Virgin Records
Virgin Records Ltd. is a British record label founded by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, musician Tom Newman in 1972. It grew to be a worldwide phenomenon over time, with the success of platinum performers such as George Michael, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Roy Orbison, Tangerine Dream, Keith Richards, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, Lenny Kravitz, dc Talk, the Smashing Pumpkins, Mike Oldfield and Spice Girls, among others. After its acquisition by Universal Music Group through its purchase of EMI in 2012, UMG absorbed Virgin's British operations to create Virgin EMI Records in March 2013. Today, the operations of Virgin Records America, Inc. the company's North American operations founded in 1986, are still active and headquartered in Hollywood and have operated under the Capitol Music Group imprint owned by UMG, since 2007. The US operations have taken on the name Virgin Records. A minor number of artists remain on Virgin Records America's roster, mostly occupied with European artists such as Bastille, Circa Waves, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ella Eyre, Walking on Cars, Seinabo Sey, Prides.
Branson and Powell had run a small record shop called Virgin Records and Tapes on Notting Hill Gate, specializing in "krautrock" imports, offering bean bags and free vegetarian food for the benefit of customers listening to the music on offer. The first real store was above a shoe shop at the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street. After making the shop into a success, they turned their business into a fledged record label; the name Virgin, according to Branson, arose from Tessa Watts, a colleague of his, when they were brainstorming business ideas. She suggested Virgin – as they were all new to business – like "virgins"; the original Virgin logo was designed by English artist and illustrator Roger Dean: a young naked woman in mirror image with a large long-tailed serpent and the word "Virgin" in Dean's familiar script. A variation on the logo was used for the spin-off Caroline Records label; the first release on the label was the progressive rock album Tubular Bells by multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, discovered by Tom Newman and brought to Simon Draper – who persuaded Richard and Nik to present it as their first release in 1973, produced by Tom Newman, for which the fledgling label garnered unprecedented acclaim.
This was soon followed by some notable krautrock releases, including electronic breakthrough album Phaedra by Tangerine Dream, The Faust Tapes and Faust IV by Faust. The Faust Tapes album retailed for 49p and as a result allowed this unknown band to reach number 12 in the album charts. Other early albums include Gong's Flying Teapot, which Daevid Allen has been quoted as having never been paid for; the first single release for the label was Kevin Coyne's "Marlene", taken from his album Marjory Razorblade and released in August 1973. Coyne was the second artist signed to the label after Oldfield. Although Virgin was one of the key labels of English and European progressive rock, the 1977 signing of the Sex Pistols reinvented the label as a new-wave outpost, a move that plunged the record company into the mainstream of the punk rock era. Under the guidance of Tessa Watts, Virgin's Head of Publicity, the Pistols rocketed the label to success. Shortly afterwards, the Nottingham record shop was raided by police for having a window display of the Sex Pistols' album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols in the window.
Afterwards they signed other new wave groups: Public Image Ltd, Culture Club, Gillan and the Italians, Human League, Skids, the Motors, the Ruts, Shooting Star, Simple Minds, XTC. After modified versions of the twins label came the red and blue design introduced in 1975, which coincided with the height of punk and new wave; the current Virgin logo was created in 1978, commissioned by Simon Draper managing director of Virgin Records Limited. Brian Cooke of Cooke Key Associates commissioned a graphic designer to produce a stylised signature; the logo was first used on Mike Oldfield's Incantations album in 1978 and by the Virgin Records label until other parts of the Virgin Group adopted it, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Money. In 1983 Virgin purchased Charisma Records, renaming it Charisma/Virgin later Virgin/Charisma, before folding the label in 1986 and transferring its remaining artists to Virgin. In the process they acquired comedy group Monty Python; the Charisma label was reactivated in the US in 1990 and enjoyed success with signings such as Maxi Priest, Right Said Fred, 38 Special and Enigma.
