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Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (unsuccessfully) as lead singer for the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Gentle Giant. Dwight teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin and changed his name to Elton John (merging the names of saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry). The duo wrote songs for Lulu and Roger Cook. In the early 1970s, he recorded the concept album "Tumbleweed Connection." He became the most successful pop artist of the 1970s, and he has survived many different pop fads including punk, the New Romantics and Britpop to remain one of Britain's most internationally acclaimed musicians.
Elton John announced he was a bisexual in 1976, and in 1984, he married Renate Blauel. The marriage lasted four years before he finally came to terms with the fact that he was actually homosexual. In the 1970s and 1980s, he suffered from drug and alcohol addiction and bulimia but came through it. He is well known as a campaigner for AIDS research and he keeps his finger on the pulse of modern music, enjoying artists such as Eminem, Radiohead, Coldplay and Robbie Williams. He was knighted in 1997.- Composer
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Rick Wakeman's work on the classic albums of the progressive rock band Yes, his hugely successful solo albums, as well as his contributions to classic David Bowie songs, has earned him a reputation as one of rock's greatest ever keyboardists. Wakeman was educated at Drayton Manor County Grammar School. Classically trained on the piano, he later attended the Royal College of Music but left without graduating. He first made his name as a session musician at Trident Studios. Among his notable early work was playing Mellotron on David Bowie's breakthrough single "Space Oddity".
Bowie subsequently asked Wakeman to play on his "Hunky Dory" album, which has become one of his most acclaimed works and produced the songs "Life on Mars", "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things", which all featured Wakeman on piano. In the early 1970s, Wakeman was one of the most sought after keyboardists in Britain. He played on albums by The Strawbs and was receiving offers to join the progressive rock band Yes and David Bowie's band The Spiders from Mars at the same time. He chose to join Yes and during his time with the band they recorded several of the most famous albums of the progressive rock genre, including "Fragile", "Close to the Edge" and "Tales from Topographic Oceans". Wakeman also recorded some hugely successful solo albums during the 1970s, principally "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" and "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table".
In the late 1970s, Wakeman and progressive rock in general fell out of favour with the arrival of punk rock. Nevertheless, he was able to continue with work as a musician and continued to record his own albums, although they were not as commercially successful. In his later life he has become just as well known as a radio and television broadcaster.- Music Department
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Hailed as a keyboard legend, Keith Emerson has been one of the most important figures to emerge from the thriving UK rock scene of the 1960s and 70s. He is known as one of the most prominent leaders in the progressive rock movement, fusing rock 'n' roll with a myriad of musical styles, such as classical, jazz and world music. A modern wizard of electronic and acoustic keyboards, most notably the organ and synthesizer, he has set a standard by which others multiply. With both "The Nice" and "Emerson, Lake & Palmer," Emerson has written and recorded some of rock's most adventurous music and brought it to the masses with unmatched virtuosity and skillful showmanship. Born November 2, 1944 in Todmorden, Lancashire, England, Keith Emerson soon became a piano sensation in his hometown of Worthing, Sussex by the time he was fourteen years old. In his late teens, he moved to London, joined the band "V.I.P.'s" and later "Gary Farr and the T-Bones," backing their mentor T-Bone Walker at the Marquee Club in London, also touring Germany, France and the UK. Some of his early influences were jazz artists Fats Waller, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Jack McDuff and Big John Patton. Classical composers also became influential to his music including J.S. Bach, Aaron Copland, Demetri Shostokovich, Bela Bartok and Alberto Ginestera amongst others. In his twenties, he formed a band called "The Nice" with bassist/vocalist Lee Jackson, drummer Brian Davison and guitarist David O'List, which backed ex-Ike and Tina Turner's singer P.P. Arnold. The group struck out on its own with a unique blend of classical, blues, jazz and rock. Emerson adopted the Hammond Organ as his instrument of choice during this period and soon gained fame for his outrageous stage antics and inspired musical performances. "The Nice" recorded