minimalist, with grooves that were woven together from simple repeated riffs often with no harmonic progression to speak of. Early synth-pop has been described as eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing, using droning electronics with little change in inflection, common lyrical themes of synth-pop songs were isolation, urban anomie, and feelings of being emotionally cold and hollow. Synthesizers were increasingly used to imitate the conventional and clichéd sound of orchestras, thin, treble-dominant, synthesized melodies and simple drum programmes gave way to thick, and compressed production, and a more conventional drum sound. Lyrics were generally optimistic, dealing with more traditional subject matter for pop music such as romance, escapism. According to music writer Simon Reynolds, the hallmark of 1980s synth-pop was its emotional, at times operatic singers such as Marc Almond, Alison Moyet and Annie Lennox. Because synthesizers removed the need for groups of musicians, these singers were often part of a duo where their partner played all the instrumentation. Later synth-pop saw a shift to a style influenced by other genres. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, the portable Minimoog, which allowed much easier use, particularly in live performance was widely adopted by progressive rock musicians such as Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman of Yes
6.
New wave music
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New wave is a genre of rock music popular from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s with ties to 1970s punk rock. New wave moved away from smooth blues and rock and roll sounds to create pop music that incorporated electronic and experimental music, mod, initially new wave was similar to punk rock, before becoming a distinct genre. It subsequently engendered subgenres and fusions, including synth-pop, college rock, common characteristics of new wave music include the use of synthesizers and electronic productions, the importance of styling and the arts, as well as diversity. In the mid-1980s, differences between new wave and other genres began to blur. New wave has enjoyed resurgences since the 1990s, after a rising nostalgia for several new wave-influenced artists, subsequently, the genre influenced other genres. During the 2000s, a number of acts explored new wave and post-punk influences, such as the Strokes, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand and these acts were sometimes labeled new wave of new wave. The catch-all nature of new music has been a source of much confusion. The 1985 discography Whos New Wave in Music listed artists in over 130 separate categories, the New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock calls the term virtually meaningless, while AllMusic mentions stylistic diversity. New wave first emerged as a genre in the early 1970s, used by critics including Nick Kent and Dave Marsh to classify such New York-based groups as the Velvet Underground. It gained currency beginning in 1976 when it appeared in UK punk fanzines such as Sniffin Glue and newsagent music weeklies such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express. In November 1976 Caroline Coon used Malcolm McLarens term new wave to designate music by bands not exactly punk, the term was also used in that sense by music journalist Charles Shaar Murray in his comments about the Boomtown Rats. For a period of time in 1976 and 1977, the new wave. By the end of 1977, new wave had replaced punk as the definition for new music in the UK. As radio consultants in the United States had advised their clients that punk rock was a fad, like the filmmakers of the French new wave movement, its new artists were anti-corporate and experimental. At first, most U. S. writers exclusively used the new wave for British punk acts. Music historian Vernon Joynson claimed that new wave emerged in the UK in late 1976, in the U. S. the first new wavers were the not-so-punk acts associated with the New York club CBGB. CBGB owner Hilly Kristal, referring to the first show of the band Television at his club in March 1974, said, furthermore, many artists who would have originally been classified as punk were also termed new wave. A1977 Phonogram Records compilation album of the same name features US artists including the Dead Boys, Ramones, Talking Heads, New wave is much more closely tied to punk and came and went more quickly in the United Kingdom than in the United States
7.
Avant-rock
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Experimental rock is a subgenre of rock music which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. From its inception, rock music was experimental, but it wasnt until the late 1960s that rock artists began creating extended, in 1967, the genre was as commercially viable as pop music, but by 1970, most of its leading players had incapacitated themselves in some form. In Germany, the krautrock subgenre merged elements of improvisation and psychedelic rock with avant-garde, later in the 1970s, significant musical crossbreeding took place in tandem with the developments of punk and new wave, DIY experimentation, and electronic music. Funk, jazz-rock, and fusion rhythms became integrated into experimental rock music. The first wave of 1980s experimental rock groups had few precedents for their sound. Later in the decade, avant-rock pursued a psychedelic aesthetic that differed from the self-consciousness, during the 1990s, a loose movement known as post-rock became the dominant form of experimental rock. As of the 2010s, the experimental rock has fallen to indiscriminate use, with virtually every modern rock band being categorized under prefixes such as post-, kraut-, psych-. Although experimentation had always existed in music, it wasnt until the late 1960s that new openings were created from the aesthetic intersecting with the social. In 1966, the boundaries between pop music and the avant-garde began to blur as rock albums were conceived and executed as distinct, self-taught rock musicians in the middle and late 1960s drew from the work of composers such as John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Luciano Berio. In addition, The Quietus Ben Graham described duos the Silver Apples, calling attention to the very recordedness of the album. This would also be reflected in contemporary experimental rock LPs, such as the Beach Boys Pet Sounds and Smile, the Whos The Who Sell Out and Tommy. The Velvet Underground were a group in experimental rock, according to Rosenberg. Peppers inspired a new consideration for experimental rock as commercially viable music, as progressive rock developed, experimental rock acquired notoriety alongside art rock. By 1970, most of the musicians which had been at the forefront of rock had incapacitated themselves. Groups such as Can, Faust, Neu, the ideas of minimalism and composers such as Stockhausen would be particularly influential. During this era, funk, jazz-rock, and fusion rhythms became integrated into experimental rock music, some groups who were categorized as post-punk considered themselves part of an experimental rock trajectory, with This Heat as one of the prominent players. Anderson claims that the no wave scene represented New York’s last stylistically cohesive avant-rock movement, steve Redhead noted the resuscitation of New Yorks avant-rock scene, including artists such as Sonic Youth and John Zorn, in the 1980s. In the late 1980s, avant-rock pursued a frazzled, psychedelia-tinged, blissed out aesthetic that differed from the self-consciousness, the UK shoegaze scene was seen by some as a continuation of an experimental rock tradition
8.