When this Charisma label was retired in 1992, all of its artists were, as before, transferred to Virgin. In 1987, Venture Records was created for new age and modern classical artists including Klaus Schulze, associated with Virgin since the early 1970s. 10 Records Immortal Records Delabel Caroline Records was a budget label used from 1973 to 1977. The name and
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was shown every Thursday evening on BBC One, except for a short period on Fridays in mid-1973 before being again moved to Fridays at 7:30 pm in 1996 and to Sundays on BBC Two in 2005; each weekly programme consisted of performances from some of that week's best-selling popular music artists, with a rundown of that week's singles chart. Additionally, there was a special edition of the programme on Christmas Day, featuring some of the best-selling singles of the year. With its high viewing figures, the show became a significant part of British popular culture. Although the weekly show was cancelled in 2006, the Christmas special has continued. In recent years, end-of-year round-up editions have been broadcast on BBC1 on or around New Year's Eve, albeit featuring the same acts and tracks as the Christmas Day shows, it survives as Top of the Pops 2, which began in 1994 and features vintage performances from the Top of the Pops archives.
In the 1990s, the show's format was sold to several foreign broadcasters in the form of a franchise package, at one point various versions of the show were shown in nearly 100 countries. Editions of the programme from the 1970s are being repeated on most Thursday and Friday evenings on BBC Four, although episodes featuring disgraced presenters and artists such as Jimmy Savile, Dave Lee Travis and Gary Glitter are not repeated. BBC Four aren't showing any episodes with Mike Smith presenting, either, as he decided not to sign the licence extension that would allow the BBC to repeat the Top of the Pops episodes that he presented. Top of the Pops was created by BBC producer Johnnie Stewart, inspired by the popular Teen and Twenty Disc Club which aired on Radio Luxembourg, it was first aired in 1964 and was based on the Top 20. By 1970 the Top 30 was being used and the show was extended from 30 to 45 minutes duration; the show was now shown in colour following the BBC1 upgrade in November 1969. A switch to the Top 40 was made in 1984..
The show saw many changes through the decades, in style, design and taste. It periodically had some aspect of its title sequence and theme tune, format, or set design altered in some way, keeping the show looking modern despite its age; the programme had several executive producers during its run, in charge of the overall production of the show, although specific content on individual shows was sometimes decided by other producers. When Stewart left the show in 1973, after nearly 10 years in charge, he was replaced by Robin Nash. Both Stewart and Nash made brief returns to the show as producer after they left, in 1976 and 1981 respectively. Stewart devised the rules which governed how the show would operate: the programme would always end with the number one record, the only record that could appear in consecutive weeks; the show would include the highest new entry and the highest climber on the charts, omit any song going down in the chart. Tracks could be featured in consecutive weeks in different formats.
For example, if a song was played over the chart countdown or the closing credits it was acceptable for the act to appear in the studio the following week. These rules were sometimes interpreted flexibly and were more formally relaxed from 1997 when records descending the charts were featured more possibly as a response to the changing nature of the Top 40; when the programme's format changed in November 2003, it concentrated on the top 10. During the BBC Two era, the top 20 was regarded as the main cut-off point, with the exception made for up and coming bands below the top 20. Singles from below the top 40 were shown if the band were up and coming or had a strong selling album. If a single being performed was below the top 40, just the words "New Entry" were shown and not the chart position; the show was intended to run for only a few programmes but lasted over 42 years, reaching landmark episodes of 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 in the years 1973, 1983, 1992 and 2002 respectively. Top of the Pops was first broadcast on 1 January 1964 at 6:35 pm.
It was produced in Studio A on Dickenson Road in Manchester. DJ Jimmy Savile presented the first show live from the Manchester studio, which featured Dusty Springfield with "I Only Want to Be with You", the Rolling Stones with "I Wanna Be Your Man", the Dave Clark Five with "Glad All Over", the Hollies with "Stay", the Swinging Blue Jeans with "Hippy Hippy Shake" and the Beatles with "I Want to Hold Your Hand", that week's number one – throughout its history, the programme proper always finished with the best-selling single of the week, although there was a separate play-out track. In 1964, the broadcast time was moved to one hour at 7:35 pm, the show moved from Wednesdays to what became its regular Thursday slot. Additionally its length was extended by 5 minutes to 30 minutes. For the first three years Alan Freeman, David Jacobs, Pete Murray and Jimmy Savile rotated presenting duties, with the following week's presenter appearing at the end of each show, although this practice ceased from October 1964 onwards.