numerous albums and appeared in a notorious concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. Immediately after hearing "Switched on Bach" by Walter Carlos, Emerson purchased and experimented with one of the first modular Moog Synthesizers and became the first artist to tour with "The Moog" internationally with the help of its inventor, Dr. Robert Moog. In 1970, "The Nice" broke up and Emerson formed the legendary group, "Emerson, Lake & Palmer" (ELP) with bassist/vocalist Greg Lake and drummer Carl Palmer. They achieved instant fame with their debut at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970. The trio announced their arrival on the scene by tearing into a furious rock adaptation of Mussorgsky's classic "Pictures At An Exhibition," which concluded with a barrage of cannon fire. Their first single, entitled "Lucky Man," from their debut album, "Emerson, Lake & Palmer," ended with a startling new sound, the lead Moog synthesizer solo. This sound took the world by storm, and the band was on its way. ELP released six platinum albums between 1970 and 1977, including "E, L&P," "Tarkus," "Trilogy," the cryptically entitled "Brain Salad Surgery," "Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends�" and "Works Vol. 1." They headlined the massive 1974 festival California Jam playing to an audience of over 500,000. Later in 1977, ELP toured with a handpicked orchestra, which performed Emerson's "Piano Concerto No. 1." After touring with the orchestra, ELP continued on the road as a trio, releasing two more albums "Works Vol. 2" and "Love Beach" before they disbanded in 1979. Between 1985 and 1990, Emerson collaborated with Lake and Palmer in two separate efforts, "Emerson, Lake & Powell" and the band "3" respectively. In 1992, ELP reunited with the critically acclaimed "Black Moon." Subsequent world tours which resulted in the live performance releases of "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" in 1993 and "Then And Now" in 1999. In 1980, Emerson issued his first solo album, a Caribbean island inspired work called "Honky." In addition, he recorded and released "The Christmas Album," displaying his own unique interpretation of many classic Christmas songs along with original seasonal pieces. Soon thereafter, he turned to motion picture soundtrack composition, producing several film scores between 1979 and 1989, including the orchestral score for Universal Studios feature release, "Nighthawks," starring Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams and cult Italian horror master Dario Argento's "Inferno." Emerson also realized a full length Japanese animated film entitled "Harmagedon" in which he received a gold record for the main title theme, "Children of The Light" sung by Rosemary Butler. Emerson also composed the music for Marvel Animation's cartoon action TV series, "Iron Man" in 1994. Emerson went on to release the occasional collection of new material appearing on-stage. He even reunited with Nice band mates Brian Davison and Lee Jackson for a show in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2002 (Vivacitas). Along with the EMI classic release of the solo piano, "Emerson plays Emerson" in the same year He penned an autobiography, "Pictures of an Exhibitionist" in 2003. He received the compilation treatment from Castle Records in 2005 with the two-disc "Hammer It Out: The Anthology." He toured in the USA, UK, Europe and Japan in 2004, 2005 & 2006 with his own "Keith Emerson Band", along with occasional collaborations with various orchestras in Naples, Italy and Beijing, China to promote the environmental issues. Always diverse in musical tastes, he sometimes sits in with jazz bands while encouraging others to take a safer road. Throughout the years, Emerson has consistently won the Overall Best Keyboardist award in the annual Keyboard Magazine Readers' Poll, since the magazine debuted in 1975 and holds a seat of honor on their advisory board. He was recently honored at The Smithsonian Institution, along with Dr. Robert Moog, for his pioneering work in electronic music. Emerson is currently (Jan 2009) working on another with regular collaborator Marc Bonilla and producer Keith Wechsler. The new album has been released in mid 2008, and the band has been touring in Europe, Baltic, and Japan. Forthcoming tour dates to be announced.- Actor
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Tony Banks is an English musician, songwriter and film composer primarily known as the keyboardist and founding member of the rock band Genesis. Banks is a prolific solo artist, releasing six solo albums that range through progressive rock, pop, and classical music.
Tony Banks co-formed Genesis in 1967 while studying at Charterhouse as their keyboardist and one of their principal songwriters and lyricists. He became a prolific user of the Mellotron, Hammond T-102 organ, ARP Pro Soloist and Yamaha CP-70 piano. In the band's earliest years Banks would play acoustic guitar for some of the mellow and pastoral songs.