Post-rock
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As such, the term has been the subject of backlash from listeners and artists alike. Although firmly rooted in the indie or underground scene of the 1980s and early 1990s, the term post-rock is believed to have been coined by critic Simon Reynolds in his review of Bark Psychosis album Hex, published in the March 1994 issue of Mojo magazine. Reynolds expanded upon the later in the May 1994 issue of The Wire. He used the term to music using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs. He further expounded on the term, Perhaps the really provocative area for development lies. In cyborg rock, not the embrace of Technos methodology. Reynolds, in a July 2005 entry in his blog, claimed he had used the term post-rock before using it in Mojo, the term was used by American journalist James Wolcott in a 1975 article about musician Todd Rundgren, although with a different meaning. It was also used in the Rolling Stone Album Guide to name a style corresponding to avant-rock or out-rock. It also bears similarities to drone music, early post-rock groups also often exhibited strong influence from the krautrock of the 1970s, particularly borrowing elements of motorik, the characteristic krautrock rhythm. Post-rock compositions often use of repetition of musical motifs and subtle changes with an extremely wide range of dynamics. In some respects, this is similar to the music of Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Brian Eno, typically, post-rock pieces are lengthy and instrumental, containing repetitive build-ups of timbre, dynamics and texture. Vocals are often omitted from post-rock, however, this not necessarily mean they are absent entirely. When present, post-rock vocals are often soft or droning and are typically infrequent or present in irregular intervals, in lieu of typical rock structures like the verse-chorus form, post-rock groups generally make greater use of soundscapes. Reynolds conclusion defines the sporadic progression from rock, with its field of sound and lyrics to post-rock, wider experimentation and blending of other genres have recently taken hold in the post-rock scene. Cult of Luna, Isis, Russian Circles, Palms, Deftones, the resulting sound has been termed post-metal. More recently, sludge metal has grown and evolved to some elements of post-rock. This second wave of metal has been pioneered by bands such as Giant Squid. This new sound is seen on the label of Neurot Recordings
9.
Post-progressive
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Post-progressive is a type of rock music distinguished from vintage progressive rock styles, specifically 1970s prog. Post-progressive draws upon newer developments in music and the avant-garde since the mid 1970s. It especially draws from ethnic musics and minimalism, elements which were new to rock music and it is different from neo-progressive rock in that neo-prog pastiches 1970s prog, while post-progressive identifies progressive rock music that stems from sources other than prog. In the opinion of King Crimsons Robert Fripp, progressive music was an attitude, Post-progressive is rock music which distinguishes itself from the persistent style of 1970s prog, seeking a return to the genres original principles. The post is meant to acknowledge the development of forms of avant-garde and popular music since the mid 1970s. Academic Kevin Holm-Hudson argues that progressive rock is a far more diverse than what is heard from its mainstream groups. Wonder where progressive rock ends and becomes psychedelia, free jazz, experimental art music and he categorizes post-progressive as a subgenre of progressive rock, whereas post-rock is a subgenre of alternative rock. Nosounds Giancarlo Erra believes that post-prog—deployed by the label Kscope—denotes a mixture of rock and post-rock. Hegarty and Halliwell note, Post-progressive identifies progressive rock that stems from other than progressive rock. This does not spread the net to include all avant-rock from the 1980s and 1990s, Post-progressive rock feeds a more explicit return to prog, in other words, a return that is not one. This trend is best exemplified by two British avant-rock acts of the 1980s and early 1990s, David Sylvian and Talk Talk, purveyors explicitly embrace new computer technologies and sounds. Some post-progressive bands still draw upon selective aspects of vintage prog, particular influences on latter-20th century post-progressive artists include Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, the Beatles, and King Crimson. Post-progressives beginning may be located after 1978, after the 1980s, the post-progressive style followed in the traditions of King Crimsons 1981 album Discipline, with its introduction of minimalism and ethnic musics, elements which were new to rock. Hegarty and Halliwell credit Radiohead for creating a new wave of progressiveness and they did not need to refer back to the sounds or styles of 1970s prog rock in order to make authentic progressive rock
10.
Polydor Records
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Polydor is a British record label and company, that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a relationship with Universals Interscope Geffen A&M label. In turn, Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom, Polydor Records Ltd. was established in London in 1954 as a British subsidiary of German company Deutsche Grammophon GmbH. The Polydor label was founded on 2 April 1913 by German Polyphon-Musikwerke AG in Leipzig, during World War I on 24 April 1917, Polyphon-Musikwerke AG acquired the German Deutsche Grammophon-Aktiengesellschaft record plant and company from the German government. The German state was taken over Grammophon and the British holdings as enemies property during World War I, Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Polyphon-Grammophon-Konzern group. It was used as a label since 1924. The British and German branches of the Gramophone Company were so departed during World War I, in turn, Deutsche Grammophon records exported from Germany were released on the Polyphon Musik and Polydor labels. The new foreign branches were founded for example into Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Polydor became a popular music label in 1946, while the new Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft label was to become a classical music label in 1949. The previously used label, Grammophon, was disbanded, DGG gave, with an agreement dated 5 July 1949, an exclusive license from 1 July 1951 to use the Nipper-dog with gramophone to the original owners company Electrola, the German branch of EMI. In 1970, Polydor acquired the Hong Kong-based Diamond Records, which had owned and founded by the local Portuguese merchant Ren da Silva in the late 1950s. In 1972, The Grammophon-Philips Group reorganized to create PolyGram, the Polydor label continued to run as a subsidiary label under the new company. The name PolyGram is a portmanteau of Polydor and PhonoGram, into the 1980s, Polydor continued to do respectable business, in spite of becoming increasingly overshadowed by its PolyGram sister label Mercury Records. Polydor took over management of British Deccas pop catalog, A&R manager Frank Neilson was able to score a major top ten hit in March 1981 for the label with Do The Hucklebuck by Coast to Coast as well as signing Ian Dury and Billy Fury to the company. In 1984, the name was parodied in the rockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. By the early 1990s, Polydor had begun to underperform, in 1994, as Island Records recovered from its sales slump, PolyGram dissolved most of PLG into it. Meanwhile, Polydor Records and Atlas Records merged, briefly called Polydor/Atlas, in 1995, Polydor/Atlas became simply Polydor Records again. Over the next few years, Polydor tried to keep itself afloat with new artist signings, new releases, in 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and absorbed into its Universal Music Group. Today, in America, the Polydor Records name and logo is used on reissues of older material from its 1960s and 1970s heyday
11.