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Southall
Southall is a large suburban district of west London and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated 10.7 miles west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hanwell, Hounslow and Northolt; the area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Southall is located on the Grand Union Canal which first linked London with the rest of the growing canal system, it was one of the last canals to carry significant commercial traffic and is still open to traffic and is used by pleasure craft. The area is home to London's largest Sikh community; the name Southall derives from the Anglo-Saxon dative æt súð healum, "At the south corner" and súð heal, "South corner" and separates it from Northolt, norþ heal, "North corner" which through a association with Anglo-Saxon holt, "Wood, copse" developed into Northolt. The district of Southall has many other Anglo-Saxon place-names such as Waxlow, its earliest record, from ad 830, is of Warberdus bequeathing Norwood Manor and Southall Manor to the archbishops of Canterbury.
Southall formed part of the chapelry of Norwood in the ancient parish of Hayes, in the Elthorne hundred of Middlesex. For Poor Law it was grouped into the Uxbridge Union and was within Uxbridge Rural Sanitary District from 1875; the chapelry of Norwood had functioned as a separate parish since the Middle Ages. On 16 January 1891 the parish adopted the Local Government Act 1858 and the Southall Norwood Local Government District was formed. In 1894 it became the Southall Norwood Urban District. In 1936 the urban district was granted a charter of incorporation and became a municipal borough, renamed Southall. In 1965 the former area of the borough was merged with that of the boroughs of Ealing and Acton to form the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London; the southern part of Southall used to be known as Southall Green and was centred on the historic Grade II* listed Tudor-styled Manor House which dates back to at least 1587. A building survey has shown much of the building is original, dating back to the days when Southall Green was becoming a quiet rural village.
Minor 19th and 20th century additions exist in some areas. It is used as serviced offices; the extreme southernmost part of Southall is known as Norwood Green. It has few industries and is a residential area, having remained for many years agricultural whilst the rest of Southall developed industrially. Norwood Green borders, part is inside, the London Borough of Hounslow; the main east west road through the town is Uxbridge Road, though the name changes in the main shopping area to The Broadway and for an shorter section to High Street. Uxbridge Road was part of the main London to Oxford stagecoach route for many years and remained the main route to Oxford until the building of the Western Avenue highway to the north of Southall in the first half of the 20th century. First horse drawn electric trams and electric trolleybuses, gave Southall residents and workers quick and convenient transport along Uxbridge Road in the first half of the 20th century before they were replaced by standard diesel-engined buses in 1960.
The opening of the Grand Junction Canal as the major freight transport route between London and Birmingham in 1796 began a commercial boom, intensified by the arrival of Brunel's Great Western Railway in 1839, leading to the establishment and growth of brick factories, flour mills and chemical plants which formed the town's commercial base. In 1877, the Martin Brothers set up a ceramics factory in an old soap works next to the canal and until 1923, produced distinctive ceramics now known and collected as Martinware. A branch railway line from Southall railway station to the Brentford Dock on the Thames was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1856, it features one of the Three Bridges. Where Windmill Lane, the railway and the Grand Union Canal all intersect – the canal being carried over the railway line cutting below in a cast-iron trough and a new cast-iron road-bridge going over both. Brunel died shortly after its completion. Sections of his bell-section rail can still be seen on the southern side being used as both fencing posts and a rope rail directly under the road bridge itself.
It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The other notable local construction by Brunel is the Wharncliffe Viaduct which carries the Great Western Railway across the River Brent towards London and, Brunel's first major structural design. Otto Monsted, a Danish margarine manufacturer, built a large factory at Southall in 1894; the factory was called the Maypole Dairy, grew to become one of the largest margarine manufacturing plants in the world, occupying a 28 hectares site at its peak. The factory had its own railway sidings and branch canal; the Maypole Dairy Company was acquired by Lever Brothers who, as part of the multinational Unilever company, converted the site to a Wall's Sausages factory which produced sausages and other meat products through until the late 1980s. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the old parish church of Southall, St John's, rebuilt in 1837-8, was found to be too small for its congregation and, as a result, emigrated to a new building in Church Avenue, completed in 1910.