In 2010, Tony Banks was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis. In 2015, he was named "Prog God" at the Progressive Music Awards. Banks is ranked No. 11 on MusicRadar's greatest keyboard players of all time.- Actor
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Howard Jones was born on 23 February 1955 in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Better Off Dead (1985), Bumblebee (2018) and Waitress (2007).- Composer
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Vincent Clarke began his career in 1979 when he formed a band with school mates Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher. That original band was named Composition of Sound and was primarily interested in using guitars for their source of music. By 1980 the band decided to trade in the guitars for some synthesizers which they felt would give them a wider range of possibilities on the musical front. Until this point Vince had provided the vocals for the band but had really never felt comfortable in the fronting role. They decided to recruit a front man and consequently heard a fellow Basildonian named Dave Gahan singing David Bowie covers in a night club. Following a short talk with Gahan they decided he was the right man for the job and musical history was made. Shortly after recruiting their new lead singer, they were practicing in Vince's garage and Dave saw a fashion magazine that was named Depeche Mode (which is still around today). He really liked the title and the band decided to change their name. Shortly after this point, Vince met a gentleman named Daniel Miller who had started his own independent music label called Mute records. The band had released the song 'Photographic' on a 'Some Bizarre' compilation album and at this point were being courted by several large labels to sign with them. Vince however, was convinced that 'Mute Records' was the label for them and they decided to release their first single and album with Daniel Miller's new company. The first single was Dreaming of Me and it did very little in the charts. The album was also fairly unsuccessful and the following single 'New Life' also barely made a dent in the charts. The band at last struck gold with their third single 'Just Can't Get Enough' and were soon playing on Top of the Pops (1981). At this point Vince had decided to part ways with Depeche Mode as he felt that they were in favor of taking a different musical direction than the one he wanted to pursue. He initially felt quite guilty about leaving because he knew the other three weren't musicians and had no idea how to program synthesizers (they would eventually bring in musician Alan Wilder to fill this gap). To ease his guilt he offered them two songs that he had just written ('Only You', and 'Don't Go'), however the band didn't think they could perform those songs and decided not to take the songs from Vince.
A few months later Vince saw an ad from another school mate named Alison Moyet who had seen time playing the Punk and R&B circuits in small no-name bands. The ad called for a "Rootsy blues musician". Vince decided to answer the ad in his typical subtle comedic way (he is neither rootsy, nor blues) and the unlikely duo of Yazoo came into being. Vince originally asked Alison to sing on a demo of 'Only You' (One of the songs he had offered Depeche Mode). A few weeks later, the song was at the top of the charts. Soon Vince and Alison cut their first album together 'Upstairs At Eric's'. At this point they released a few more singles that had very good chart placings and were being hailed as one of the most original bands in music history (indeed, a designation that can still be used about them to this day). Unfortunately, such brilliance often has a tendency to go south very quickly and shortly after recording their second album together 'You and Me Both', Yazoo split up.
At this stage Vince decided to create a band with his good friend and Yazoo producer Eric Radcliffe (EC) . He decided to call the band The Assembly and release singles with different vocalists for each song. Their first and only foray into this project was with Feargal Sharkey and the single was called Never Never. After this single Vince decided to do some production and early in 1985 released a single with Paul Quinn called 'One Day'. Later in 1985 Vince got together with producer Flood and began auditioning for vocalists for a new project. The 42nd vocalist to try-out was a young man named Andy Bell who was working as a butcher. The two hit it off immediately and Vince's longest running, and most successful band to date was born, Erasure. Erasure released their first album to very little critical or commercial success. Indeed Andy Bell thought that it was over before it began. However, Vince and he kept at it and recorded a second album which went straight to the top of the charts. The pair have since penned a series of 31 singles and 11 albums. Erasure have in fact become one of the most influential and commercially successful electronic bands in history. In 2000 Erasure released the album 'Loveboat'. This record was a very experimental and dark sounding album that saw Erasure pushing ahead into more distant musical arenas yet again.
Twenty years after beginning, Vince is still going strong. Besides Erasure, Vince has recently ventured into some other musical territory in such bands as Family Fantastic who have released one album 'Nice!', and currently have another album awaiting release 'Wonderful'. Another project that Vince devotes a lot of time to is The Clarke And Ware Experiment who have currently released two albums (1999's 'Pretentious', and 2001's 'Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle'). The Radioactivators released a double A side single 'Knock On Your Door/Bopp' in December of 2001 and represent the newest side project for Vince Clarke. Vince has also recently formed a new company with Martin Ware named The Illustrious Company. They are involved in several different musical ventures providing ambient soundscapes for various companies and events. In December 2001 Erasure released the single 'Moon & The Sky' from the Loveboat album as well as two new box sets compiling their second 10 singles together. Erasure are currently in the studio recording a follow up to the 2000 Loveboat album. The new album is going to consist of cover songs done in a 'Chorus' era style with a strong contemporary sound.- Music Artist
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English singer, keyboardist, and songwriter for British-American rock band, Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie was born Christine Anne Perfect on July 12th, 1943 in the Lake District village of Bouth, England (then Lancashire, now Cumbria), and grew up in the Bearwood area of Smethwick near Birmingham. Born into a musical family, McVie's father, Cyril Perfect, was an accomplished violinist and music lecturer at St Peter's College of Education, Saltley. He remained active in the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra into his mid-eighties. Her mother Beatrice ("Tee", née Reece) was a medium, psychic and faith healer. McVie's grandfather was an organist at Westminster Abbey. Introduced to the piano at the age of four, McVie did not study music until age 11, continuing her classical training until age 15. She then shifted her musical focus to Rock and Roll. It is said that she became addicted to Rock and Roll from the very first time she looked through a Fats Domino songbook.