Bark Psychosis
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Bark Psychosis are an English post-rock band/musical project from east London formed in 1986. They were one of the bands that Simon Reynolds cited when coining post-rock as a style in 1994. In its original form, the group was a quartet of Graham Sutton, Daniel Gish, John Ling, Bark Psychosis music is also notably melodic and expressive, and arguably owes something to the English pastoral rock tradition. The band is frequently embraced by rock fans due to their experimental outlook. Sutton himself seems uncomfortable with the association, commenting, Sometimes people compare us to Pink Floyd, Im more interested in feeling, really. The band started life as a teenage Napalm Death cover project, other early influences included Sonic Youth, Talk Talk, Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Swans and Joy Division. Graham Sutton has claimed a long-term interest in dub, jazz and classical music, Bark Psychosis musical development has also been characterised by restlessness, which has contributed to the bands historical lack of stability while at the same time stimulating its creativity. In another 1994 interview, Sutton stated, The whole thing about being in this band is never repeating yourself, ive always tried to surprise myself and other people as well, fucking around with peoples preconceptions about what youre about and stuff. I really get a huge fucking kick about giving people the wrong impression. Like, it might sound initially sweet, but it aint, Bark Psychosis was formed in Snaresbrook, Essex in 1986, emerging from the 1980s East London experimental music scene that also produced AR Kane and Disco Inferno. The original two members were schoolfriends Graham Sutton and John Ling, both were aged 14 at the time that they started the band, carrying out their initial experiments using a 4-track tape recorder and a drum machine. In January 1988 Ling and Sutton left school to pursue music full-time and they recruited drummer Mark Simnett, who had previously done community work centered on St Johns Church, Stratford. The trio spent the rest of 1988 rehearsing and composing original material, a few low-key gigs followed late in the year. One of these concerts was attended by Nick Allport and Vinita Joshi of the small East London independent label Cheree Records, impressed by the band, Cheree immediately offered to release the bands first recordings. During this period, Bark Psychosis briefly featured a second guitarist, Garrison had previously played in The Moons, a band who had supported Bark Psychosis at early shows. However, his tenure with Bark Psychosis was fairly short and he would become a feared journalist. Bark Psychosis debut appearance on record was the 1988 Clawhammer flexi-disc, by this time, the band were back to their original trio lineup. Six years later, Sutton was vituperative in disowning the track, the official Bark Psychosis debut was 1989s 12-inch single All Different Things/By Blow, for which the band was augmented by an extra singer, Sue Page
12.
Rock music
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It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
13.
It's My Life (Talk Talk song)
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Its My Life is a song by the English new wave band Talk Talk. Written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, it was the track on the bands second album. It reached #46 in the UK charts, but did better in other countries, reaching #33 in Germany, #32 in New Zealand, #25 in France. It was also a success in North America, entering the Top 40 in both the United States and Canada, the single was re-released in the UK in 1985, but this time only reached #93. However, in 1990, Its My Life was reissued again to promote the compilation album Natural History and this time, the song was a hit in the UK, reaching #13, the bands highest chart-placing single in its native country. The song is featured on the Rockstar Games video game for PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 Grand Theft Auto. It also is one of the songs played during gameplay for Activision Anthology for the PlayStation 2, the song is featured on Saints Row, The Third on The Mix 107.77 radio station. There are two versions of the video for Its My Life,1984 release 7 single Its My Life —3,50 Does Caroline Know. —4,3612 single - North America Its My Life —6,14 Its My Life —3,50 Again, a Game…Again —4,0912 single - Europe Its My Life —6,16 Does Caroline Know. Because the band was on hiatus, while lead singer Gwen Stefani recorded her debut studio album. The band listened to hundreds of songs from the 1980s and narrowed it down to Its My Life, no Doubt were dubious about recording a cover and contemplated writing new material. However, they decided on Its My Life after rehearsing the song with producer Nellee Hooper, the song was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 47th Grammy Awards. Jacques Lu Cont, the programmer, created the Thin White Duke mix of Its My Life. This version was featured on the video game Karaoke Revolution Volume 2, on 9 December 2008 it was also made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series. The cover was successful in the United States, reaching number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and it was moderately successful on adult contemporary stations, reaching number 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, but had high longevity and appeared atop the Adult Top 40s recurrent chart. The single was successful in clubs, peaking at number 16 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The Recording Industry Association of America certified the digital download gold for selling half a million copies, the single dropped off the chart after 7 weeks. It was more of a success across Europe, reaching the top ten in Italy, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden and the top 20 in Austria, Belgium, France, and Switzerland
14.
Such a Shame
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Such a Shame is a song written by Mark Hollis for the English band Talk Talks second album Its My Life. Such a Shame was inspired by Luke Rhineharts The Dice Man, when asked what drove him to respond to Rhineharts book, Hollis replied, A good book, not a lifestyle Id recommend. In the US, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100, the song was also released in 2004. It was also featured in a European TV commercial for the French car Peugeot 205, in the music video the band performs the song with instruments. There are also recordings of telephone boxes, houses, cars, trees, James Marsh – cover art James Marsh – cover art German singer Sandra covered Such a Shame for her 7th studio album The Wheel of Time in 2002. Sandras version was produced by Michael Cretu and Jens Gad and this cover version was released as the albums second single in March 2002, where it reached number 76 on the official German charts. Such a Shame –4,18 Such a Shame –7,54 Such a Shame –5,22 Such a Shame –4,18 In 1984, Such a Shame was covered by James Last. Alles ist die Sekte has Such a Shame sampled for their 2003 single Harmonie and it was covered by Nouvelle Vague on their 2009 album 3. In 2012, it was covered by Belgian singer An Pierlé on her album Strange Days, polish rock band Myslovitz released a cover version in 2012 as a single. It is one of the songs on the tribute album Spirit of Talk Talk, in 2013, Dutch symphonic metal group Delain covered the song on their Interlude album. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
15.