The original church building, in Western Road, is now a youth centre. The Quak
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which broadcasts internationally, specialising in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7 pm, including electronica, hip hop and indie; the choice of music and presenting style is that of programme hosts, however those who present in the daytime have to rotate a number of songs a specific number of times per week. It was launched in 1967 to meet the demand for music generated by pirate radio stations, when the average age of the UK population was 27; the BBC claim that they target the 15–29 age group, the average age of its UK audience since 2009 is 30. BBC Radio 1 started 24-hour broadcasting on 1 May 1991. Radio 1 was established in 1967 as a successor to the BBC Light Programme, which had broadcast popular music and other entertainment since 1945. Radio 1 was conceived as a direct response to the popularity of offshore pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London, outlawed by Act of Parliament.
Radio 1 was launched at 6:55 am on Saturday 30 September 1967. Broadcasts were on 247 metres high wave, using a network of transmitters which had carried the Light Programme. Most were of comparatively low power, at less than 50 kilowatts, leading to patchy coverage of the country; the first disc jockey to broadcast on the new station was Tony Blackburn, whose cheery style, first heard on Radio Caroline and Radio London, won him the prime slot on what became known as the "Radio 1 Breakfast Show". The first words on Radio 1 – after a countdown by the Controller of Radios 1 and 2, Robin Scott, a jingle, recorded at PAMS in Dallas, beginning "The voice of Radio 1" – were: And, good morning everyone. Welcome to the exciting new sound of Radio 1; this was the first use of US-style jingles on BBC radio, but the style was familiar to listeners who were acquainted with Blackburn and other DJs from their days on pirate radio. The reason jingles from PAMS were used was that the Musicians' Union would not agree to a single fee for the singers and musicians if the jingles were made "in-house" by the BBC.
The first music to be heard on the station was "Theme One", specially composed for the launch by George Martin. It was followed by an extract from "Beefeaters" by Johnny Dankworth; the first complete record played on Radio 1 was "Flowers in the Rain" by The Move, the number 2 record in that week's Top 20. The second single was "Massachusetts" by The Bee Gees; the breakfast show remains the most prized slot in the Radio 1 schedule, with every change of breakfast show presenter exciting considerable media interest. The initial rota of staff included John Peel and a gaggle of others, some transferred from pirate stations, such as Keith Skues, Ed Stewart, Mike Raven, David Ryder, Jim Fisher, Jimmy Young, Dave Cash, Kenny Everett, Simon Dee, Terry Wogan, Duncan Johnson, Doug Crawford, Tommy Vance, Chris Denning, Emperor Rosko, Pete Murray, Bob Holness. Many of the most popular pirate radio voices, such as Simon Dee, had only a one-hour slot per week Initially, the station was unpopular with some of its target audience who, it is claimed, disliked the fact that much of its airtime was shared with Radio 2 and that it was less unequivocally aimed at a young audience than the offshore stations, with some DJs such as Jimmy Young being in their 40s.
The fact that it was part of an "establishment" institution such as the BBC was a turn-off for some, needle time restrictions prevented it from playing as many records as offshore stations had. It had limited finances and as in January 1975, suffered disproportionately when the BBC had to make financial cutbacks, strengthening an impression that it was regarded as a lower priority by senior BBC executives. Despite this, it gained massive audiences, becoming the most listened-to station in the world with audiences of over 10 million claimed for some of its shows. In the early-mid-1970s Radio 1 presenters were out of the British tabloids, thanks to the Publicity Department's high-profile work; the touring summer live broadcasts called the Radio 1 Roadshow – as part of the BBC'Radio Weeks' promotions that took Radio 1, 2 and 4 shows on the road – drew some of the largest crowds of the decade. The station undoubtedly played a role in maintaining the high sales of 45 rpm single records although it benefited from a lack of competition, apart from Radio Luxembourg and Manx Radio in the Isle of Man..