While studying sculpture at Birmingham Art College, she got caught in the throes of the blues revival that was sweeping England. She made some duo appearances with Spencer Davis (before he teamed with Steve Winwood and Muff Windwood for the ignition of the Spencer Davis Group). Christine then met Stan Webb and Andy Silvester and joined them in the band, Sounds of Blue. By the time McVie graduated from college with a teaching degree, Sounds of Blue dismembered; McVie, unable to gather funds to find a place in the world of visual arts, took her teaching diploma to London where she worked briefly as a department store window dresser for Regent Street department store. However, after learning Webb and Silvester were scouting a pianist to join their band, Chicken Shack, she wrote them with request to join--they invited her to play keyboards/piano and to sing backing vocals. Chicken Shack debuted with "It's Okay With Me Baby", written by and featuring McVie. With two albums in, Chicken Shack found success with "I'd Rather Go Blind", a song originally recorded by Etta James in 1967. The song featured McVie on lead vocals. McVie earned a Melody Maker award for female vocalist of the year and lauded for having one of the "top 10 pairs of legs in all of Britain".
While touring with Chicken Shack, the band would often meet with Fleetwood Mac (they shared the same label at Blue Horizon). Fleetwood Mac asked her to play piano as a session musician for Peter Green's songs on the band's second album, Mr. Wonderful. McVie left Chicken Shack after marrying Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie. She continued her career with the recording of a solo album, Christine Perfect; following her success as a member of Fleetwood Mac, the album was reissued under the name of the Legendary Christine Perfect Album. By the time she had joined Fleetwood Mac full-time, she had already contributed backup vocals and painted the cover for Kiln House (the fourth studio album recorded by Fleetwood Mac). Peter Green had left the band, leaving Fleetwood Mac with reservations to perform live without him. Having been a huge fan of the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac; and versed in all the lyrics to their songs, she joined in.
In 1974, with the band, McVie reluctantly relocated to the United States in effort to make a fresh start. Within a year, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band. With a new lineup, their first album together, titled Fleetwood Mac, found success with McVie's songs "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me" both reaching Billboard's top-20 singles chart. The band sold 4 million copies of Fleetwood Mac and over 15 million of its follow-up, Rumours. From the album, McVie's "You Make Loving Fun" found a place on the top-10, and "Don't Stop" peaked to the #3, and years later became the song President Bill Clinton played for his Presidential campaign, and at his 1993 inaugural Gala (McVie and her band mates performed there, as well as as the Super Bowl a few days later). The success of Rumours earned the band many accolades; however, by the end of touring for the album, McVie divorced from John Mcvie. In 1979, the band released Tusk, the album was considered a disappointment, merely because it was impossible for any future releases to meet the success of Rumours. Three years later, the band reunited to record Mirage, which featured the top-5 hit "Hold Me"; McVie's inspiration for the song was her tumultuous relationship with Dennis Wilson, the drummer for the The Beach Boys. Wilson drowned in accident a few years later, leaving McVie heartbroken.
In 1984, McVie released her second solo album, simply titled, Christine McVie. The album featured the hit "Got a Hold on Me", positioning in the Top 10 pop, and #1 adult contemporary. She also met keyboardist Eddy Quintela (12 years her junior), they married two years later (October 1986). Although they divorced a decade later, they wrote several songs together, including "Little Lies" and "As Long as You Follow", two songs that became hits for Fleetwood Mac. The solo album also features McVie's cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love", the song was featured in the Howie Mandel film A Fine Mess (1986). A year later, she reunited with Fleetwood Mac for the recording of the band's fourteenth studio album, Tango in the Night. The album went on to become the band's biggest success since Rumours, ten years earlier.