Life's What You Make It (Talk Talk song)
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Lifes What You Make It is a song by the English band Talk Talk. It was released as a single in 1985, the first from the bands album The Colour of Spring, the single was a hit in the UK, peaking at no. 16, and charted in other countries, often reaching the Top 20. Filmed at Wimbledon Common, London, the video for the single shows the band performing in the early hours in a natural history setting. The video, directed by Tim Pope, enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV, the track was re-released as a single in 1990, charting for a second time. The song was one of the last to be conceived for The Colour of Spring, following concern from the management at the lack of an obvious single among accumulated work. Initially unwilling, Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, the source of original material for the band. Friese-Greene, I had a drum pattern loosely inspired by Kate Bushs Running Up That Hill, the track was embellished with David Rhodes guitar hook. 1Remix The Divine Comedy recorded a version of the song in 1993. The Best of the Divine Comedy, german rock band Zinoba recorded a version that featured in the film Gegen die Wand, directed by Fatih Akın, during the closing credits. The Gathering covered the song on their 2005 album Accessories – Rarities and B-Sides, a cover version was included as a bonus track on the UK version of Weezers 2008 album Weezer. Australian post-punk singer Rowland S. Howard also covered the song, on his solo album Pop Crimes. In 2011 the Danish band Dúné recorded a version of the song for the movie ID, on 19 August 2016, Placebo have released a cover version of Lifes What You Make It, as a double A-side along with the single Jesus Son. Additionally, the song is included on Placebos EP Lifes What You Make It, the track appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto, Vice City in 2002, where it plays on the pop radio station, Flash FM. Lifes What You Make It on YouTube Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
16.
Spirit of Eden
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Spirit of Eden is the fourth album by the English band Talk Talk, released in 1988 on Parlophone records. The album found critical acclaim nor commercial success on release but has since become a cult favourite. The songs were written by vocalist Mark Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene, often working in darkness, the band recorded many hours of improvised performances which were heavily edited and re-arranged into an album in mostly digital format. The songs contain elements of rock, jazz, classical and ambient music, critics often view Spirit of Eden as a departure from Talk Talks earlier and more accessible albums. Compared to their 1986 hit The Colour of Spring, it was a commercial disappointment, however a plurality of critical reviews laud the album. Talk Talk, led by singer Mark Hollis, formed in England in the early 1980s, from the start, Hollis cited jazz and classical artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Béla Bartók and Claude Debussy as major influences. But Talk Talks first two albums, The Partys Over and Its My Life, did not readily reflect such influences, critics compared the band to new wave groups. Hollis partly attributes the shortcomings of their music to a financial need to use synthesizers in place of acoustic instruments. Although critics did not favour the bands output, the first two albums were commercially successful in Europe. This gave Talk Talk the money needed to hire musicians to play on their next album. The band no longer had to rely on synthesizers, Instead, musicians improvised with their instruments for many hours, then Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene edited and arranged the performances to get the sound they wanted. A total of sixteen musicians appeared on the album, the Colour of Spring became Talk Talks most successful album, selling over two million copies and prompting a major world tour. At the same time, minimalist songs like April 5th, Chameleon Day, for the success of The Colour of Spring, EMI rewarded Talk Talk with an open budget and schedule for the recording of their next album, Spirit of Eden. Talk Talk were given control over the recording process, their manager. Recording for Spirit of Eden began in 1987 at Wessex Studios, London, engineer Phill Brown said that the album, along with its successor, was recorded by chance, accident, and hours of trying every possible overdub idea. By early March 1988, the band had finished recording Spirit of Eden and had sent a cassette of the album to EMI, after listening to the cassette, EMI representatives doubted that it could be commercially successful. They asked Hollis to re-record a song or replace material, by the time the masters were delivered later in the month, however, the label conceded that the album had been satisfactorily completed. Despite their reservations towards Spirit of Eden, EMI chose to exercise their option to extend the recording contract, the band, however, wanted out of the contract
17.
EMI Records
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The label was later launched worldwide. Records Ltd. legal entity was created in 1957 as the record manufacturing and it oversaw EMIs various labels, including The Gramophone Co. Ltd. Columbia Graphophone Company, and Parlophone Co. Ltd, in July 1965, the standalone EMI Record companies were extracted from E. M. I. Records Ltd. and folded into The Gramophone Company Ltd, on 1 July 1973, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. was renamed EMI Records Ltd. Records Ltd. was wound down and its activities were absorbed into EMI Records Ltd, earlier, on 1 January 1973, all of The Gramophone Company Ltd. pop labels had been rebranded as EMI. EMI Records then signed new acts that became global successes, Kraftwerk, Renaissance, Queen, Olivia Newton-John, Iron Maiden, Kate Bush, Sheena Easton, Pink Floyd, in 1997, EMI Records American division was folded into Virgin Records. In 2010, EMI Records opened a music division, EMI Records Nashville, which includes on its roster Troy Olsen, Alan Jackson, Kelleigh Bannen. EMI Records Nashville is a label to the Capitol Nashville unit of Universal Music Group. EMI Christian Music Group was renamed Capitol Christian Music Group, EMI Classics was sold to Warner Music Group on February 2013. After EU regulatory approval, EMI Classics was absorbed into Warner Classics on July 2013, abbey Road Studios List of record labels
18.