Alan Freeman's'Saturday Rock Show' was voted'Best Radio Show' five years running by readers of a national music publication, was axed by controller Derek Chinnery. Annie Nightingale, who joined in 1970, was Britain's first female DJ and is now the longest serving presenter, having evolved her musical tastes with the times. On Thursday 23 November 1978 the station moved to two new medium wave frequencies which allowed a major increase in transmitter powers and improved coverage of the UK. 247 metres was passed to Radio 3. The station was on medium wave only until the early 80s, when it took over the Radio 2 FM frequency for a number of hours on weekend afternoons and late weekday evenings; the BBC set up an FM channel specifically
Sam the Sham
Domingo "Sam" Samudio, better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and roll singer. Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse with maroon velvet curtains; as the front man for the Pharaohs, he sang on several Top 40 hits in the mid-1960s, notably the Billboard Hot 100 runners up "Wooly Bully" and "Li'l Red Riding Hood". Samudio, of Basque/Apache descent, made his singing debut in second grade, representing his school in a radio broadcast, he took up guitar and formed a group with friends, one of whom was Trini Lopez. After graduating from high school, Samudio joined the Navy, where he was known as "Big Sam." He lived in Panama until his discharge. Back in the States, Samudio enrolled in college, studying voice at Arlington State College, now the University of Texas at Arlington. "I was studying classical in the daytime and playing rock and roll at night", he recalled. "That lasted about two years, before I dropped out and became a carny."In Dallas in 1961, Sam formed "The Pharaohs," the name inspired from the costumes in Yul Brynner's portrayal as pharaoh in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.
The other members of "The Pharaohs" were Carl Miedke, Russell Fowler, Omar "Big Man” Lopez and Vincent Lopez. In 1962 the group made a record; the Pharaohs disbanded in 1962. In May 1963, Vincent Lopez was playing for Andy and The Nightriders in Louisiana; when their organist quit, Sam joined. Andy and The Nightriders were David A. Martin, Vincent Lopez and Sam; the Nightriders became house band at The Congo Club near Louisiana. It was here. In June 1963, The Nightriders headed for Memphis and became the house band at The Diplomat. In late summer 1963, Andy Anderson and Vincent Lopez left to return to Texas. Sam and David A. Martin replaced them with Jerry Patterson and Ray Stinnett and changed the name to "Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs." Shortly thereafter, the band added saxophonist Butch Gibson. After paying to record and press records to sell at gigs, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs wound up with the XL label in Memphis. There they recorded their first and biggest hit, "Wooly Bully" in late 1964.
Once MGM picked up the record, "Wooly Bully" ended up selling 3 million copies and reaching No. 2 on the Hot 100 on 5 June 1965 at a time when American pop music charts were dominated by the British Invasion. It was awarded a gold disc. Although "Wooly Bully" never reached #1, it lingered on the Hot 100 for 18 weeks, the most weeks for any single within the calendar year 1965, 14 of which were in the Top 40; the record achieved the distinction of becoming the first Billboard "Number One Record of the Year" not to have topped a weekly Hot 100 and remained the only one for 35 years until Faith Hill's "Breathe" and Lifehouse's "Hanging by a Moment" in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The Pharaohs' next releases – "Ju Ju Hand" and "Ring Dang Doo"- were minor successes. In late 1965, 11 months after "Wooly Bully", David A. Martin, Jerry Patterson, Ray Stinnett, Butch Gibson left over a financial dispute. Sam's manager, Leonard Stogel, discovered Tony Gee & The Gypsys at the Metropole Cafe in Times Square, New York City.
The band were Tony "Butch" Gerace, Frankie Carabetta, Billy Bennett, Andy Kuha. This new set of Pharaohs recorded "Li'l Red Riding Hood". On the Hot 100, "Lil' Red Riding Hood" began its two-week peak at #2 the week of August 6, 1966, just as another fairy tale title, "The Pied Piper" by Crispian St. Peters, was ending its three-week peak at #4; the track did better by Cash Box Magazine's reckoning, reaching #1 the same week. It sold over one million copies, was awarded a gold disc, it reached #2 on the Canadian RPM Magazine charts August 22, 1966. A series of novelty tunes followed, all on the MGM label, keeping the group on the charts into 1967. Titles included "The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin", "How Do You Catch A Girl", "I Couldn't Spell!!*@!", the rather confusing lyrics of "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad". In late 1966, three girls, Fran Curcio, Lorraine Gennaro, Jane Anderson, joined as The Shamettes; the group traveled to Asia as Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs and The Shamettes and released the album titled The Sam the Sham Revue, to be titled Nefertiti by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs.