Always reluctant to tour, preferring to stay close to home and friends and family, and upon the death of her father, (while she was touring for Behind the Mask) (Fleetwood Mac's fifteenth studio album), McVie made the decision to retire from touring altogether. In 1998, she reunited with the band for the release of the live album, the Dance, which reached #1 on the US album charts. The same year, despite her reservations, she toured with the band for the group's 1998 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the Grammy Awards show, and the BRIT Awards. McVie returned to England to be near her family and stayed out of public view until 2000, when she appeared to accept an Honorary Doctorate in music from the University of Greenwich. 2000 also saw the release of In the Meantime, McVie's third solo album. No tour was organized, but McVie delivered several press interviews in both Britain and the United States. In 2013, she appeared on stage in Maui, Hawaii performing with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band (her first live appearance in 15 years). Later in September, McVie performed live with Fleetwood Mac in London (also, for the first time in 15 years) to perform "Don't Stop". Shortly after, Mick Fleetwood announced during a concert in Maui that McVie would be rejoining the band, it was officially announced two days later, she had rejoined. The original Rumours lineup (Nicks, Buckingham, Fleetwood, McVie, and McVie). In June, 2017, McVie teamed up with Lindsey Buckingham for the recording and release of Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie; the album sold over 22,000 units in the US in its first week and debuted within the top 20. More successful in the UK, where it debuted within the top 5. McVie continues to record and perform live with Fleetwood Mac.- Composer
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John Paul Jones was born on 3 January 1946 in Sidcup, Kent, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Song Remains the Same (1976), The Adam Project (2022) and Small Soldiers (1998). He has been married to Maureen Jones since 1967. They have three children.- Composer
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Jon Lord was born on 9 June 1941 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for Point Break (1991), Twister (1996) and Almost Famous (2000). He was married to Judith Feldman and Vickie. He died on 16 July 2012 in London, England, UK.- Composer
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Christopher Sean Lowe was born on October 4th in Blackpool, Lancashire. In 1976, Chris played trombone in a seven piece dance band wittily named One Under The Eight, who played old-time popular favourites like "Hello Dolly", "La Bamba", and "Moon River".
In 1978, Chris went to Liverpool University to study architecture. During 1981 -1982 he spent a year gaining practical experience in a London architectural practice, designing a staircase in an industrial development in Milton Keynes. "It's not a remarkable staircase", he commented when he visited it in 1988, "It's just a functional staircase".
On August 19th 1981, Neil and Chris met by chance in an electronics shop on the Kings Road. Realizing they had a common interest in dance music, they began to write together. To begin with they called themselves West End; later they came up with the name Pet Shop Boys, a name derived from some friends who worked in a pet shop in Ealing.- Actor
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Nick Rhodes was born in Mosley, a suburb of Birmingham, England, son of Sylvia and Roger Bates. Rhodes began playing guitar while still in school, sharing the aspiration of becoming a lead guitarist with neighbourhood friend, John Taylor. Soon after, Rhodes also began teaching himself to play keyboards on a WASP synthesiser. Rhodes left school at sixteen, his first and only occupation outside of a band being as the disc jockey for the Rum Runner dance club in Birmingham, where he and Taylor established the core that would evolve into Duran Duran. Aside of replacing occasional band members and early changes to the band's name, Duran Duran is the only group Rhodes had been a part of until 1985, when he and bandmates Simon Le Bon and Roger Taylor took a sabbatical from Duran Duran to record an album as Arcadia. Rhodes, Le Bon, John Taylor, and guitarist Warren Cuccurullo returned to Duran Duran in 1986, recording seven more studio albums through 2000. The band still endures today, with the 2000 album Pop Trash, and work on a new album underway in 2001. Rhodes' long-time interest in film and music production has led to the start of his own UK-based production company, TV Mania, with Cuccurullo. Rhodes also possesses a love of and talent for photography. A collection of his abstract works, Interference, was published in 1984. Rhodes is a devout fan of art and animation, a personal friend to both South Park co-creator Trey Parker and the late Andy Warhol. Rhodes has participated in several charity events in his career, including the 1985 Live Aid concert, Sir Bob Geldof's BandAid project, and the Secret Policeman's Ball, a series of performances in the UK which benefit Amnesty International.- Music Artist
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Steve Winwood was born on 12 May 1948 in Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK. He is a music artist and actor, known for Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), Flight of the Phoenix (2004) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). He has been married to Eugenia Crafton since 18 January 1987. They have four children. He was previously married to Nicole Tacot Weir.- Actor
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Roger Hodgson has been recognized as one of the most gifted composers, songwriters and lyricists of our time. As the legendary voice of Supertramp and composer of many of the band's greatest hits, he gave us "Give a Little Bit," "The Logical Song," "Dreamer," "Take the Long Way Home," "Breakfast In America," "It's Raining Again," "School," "Fools Overture" and so many others that have become the soundtrack of our lives. Roger's trademark way of setting beautiful introspective lyrics to upbeat melodies resonated and found its way into the hearts and minds of people from cultures around the world. His songs have remarkably stood the test of time and earned Roger and Supertramp an adoring worldwide following.