Polydor
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Polydor is a British record label and company, that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a relationship with Universals Interscope Geffen A&M label. In turn, Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom, Polydor Records Ltd. was established in London in 1954 as a British subsidiary of German company Deutsche Grammophon GmbH. The Polydor label was founded on 2 April 1913 by German Polyphon-Musikwerke AG in Leipzig, during World War I on 24 April 1917, Polyphon-Musikwerke AG acquired the German Deutsche Grammophon-Aktiengesellschaft record plant and company from the German government. The German state was taken over Grammophon and the British holdings as enemies property during World War I, Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Polyphon-Grammophon-Konzern group. It was used as a label since 1924. The British and German branches of the Gramophone Company were so departed during World War I, in turn, Deutsche Grammophon records exported from Germany were released on the Polyphon Musik and Polydor labels. The new foreign branches were founded for example into Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Polydor became a popular music label in 1946, while the new Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft label was to become a classical music label in 1949. The previously used label, Grammophon, was disbanded, DGG gave, with an agreement dated 5 July 1949, an exclusive license from 1 July 1951 to use the Nipper-dog with gramophone to the original owners company Electrola, the German branch of EMI. In 1970, Polydor acquired the Hong Kong-based Diamond Records, which had owned and founded by the local Portuguese merchant Ren da Silva in the late 1950s. In 1972, The Grammophon-Philips Group reorganized to create PolyGram, the Polydor label continued to run as a subsidiary label under the new company. The name PolyGram is a portmanteau of Polydor and PhonoGram, into the 1980s, Polydor continued to do respectable business, in spite of becoming increasingly overshadowed by its PolyGram sister label Mercury Records. Polydor took over management of British Deccas pop catalog, A&R manager Frank Neilson was able to score a major top ten hit in March 1981 for the label with Do The Hucklebuck by Coast to Coast as well as signing Ian Dury and Billy Fury to the company. In 1984, the name was parodied in the rockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. By the early 1990s, Polydor had begun to underperform, in 1994, as Island Records recovered from its sales slump, PolyGram dissolved most of PLG into it. Meanwhile, Polydor Records and Atlas Records merged, briefly called Polydor/Atlas, in 1995, Polydor/Atlas became simply Polydor Records again. Over the next few years, Polydor tried to keep itself afloat with new artist signings, new releases, in 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and absorbed into its Universal Music Group. Today, in America, the Polydor Records name and logo is used on reissues of older material from its 1960s and 1970s heyday
19.
Laughing Stock (album)
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Laughing Stock is the fifth and final studio album by British art rock band Talk Talk. Tape Op magazine ran an article detailing the demanding recording sessions, marked by Mark Hollis perfectionist tendencies. Engineer Phill Brown stated that the album, like its predecessor, was recorded by chance, accident, however, compared to prior Talk Talk albums, Brown noted that Laughing Stock is a different beast. I am very proud of the album, its one of my best projects. But I find it dark and claustrophobic, Pitchfork named it the eleventh best album of the 1990s, saying it makes its own environment and becomes more than the sum of its sounds. The band split up following its release, effectively making Laughing Stock their last official release, a total of sixteen musicians appeared on the album. It became their most successful album, selling two million copies and prompting a major world tour. Nonetheless, for their next album Spirit of Eden, the band chose to work towards a more unconventional and uncommercial direction. The album was compiled from a recording process at Londons Wessex Studios between 1987 and 1988 where the band worked again with Friese-Greene and engineer Philip Brown. Often working in darkness, the band recorded many hours of improvised performances which were edited and re-arranged into the final album. Spirit of Eden was not a success and although it would be acclaimed in later retrospective reviews. Their record label EMI had doubts whether it could have been successful many months in advance. They asked Hollis to re-record a song or replace material, by the time the masters were delivered later in the month, however, the label conceded that the album had been satisfactorily completed, and chose to extend the bands recording contract. The band, however, wanted out of the contract, I knew by that time that EMI was not the company this band should be with, manager Keith Aspden told Mojo. I was fearful that the money wouldnt be there to another album. EMI and Talk Talk went to court to decide the issue, justice Andrew Morritt ruled in favour of EMI, but his decision was overturned in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Talk Talk were released from the contract, nonetheless, in 1990, bassist Paul Webb left the band, officially reducing Talk Talk to the duo of Hollis and Harris. Hollis was vocal in his opposition to both releases, before the latter was released, Hollis sent letters requesting that the compilation be stopped, but EMI did not respond
20.
Duran Duran
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Duran Duran are an English new wave and synthpop band formed in Birmingham in 1978. The band grew from alternative sensations in 1982 to mainstream pop stars by 1984, by the end of the decade, membership and music style changes challenged the band before a resurgence in the early 1990s. The group were a band in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US. They have placed 14 singles in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100, when they first emerged, they were generally considered part of the New Romantic scene, along with bands such as Spandau Ballet. Soon they would shed this image, using fashion and marketing to build a more refined and they were also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The video age catapulted Duran Duran into the mainstream with the introduction of the 24-hour music channel MTV, many of their videos were shot on 35 mm film, which gave a much more polished look than was standard at the time. They also collaborated with film directors to take the quality a step further. In 1984, the band were early innovators with video technology in their stadium shows. These five members featured the most commercially successful line-up, the reunion of the original five members in the early 2000s created a stir among the bands fans and music media. Andy Taylor left the once again in mid-2006, and guitarist Dom Brown has since been working with the band as a session player. John Taylor and Nick Rhodes formed Duran Duran in Birmingham, England in 1978, at the club they were doing jobs such as John working the door and with Nick deejaying for £10 a night. They began rehearsing and regularly playing at the venue, There were many nearby nightclubs, and the one significant one, where bands such as The Sex Pistols and The Clash played gigs, was called Barbarellas. They would go on to name the band after a character from Barbarella, the character, played by Milo OShea, is named Dr. Durand Durand. The bands first singer was Stephen Duffy, Simon Colley soon joined Taylor, Rhodes and Duffy. Colley was the original bass player, as John Taylor was the guitarist at this point. This was the first complete line-up of the band played live shows. For drums and percussion, a drum machine belonging to Rhodes was used. Colley left the prior to the addition of Andy Taylor
21.