Sam released a solo album in late 1967 titled Ten of Pentacles. In 1970, Samudio went on his own and in 1971 issued an Atlantic album called Sam and Heavy that won the Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1972; the album featured Duane Allman on the Dixie Flyers and the Memphis Horns. He formed a new band in 1974. In the late 1970s he worked with baritone saxophonist Joe Sunseri and his band based out of New Orleans; the early 1980s found Sam working with Ry Cooder and Freddy Fender on the soundtrack for the Jack Nicholson film The Border. Sam married Louise Smith on August 28, 1959 in Texas, they had one son named Dimitrius Samudio, born on May 1963, in Dallas. They divorced on May 1968, in Dallas. After leaving the music business, Sam worked in Mexico as an interpreter and as a mate on small commercial boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Sam became a motivational speaker and poet and still makes occasional concert appearances, he was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2016. As Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs Wooly Bully MGM E /SE 4297
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word "reggae," naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style, influenced by traditional mento as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues the New Orleans R&B practiced by Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint, evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. Reggae relates news, social gossip, political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz field, being known first as ‘Rudie Blues’ ‘Ska’ ‘Blue Beat’, ‘Rock Steady’, it is recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in rocksteady. Reggae is linked to the Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion which developed in Jamaica in the 1930's, aiming at promoting Pan Africanism.
Soon after the Rastafarian movement appeared, the international popularity of reggae music became associated with and increased the visibility of Rastafarianism spreading the Rastafari gospel throughout the world. Reggae music is an important means of transporting vital messages of Rastafarianism; the musician becomes the messenger, as Rastafarians see it,"the soldier and the musician are tools for change."Stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, mento and draws influence from traditional African folk rhythms. One of the most recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms; the tempo of reggae is slower paced than ska but faster than rocksteady. The concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music; the genre of reggae music is led by the bass. Some key players in this sound are Jackie Jackson from Toots and the Maytals, Carlton Barrett from Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lloyd Brevett from The Skatalites, Paul Douglas from Toots and the Maytals, Lloyd Knibb from The Skatalites, Winston Grennan, Sly Dunbar, Anthony "Benbow" Creary from The Upsetters.
The bass guitar plays the dominant role in reggae. The bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized; the guitar in reggae plays on the off beat of the rhythm. It is common for reggae to be sung in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, Iyaric dialects. Reggae is noted for its tradition of social criticism and religion in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love and socializing. Reggae has spread to many countries across the world incorporating local instruments and fusing with other genres. Reggae en Español spread from the Spanish speaking Central American country of Panama to the mainland South American countries of Venezuela and Guyana to the rest of South America. Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, has evolved into several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, there have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica and the Caribbean community in Europe.
Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. In Jamaica, authentic reggae is one of the biggest sources of income; the 1967 edition of the Dictionary of Jamaican English lists reggae as "a estab. Sp. for rege", as in rege-rege, a word that can mean either "rags, ragged clothing" or "a quarrel, a row". Reggae as a musical term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit "Do the Reggay" by The Maytals which named the genre of Reggae for the world. Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles with altering the Jamaican patois word streggae into reggae. However, Toots Hibbert said: There's a word we used to use in Jamaica called'streggae'. If a girl is walking and the guys look at her and say'Man, she's streggae' it means she don't dress well, she look raggedy; the girls would say that about the men too. This one morning me and my two friends were playing and I said,'OK man, let's do the reggay.' It was just something. So we just start. People tell me that we had given the sound its name.
Before that people had called it blue-beat and all kind of other things. Now it's in the Guinness World of Records. Bob Marley is said to have claimed that the word reggae came from a Spanish term for "the king's music"; the liner notes of To the King, a compilation of Christian gospel reggae, suggest that the word reggae was derived from the Latin regi meaning "to the king". Although influenced by traditional mento and calypso music, as well as American jazz and rhythm and blues, reggae owes its direct origins to the ska and rocksteady of 1960s Jamaica; the generic title for Jamaican music recorded between 1961 and 1967, ska emerged from Jamaican R&B, based on American R&B and doo-wop. Rastafari entered some countries through reggae music; the Rastafari moveme
Northolt
Northolt is a historic town in the London Borough of Ealing, England, is 11 miles west-northwest of Charing Cross. A suburban development, a feature is the Grand Union Canal, as is the A 40 road and a history of pony racing; the settlement of Northolt is located in the ancient county of Middlesex and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as being held by Geoffrey de Mandeville, archaeological evidence suggests that there was a Saxon village at the location from the 8th century onwards. The medieval village had its origins in the Saxon period. Up to late Victorian times, the area was rural with predominantly arable crops being grown; the fourteenth century Northolt Manor existed behind the present Court Farm Road and was excavated from 1950 onwards. A barn constructed in the area in 1595 can now be seen in the Chiltern Open Air Museum. In the early part of the 18th century farmland was enclosed in order to provide hay for the City of London, alongside more traditional crops such as peas and beans.