During the time that Roger led the band, Supertramp became a worldwide rock phenomenon and to date they have sold well over 60 million albums. In Canada alone, sales for "Crime of the Century" and "Breakfast in America" reached Diamond status; meaning one in fifteen Canadians owned both albums. The wildly successful album "Breakfast in America" hit number one in countries around the world and stayed on the top of the charts for a full year, becoming one of the biggest selling albums of all time.
Born in Portsmouth, England, Roger spent much of his childhood at boarding school where his guitar became his best friend. Learning three chords from his teacher, he began writing songs at the age of twelve, eventually adding piano, bass, drums and even cello to his musical accomplishments. It wasn't long after his final school year that he recorded his first studio record, "Mr. Boyd" with a session band including pianist Reg Dwight, later to become known as Elton John. Shortly after, Roger met Rick Davies, and the nucleus of Supertramp was born. Their initial collaborations attracted the attention of A&M Records and their first album "Supertramp" was released in 1970.
From their second album "Indelibly Stamped" forward, Roger and Rick began writing separately. They no longer relied on a lyricist. Each wrote all their own lyrics, as well as their own music. However like Lennon/McCartney they maintained a joint writer's credit throughout their Supertramp career. In 1974, the band released the album "Crime of the Century" with Roger's song "Dreamer" becoming their first hit and driving the album to the top of the charts.
For the next nine years, dubbed by fans as the "Golden Years," Supertramp saw four studio albums, numerous tours, and the worldwide success of "Breakfast in America" which has sold over 20 million copies. Three of Roger's songs became worldwide hits - "The Logical Song," "Take the Long Way Home" and "Breakfast In America." Many awards followed, among them the Ivor Novello Award in 1980 from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters for "The Logical Song" being named the best song both musically and lyrically. To this day, "Logical Song" also has the distinction of being one of the most quoted lyrics in schools.
Roger parted company with Supertramp in 1983 after the "Famous Last Words" album and mega rock stadium tour. Following his heart, he chose to live a simple lifestyle in nature with his family and pursue his spiritual values. He built a state of the art recording studio at home where he could continue to create music and be with his children as they grew up. His first solo album "In the Eye of the Storm" was released in 1984 and became an international hit, selling over 2 million copies.
In 1987, the same week that Roger's second album "Hai, Hai" was released, Roger took a bad fall and shattered both of his wrists. Doctors told him he would never play music again, yet with faith and a long period of self-healing and physical therapy, Roger proved them wrong. Within a year and a half he was playing again.
In 2000, he released his next studio album "Open the Door" and in 2001, after taking many years off from touring to raise his children, Roger joined Ringo Starr in his All Star Tour. It is only since 2004, with his children fully grown, that Roger has felt the call to tour regularly again. The legend is back and his signature voice is stronger than ever. Currently he is performing both public and private concerts in a variety of formats - solo, with backing band, and with symphony orchestra.
To date Roger continues to write music and lyrics when he is alone and has over 60 unreleased songs that he plans to record when the time is right. He compares his writing process to an artist painting a picture, keeping it close to his heart until the picture is complete before he shares it with the world. Often drawing upon his own life experiences, Roger's songs convey personal messages which people around the world relate to.
"Give a Little Bit" was one of Princess Diana's favorite songs and in 2007 Roger accepted an invitation by Princes William and Harry to sing it at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium. It proved to be one of the highlights of the evening when the Princes and entire audience stood up and sang along to honor Princess Diana. Thirty-five years after writing this classic song, Roger received an award for the song being one of the most performed songs in the 2005 ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) repertory. In 2007, he received this award again for a remake of "Breakfast in America." Roger has donated his time and signature song "Give a Little Bit" to help raise funds for Tsunami Relief, Red Cross, UNICEF, World Vision, Hurricane Katrina efforts and other worthy causes.