Roxy Music
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Roxy Music were an English rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the bands lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. Alongside Ferry, the longtime members were Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson, and other former members include Brian Eno, Eddie Jobson. Ferry frequently enlisted members of Roxy Music as session musicians for his solo releases, Roxy Music attained popular and critical success in Europe and Australia during the 1970s and early 1980s, beginning with their debut album, Roxy Music. The band was influential as pioneers of the more experimental, musically sophisticated elements of glam. They also provided a model for new wave acts and the experimental electronic groups of the early 1980s. The group was distinguished by their visual and musical sophistication and their preoccupation with style, Ferry and co-founding member Eno have also had influential solo careers, the latter becoming one of the most significant record producers and collaborators of the late 20th century. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Roxy Music No.98 on its The Immortals –100 The Greatest Artists of All Time list, the bands final studio album was Avalon, which became platinum-certified in the United States. The album ultimately became Ferrys 2010 album Olympia, Roxy Music played a series of 40th anniversary shows in 2011, but has since become inactive as a performing entity. In early 1970 Ferry had auditioned as lead singer for King Crimson, Andy Mackay replied to Ferrys advertisement, not as a keyboard player but a saxophonist and oboist, though he did have a VCS3 synthesizer. Mackay had already met Brian Eno during university days, as both were interested in avant-garde and electronic music, although Eno was a non-musician, he could operate a synthesizer and owned a Revox reel-to-reel tape machine, so Mackay convinced him to join the band as a technical adviser. Before long Eno was an member of the group. When founding drummer Dexter Lloyd, a classically trained timpanist, left the band, Paul Thompson responded to the advertisement and joined the band in June 1971. The groups name was partly an homage to the titles of old cinemas and dance halls, Ferry had named the band Roxy originally, but after learning of an American band with the same name he changed the name to Roxy Music. In October 1971 Roxy advertised in Melody Maker seeking the Perfect Guitarist, Manzanera also knew other well-known musicians, such as David Gilmour, who was a friend of his older brother, and Soft Machines Robert Wyatt. However, Manzanera did not initially make the band as a guitarist, the group were impressed enough with Manzanera that he was invited to become Roxy Musics roadie, an offer which he accepted. The bands fortunes were greatly increased by the support of broadcaster John Peel and this line-up of Roxy Music recorded a BBC session shortly thereafter. In early February 1972, guitarist OList quit the group abruptly after an altercation with Paul Thompson, when OList didnt show up for the next rehearsal, Manzanera was asked to come along, on the pretext of becoming the bands sound mixer. When he arrived he was invited to play guitar and quickly realised that it was an informal audition
22.
The Party's Over (Talk Talk album)
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The Partys Over is the debut album by Talk Talk. It was released in 1982 and produced by Colin Thurston, who was an engineer for David Bowie but was better known for producing Duran Durans first two albums. The Partys Over was released in July 1982 by record label EMI, in the United Kingdom, the albums single Today was a top-twenty hit. The remixed version of the single Talk Talk reached number 1 in South Africa in 1983, in the United States the album entered the Billboard Top 200, reaching number 132, while the single Talk Talk peaked at number 75. In New Zealand, the album was a hit, peaking at number 8 due to the success of Today, mark Hollis – vocals Simon Brenner – keyboards Lee Harris – drums Paul Webb – bass guitar Additional personnel Mike Robinson – mixing James Marsh – cover art Album
23.
David Bowie
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David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music, during his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the worlds best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, in the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, born in Brixton, South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. Space Oddity became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969, after a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single Starman and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, in 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. Heroes and Lodger followed, each reached the UK top five. He then reached his peak in 1983 with Lets Dance. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with styles, including industrial. He stopped concert touring after 2004, and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006, in 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar. David Robert Jones was born on 8 January 1947, in Brixton, south London and his mother, Margaret Mary Peggy, was born in Kent, and had Irish ancestry, she worked as a waitress. His father, Haywood Stenton John Jones, from Yorkshire, was an officer for the childrens charity Barnardos. The family lived at 40 Stansfield Road, near the border of the south London areas of Brixton, Bowie attended Stockwell Infants School until he was six years old, acquiring a reputation as a gifted and single-minded child—and a defiant brawler. In 1953, Bowie moved with his family to the suburb of Bromley and his voice was considered adequate by the school choir, and he demonstrated above-average abilities in playing the recorder. Upon listening to Little Richards song Tutti Frutti, Bowie would later say, presleys impact on him was likewise emphatic, I saw a cousin of mine dance to. Hound Dog and I had never seen her get up and be moved so much by anything and it really impressed me, the power of the music
24.
Heroes (David Bowie album)
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Heroes is the twelfth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on RCA Records on 14 October 1977. Of the three albums, it was the only one recorded in Berlin. Upon its release, it was met with critical reception and was named NME Album of the Year. The title track one of Bowies best known and acclaimed songs. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, recorded at Hansa Tonstudio in what was then West Berlin, Heroes reflected the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city. Co-producer Tony Visconti considered it one of my last great adventures in making albums, the studio was about 500 yards from the Berlin Wall. Red Guards would look into our control-room window with powerful binoculars,75 by the German band Neu. – whose guitarist Michael Rother had originally been approached to play on the album – while V-2 Schneider is inspired by and named after Kraftwerks Florian Schneider. The cover photo by Masayoshi Sukita was inspired by German artist Erich Heckels Roquairol, brian Eno instigated Robert Fripps involvement by telephoning him in New York and inviting him to play guitar on the album. Fripp had considered himself retired from music but said, Well, upon arriving at the studio from New York, and suffering from jet lag, Fripp recorded a guitar part for the track Beauty and the Beast, this first take was used in the songs final mix. The lyrics for Joe the Lion, written and recorded at the microphone in less than an hour according to Visconti, RCA Records marketed Heroes with the slogan Theres Old Wave. It enjoyed a critical reception on release in late 1977, Melody Maker. It reached No.3 in the UK and stayed in the charts for 26 weeks, the album was released in Germany with the title track renamed Heroes/Helden and partly in German. An early instance of the enduring influence is John Lennons comment in 1980 that. Several songs from the album were played live on Bowies Low and Heroes World Tour of 1978, philip Glass adapted a classical suite, Heroes Symphony, from this album as a companion to his earlier Low Symphony. Several tracks were used in the film Christiane F. Bowie performed as himself in the film, the cover of Bowies 2013 album, The Next Day, is an altered and obscured version of the Heroes cover. This version has Heroes crossed out and Bowies face obscured by a white box reading The Next Day. All lyrics written by David Bowie, all composed by Bowie. Heroes has been rereleased on CD four times, the first CD issue was by RCA in 1984
25.