Suburban development began in the 1920s. Most of the housing north of the Western Avenue was built in the 1920s–1930s, is in the private housing sector. Most of the housing built to the south of the Western Avenue was built in the 1960s–1970s, is in the social housing sectors along the Kensington and Ruislip Roads. Two important transport links run through Northolt: the Grand Union Canal and the modern A40 road. In the 21st century, a new large private housing development was built on the former site of the Taylor Woodrow company, adjacent to the Grand Union Canal; this development incorporates a new canal boat marina. St Mary the Virgin church stands on the hill overlooking the old village; the Welsh poet Goronwy Owen was a curate here. Bishop Samuel Lisle is buried here. In the centre of the village is a freestanding clock tower erected to commemorate the coronation of George VI in 1937; the White Hart public house is on the site of an old coaching inn. The roundabout south of it is on the junction of the A312 with the A4180.
The Yeading Lane joins the roundabout. Willow Cottages on the village green are said to have been built of bricks from the old manor house, which once stood behind the parish church; the two towers of the disused RAF radio station north of the town are situated in the Wood End wireless station recreation ground, bordered on all sides by housing. The location is now home to a National Air Traffic Control base. Northala Fields is a large area alongside the A40 road, redeveloped as an extension to the Northolt and Greenford Country Park; the development consists of four large, man-made conical hills, which act as a sound barrier to block traffic noise from the Western Avenue. Behind the mounds are new ponds and a visitor centre; the Larkspur Rovers F. C. clubhouse is in Northolt. It received funding from Ealing Council and an Olympic legacy grant of £50,000 from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities Fund. There is a village community centre building in Ealing Road, opposite St Mary's church, which incorporates an open-air miniature railway.
A leisure centre, incorporating a pool, a fitness centre, a community hall and a library was built on the site of the former Swimarama swimming pool at the junction of Mandeville Road and Eastcote Lane North, opened in 2010. Down Barns Moated Site, a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Polish War Memorial, which honours the Polish pilots from Division 303 who served in the RAF and fought in the Battle of Britain during WW2. While Northolt remained a rural, agricultural area in the 19th century, its population growth remained slow: 1801 – 336 inhabitants 1871 – 479 1921 – 904 1961 – 26,000 1991 – 32,000The rapid growth of the population in the mid-20th century can be explained by Northolt's growth as a dormitory town for nearby Ealing, the construction in 1935 of the A40 road through the area. Modern family homes were built in the 1930s. In the 1950s and 1960s, predominantly local authority rented housing was constructed. 3,423 council houses had been built in Northolt by 1963. Northolt tube station was opened in 1948 to serve the growing population of the area.
Anti-social behavior has been the most common reported crime, followed by violent and sexual offences. Crime levels notably increased, by up to 50% between 2013 and 2014; the Royal Air Force has a station near Northolt. Sometimes called Northolt Aerodrome, it is situated in neighbouring South Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Most early RAF airfields were named after the nearest railway station. Northolt was famous for the pony racing. A one-and-a-half-mile racecourse was constructed by Sir William Bass and Viscount Lascelles, opened in 1929 by the Earl of Harewood and his wife the Princess Royal. During the Second World War, the land was taken over and used as an army depot and prisoner of war camp. Despite numerous attempts to revive pony racing after the war the land was given over to housing construction; the Racecourse Estate was constructed between 1951 and 1955 in order to solve a severe housing shortage within the borough. The gates of the original racecourse remain in Petts Hill, a section of the track can be observed as a long, flat stretch of land alongside Mandeville Road.
Northolt has two stations: Northolt on the London Underground Central line and Northolt Park, a Network Rail station served by Chiltern Railways. Numerous London Buses routes serve Northolt; the constituency of Ealing N