In 2006, Roger released his first ever DVD from one of his live solo concerts in Canada. "Take The Long Way Home - Live in Montreal" went Platinum in just seven weeks and hit #1 in all of Canada and is now multi-Platinum and Gold in France. Featuring hits "Dreamer," "Give a Little Bit," "School," "Breakfast in America," "It's Raining Again" (to name a few), and a bonus orchestral version of "Fool's Overture," this DVD is a stunning reminder of the musical genius of Roger Hodgson and brings into our hearts and homes the music and memories that have touched so many of our lives into our hearts and homes.- Actor
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Don Airey was born on 21 June 1948 in Sunderland, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Rainbow: Japan Tour (1984), Deep Purple: All the Time in the World, Lyric (2013) and Deep Purple: Time for Bedlam, Lyric (2016). He is married to Doris. They have three children.- Music Department
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Jools Holland was born on 24 January 1958 in London, England, UK. He is a producer and actor, known for Spice World (1997), Valentine's Day (2010) and Bachelor Party (1984). He has been married to Christabel McEwen since 29 August 2005. They have one child.- Actor
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Geoff Downes was born on 25 August 1952 in Stockport, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), The Wedding Singer (1998) and Empire Records (1995).- Composer
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British composer Colin Towns is "one of the country's most prolific score writers for big and small screen" (quote: Financial Times). He not only writes for television drama and feature film but also for animation, documentary, adverts, idents and theatre. He also writes and arranges for numerous big bands across Europe, subsequently recording, touring and releasing his work.
His nominations include: BAFTA Best TV Music Award for the Crow Road; Ivor Novello Award for three of his TV scores (Goodbye Mr Chips, Clarissa and Blackheath Poisonings); the Royal TV Society Craft & Design Award for the Sculptress and the Canadian Gemini Award for best score for the animation Fungus the Bogeyman.
Theatre music credits include work for the Donmar Warehouse, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Hampstead Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Theatre Royal Bath, Art Sphere Theatre Tokyo, Royal Shakespeare Company Stratford-upon-Avon, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Druid Theatre, Galway.
He is the founder of the ensemble The Colin Towns Mask Orchestra, with whom he has released 7 albums and is also the owner of Provocateur Records. The Mask Orchestra have also recorded and toured Towns' ballet score The Orpheus Suite a commission by choreographer David Bintley of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
In 2011 he launched a 6-piece band Blue Touch Paper and he also works with some of Europe's most innovative big bands including NDR Bigband; HR Bigband and The Bohuslän Bigband.
British television work includes the much loved comedy Doc Martin, the final series of Foyle's War, Mobile, a 3 parter directed by Stuart Orme; psychological thriller Half Broken Things directed by Tim Fywell; Ghostboat, feature length drama directed by Stuart Orme; The Man Who Lost His Head, black comedy directed by Terry Johnson; A Good Murder, drama directed by Graham Theakston; Cold Blood, thriller drama series directed by Stuart Orme; Not Only But Always, comedy directed by Terry Johnson; Jack Taylor - The Guards, drama directed by Stuart Orme.
German and French television and film includes: Tatort; Flemming; Der Usedom-Krimi, Mon Ange (My Angel) starring Vanessa Paradis and directed by Serge Frydman; Rivieres Pourpres 2 (Crimson Rivers 2) starring Jean Reno, directed by Olivier Dahan; Double Zero directed by Gerard Pires; Albert Schweitzer, starring Jeroen Krabbe and directed by Gavin Millar.
Animation credits include: Fungus the Bogeyman for Gala Films; The Tale of Jack Frost for Zoo Films; Toot and Puddle for National Geographic; Angelina Ballerina for Hit Entertainment.
Past television, feature film and animation credits include: Man Dancin, feature film; Red Mercury, feature film; Goodbye Mr. Chips; Am Kreuzweg, German television drama; Sons and Lovers, television drama; Flemming, German television series: Maybe Baby, feature film; Essex Boys, feature film; Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, TV feature length; The Crow Road; Our Friends in the North, television series; The Sculptress, television drama; Cadfael, television series; World of Peter Rabbit and Friends, animation; Full Circle, feature film; The Puppet Masters, feature film; Vampire's Kiss, feature film.