British Phonographic Industry
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The BPI Limited, commonly known as the British Phonographic Industry or BPI, is the British recorded music industrys trade association. Its membership comprises hundreds of companies including all three major record companies in the UK, and hundreds of independent music labels and small to medium-sized music businesses. It has represented the interests of British record companies since being formally incorporated in 1973 when the aim was to promote British music. In 2007, the legal name was changed from British Phonographic Industry Limited. It founded the annual BRIT Awards for the British music industry in 1977, the organizing company, BRIT Awards Limited, is a fully owned subsidiary of the BPI. Proceeds from both shows go to the BRIT Trust, the arm of the BPI that has donated almost £15m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation in 1989. In September 2013, the BPI presented the first ever BRITs Icon Award to Sir Elton John, the BPI also endorsed the launch of the Mercury Prize for the Album of the Year in 1992. In September 2008, the BPI became one of the members of UK Music. The BRIT Trust is the music charity actively supporting all types of education across the entire spectrum of music. Through the projects it supports, which include Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the BRIT School, proceeds from the BRIT Awards and the Classic BRITs shows go to the BRIT Trust, which has donated almost £15m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation. Opened in September 1991, the BRIT School is a joint venture between The BRIT Trust and the Department for Education and Skills, based at Selhurst in Croydon, the school is the only non fee-paying performing arts school in the UK. It teaches up to 1,100 students each year aged from 14–19 years in music, dance, drama, musical theatre, production, media and art & design. Students are from diverse backgrounds and are not required to stick to their own discipline, dancers learn songwriting. Nor do students have to work/perform in the evening to pay for the tuition, the BPI administers the Platinum, Gold and Silver awards scheme for music releases in the United Kingdom. The level of the award varies depending on the format of the release, member companies do, however, still have the option to certify titles based on shipment levels if they choose to. Since July 2014, audio streaming has also included for singles at a ratio of 100 streams equivalent to 1 unit. From June 2015, audio streams were added to album certifications, according to BPI, they would take the 12 most-streamed tracks from the standard version of an album, with the top two songs down-weighted in line with the average of the rest. The total of these streams will be divided by 1,000, additionally, personnel are also seconded to the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit top support anti-piracy operations
26.
Genesis (band)
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Genesis are an English rock band formed at Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey in 1967. The most commercially successful and long-lasting line-up includes keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, other important members were the original lead singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett. The band underwent many changes in style over its career, from folk music to progressive rock in the 1970s. They have sold 21.5 million RIAA-certified albums in the US, after splitting with King, the group began touring professionally, signing with Charisma Records. The group were initially successful in Europe, before entering the UK charts with Foxtrot. They followed this with Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway before Gabriel decided to leave the group, after an unsuccessful search for a replacement, Collins took over as lead singer, while the group gained popularity in the UK and the US. Following A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering, Hackett left the band, reducing it to a core of Banks, Rutherford and its title track reached number one in the US. After the follow up, We Cant Dance and related tour, Banks and Rutherford recruited Ray Wilson for Calling All Stations, but a lack of success in the US led to a group hiatus. Banks, Rutherford and Collins reunited for the Turn It On Again Tour in 2007 and their discography includes fifteen studio and six live albums, six of which topped the UK chart. In 2010, Genesis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Banks and Gabriel arrived at the school in September 1963, Rutherford in September 1964, and Phillips in April 1965. The five recorded six songs, Dont Want You Back, Try a Little Sadness, Shes Beautiful, Thats Me, Listen on Five, and Patricia, a group friend gave the tape to King who was immediately enthusiastic. Under Kings direction, the group, aged between 15 and 17, signed a recording contract with Decca Records. In response Banks and Gabriel wrote The Silent Sun, a pastiche of the Bee Gees, one of Kings favourite bands, King chose The Silent Sun as their first single, with Thats Me on the B-side, released in February 1968. It achieved some airplay on BBC Radio One and Radio Caroline, a second single, A Winters Tale/One-Eyed Hound, followed in May 1968 which also sold little. Three months later, Stewart left the group to continue with his studies and he was replaced by fellow Charterhouse pupil John Silver. King felt the group would achieve success with an album. The result, From Genesis to Revelation, was produced at Regent Sound in ten days during their schools summer break in August 1968, Phillips was particularly upset about Greenslades additions. When Decca found an American band already named Genesis, King refused to change his groups name and he reached a compromise by removing their name from the album cover, resulting in a minimalist design with the album title printed on a plain black background
27.
Peter Gabriel
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After leaving Genesis in 1975, Gabriel launched a solo career with Solsbury Hill as his first single. His 1986 album, So, is his release and is certified triple platinum in the UK. The albums most successful single, Sledgehammer, won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his career. He co-founded the WOMAD festival in 1982 and he has continued to focus on producing and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. He has also pioneered digital distribution methods for music, co-founding OD2, Gabriel has also been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts. In 1980, he released the anti-apartheid single Biko and he has participated in several human rights benefit concerts, including Amnesty Internationals Human Rights Now. Tour in 1988, and co-founded the Witness human rights organisation in 1992, Gabriel developed The Elders with Richard Branson, which was launched by Nelson Mandela in 2007. He was made a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his influence on generations of music makers, AllMusic has described Gabriel as one of rocks most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010, in March 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia in recognition of his achievements in music. Peter Brian Gabriel was born in Chobham, Surrey and his father, Ralph Parton Gabriel, was an electrical engineer, and his mother, Edith Irene, who was from a musical family, taught him to play the piano at an early age. His great-great-great-uncle, Sir Thomas Gabriel, 1st Baronet, served as Lord Mayor of London from 1866 to 1877, Gabriel attended Cable House, a private primary school in Woking, St. Andrews Prep School in Horsell, and Charterhouse School in Godalming from 1963. He played drums in his first rock bands, and Mike Rutherford commented in 1985 that Pete was—and still is, Gabriel founded Genesis in 1967 with fellow Charterhouse School pupils Tony Banks, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, and drummer Chris Stewart. The name of the band was suggested by fellow Charterhouse alumnus, the pop music impresario Jonathan King, Gabriel has said to be influenced by many different sources in his way of singing, such as Family lead singer Roger Chapman. In 1970, he played the flute on Cat Stevenss album, the concerts made extensive use of black light with the normal stage lighting subdued or off. Early Genesis concerts were hampered by a bad public address system made it difficult for audiences to understand what Gabriel was singing. According to Mike Rutherford, this drove Gabriel to find ways to impress his personality on the audience. In an episode of the 2007 British documentary series Seven Ages of Rock and it was the dress-wearing, fox-headed entity immortalised on the cover of Foxtrot. Hackett and the rest of the band had no inkling that Gabriel was going to do this and it was a success, encouraging Gabriel to continue wearing stage clothes while singing
28.
Milton Keynes Bowl
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The National Bowl is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay-pit, filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil excavated by the new developments in the area. The arena is open-air grassland, without seats, the venue opened in 1979, with gigs by Desmond Dekker and Geno Washington. In 1982, Genesis performed their reunion show Six of the Best at the venue with Steve Hackett, in 1983 on the 1,2, and 3 July David Bowie played three dates of the Serious Moonlight tour at the bowl. On 21 and 22 June 1986 Simple Minds performed at the bowl, also on the bill were Doctor and the Medics, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Big Audio Dynamite and The Waterboys. On 10 September 1988, Michael Jackson performed at the bowl during his Bad World Tour in front of 60,000 people, in 1992, Sony/Pace bought the venue and re-branded it as the National Bowl, building a permanent massive sound stage. They pulled out in 1996 citing profitability reasons, English Partnerships, which merged with the Homes and Communities Agency in 2008, bought the site in 2000. It is currently leased to a Gaming International/Live Nation UK consortium, in 2012, the original stage was demolished to make way for a new one in time for the Swedish House Mafia concert in July. On 23 January 2006, Gaming International/Live Nation won a lease in a competitive tender. The consortium made proposals for developments in a a development summary leaflet. In February 2014, the BBC reported that an investment company had proposed a new development at the site of Milton Keynes Bowl and this was planned to include the UKs largest water park, and a range of sports facilities and enhancements to the arena. In July 2015, the investment firm leading the proposal announced that it would not proceed with the plan, Queen have released a DVD and double CD of their 1982 appearance at the Bowl entitled Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl. Erasure performed their last date of the Wild, Tour and called Erasure Live at Milton Keynes Bowl on 1 September 1990 with more of 60,000 people in National Bowl. This spectacular show of Erasure was broadcast live on Radio 1 and BBC Television and it was presented by journalist of BBC Radio 1, Gary Davies. Metallica Performed their last leg of the Wherever I May Roam Tour and called it Nowhere Left to Roam at the Bowl on 5 June 1993, Green Days album Bullet in a Bible, and the accompanying DVD, were recorded at the National Bowl in the summer of 2005. The bands two-night stand was supported by Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, the bowl also appears in Green Day, Rock Band as one of the playable venues. Linkin Park released Road to Revolution, Live at Milton Keynes, jay Z also headlined with supporting acts Pendulum, N. E. R. D, Enter Shikari, The Bravery & Innerpartysystem. This show turned out to be the biggest capacity Projekt Revolution to date, the Prodigy have released first live album and second DVD of their 2010 appearance at the Bowl entitled Worlds on Fire
29.
It's My Life (album)
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Its My Life is the second studio album by Talk Talk, released in 1984. Its My Life was released in February 1984 by record label EMI and it was a Top 5 hit album in several European countries, thanks to the big international success of its singles, but only reached number 35 in the UK Top 40 chart. In the United States, the album just missed the Top 40 and its My Life was particularly successful in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany where the album peak-charted at numbers 2,3 and 4, respectively. In the Netherlands, the album stayed in the charts for 64 weeks between 1984 and 1986, the cover to the album was produced by James Marsh, incorporating elements of The Boyhood of Raleigh by John Everett Millais
30.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
31.
Continental Europe
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Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe, or, by Europeans, simply the Continent, is the continuous continent of Europe, excluding surrounding islands. This historical core of Carolingian Europe was consciously invoked in the 1950s as the historical basis for the prospective European integration. In both Great Britain and Ireland, the Continent is widely and generally used to refer to the mainland of Europe, an apocryphal British newspaper headline supposedly once read, Fog in Channel, Continent Cut Off. It has also claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland. The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used, derivatively, the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing and, historically, long-range driving often known as Grand Touring. Differences include electrical plugs, time zones for the most part, the use of traffic, and for the United Kingdom, currency. Britain is physically connected to continental Europe through the undersea Channel Tunnel and this route is popular with refugees and migrants seeking to enter the UK. Especially in Germanic studies, continental refers to the European continent excluding the Scandinavian peninsula, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. The reason for this is that although the Scandinavian peninsula is attached to continental Europe, kontinenten is a vernacular Swedish expression that refers to the area excluding Sweden, Norway, and Finland but including Denmark and the rest of continental Europe. In Norway, similarly, one speaks about Kontinentet as an entity, usually referring to Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Benelux countries. Today, the Scandinavian peninsula is accessible by train and road with several bridge/tunnel structures connecting the Danish peninsula of Jutland to Scania in Sweden. The Continent may sometimes refer to the part of Italy, the continental part of Spain, the continental part of France. The term is used from the perspective of the residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent as a whole. Continental philosophy Geopolitical divisions of Europe Geographical midpoint of Europe Mainland Western Europe Hajnal line
32.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
33.
The Dice Man
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The Dice Man is a novel published in 1971 by George Cockcroft under the pen name Luke Rhinehart and tells the story of a psychiatrist who begins making life decisions based on the casting of dice. Cockcroft wrote the book based on his own experiences of using dice to make decisions while studying psychology, the novel is noted for its subversion, anti-psychiatry sentiments and for reflecting moods of the early 1970s. Due to its nature and chapters concerned with controversial issues such as rape, murder and sexual experimentation. Upon its initial publication, the cover bore the confident subheader and this one will and quickly became a modern cult classic. It was initially less successful than in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, the themes of the book are continued in two other novels, The Search for the Dice Man and Adventures of Wim and a companion title, The Book of the Die. The book tells the story of a psychiatrist named Luke Rhinehart who, feeling bored and unfulfilled in life, along the way, there is sex, rape, murder, dice parties, breakouts by psychiatric patients, and various corporate and governmental machines being put into a spin. There is also a description of the cult that starts to develop around the man, the song The Diceman by Swedish band Vogon Poetry is inspired by the novel. The script for Dice, a Canada/UK co-produced TV mini-series directed by Rachel Talalay in 2001, was inspired by The Dice Man, the song Dice Man by Mancunian band The Fall is inspired by the novel. The song Such a Shame by Talk Talk was inspired by The Dice Man, in an episode of the popular British soap opera Emmerdale, characters Cain Dingle and Jasmine Thomas discuss the novel and its direct themes. In episode #1.3 of TV mini-series The Game, book is read by two characters on train
34.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
35.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
36.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
