group, 1976–88) Songwriter Ric Ocasek (vocals, guitar) joined original members Benjamin Orr (bass), Elliot Easton (guitar) and Greg Hawkes (keyboards) to form a powerful unit. They drove The Cars up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their self-titled 1978 debut. The band cleverly mixed classic rock melody with a smattering of new wave edge. The deliciously ...
1985’s ‘James Brown’ are seen as precursors of house music. Many ‘industrial’ acts also cite The Cabs as an influence. Styles & Forms | Eighties | Rock Personalities | The Cars | Eighties | Rock ...
The string of hits that followed were all self-penned, something that set Berry apart from the majority of his contemporaries. His songs defined rock’n’roll with their teen-oriented themes about cars, girls and dancing. The exciting, driving yet loose guitar sound came courtesy of Berry’s Gibson ES 350T. The opening riff of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ typifies Berry’s style and ...
(Various instruments, vocals, b. 1958) Originally recording as Tubeway Army – the name used on his first No. 1 single ‘Are “Friends” Electric ?’ – Numan’s electronic music was influenced by Berlin-era Bowie and set in a dystopian future of his own imagining. The hypnotic synthesizers and emotionless vocals earned him a second 1979 chart topper ‘Cars’, which was ...
with ‘Pink’ on one and ‘Floyd’ on the other – that stood proudly in reception. Ironically, rather than Floyd, the interview concerned his love affair with high-octane performance cars and he talked with passion and enthusiasm about the thrill of motor racing. When all was spoken and done he took me on a guided tour through his personal forecourt ...
Arguably the most important alternative guitarist of the 1990s, Kurt Cobain (1967–94) was born in Aberdeen, Washington. His parents divorced when he was seven, which had a traumatic effect on Cobain, tainting the remainder of his life. From an early age, he showed a keen interest in music, singing along to Beatles’ songs on the ...
with Gary Levox (b. 1970), the second cousin of DeMarcus, and the trio – 2002 CMA Horizon Award winners – began. Songs like ‘Bless The Broken Road’ and ‘Fast Cars And Freedom’ have almost become mission statements and deliver music high on energy and radio playlist-friendly. Styles & Forms | New Country & The Neo-Traditionalists Personalities | Riders In The ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1994–present) Gary Lightbody (vocals) is the sole remaining member from the mid-1990s line-up of Snow Patrol – now Paul Wilson (bass), Johnny Quinn (drums), Nathan Connolly (guitar) and Tom Simpson (keyboards) – from college days in Dundee. Eyes Open sold 4.7 million copies worldwide in 2006, tracks ‘Run’ and ‘Chasing Cars’ big hits. Fifth studio album ...
Perhaps no other artist has forged so eclectic a career as guitarist-singer-songwriter-producer-technologist-experimenter Todd Rundgren (b. 1948). In his 40 years on the rock scene, Rundgren has pursued interests ranging from pop songcraft to experimental composition with his band Utopia, and from innovative record production to nostalgic reinvention tours with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band and The New Cars. Rundgren’s guitar ...
and songs that carried echoes of US radio rock as much as The Kinks (Hynde went on to marry and divorce the Kinks’ frontman, Ray Davies). Meanwhile, The Cars and The Knack successfully married new wave pop’s skinny-tie image and love of 1960s beat with familiar FM rock production, creating hits (‘My Best Friend’s Girl’ and ‘My Sharona’ ...
same message was conveyed in newspaper advertisements and leaflets. Lennon and Yoko returned to Toronto for another media blitz. Lennon: ‘I’m selling a product. Henry Ford knew how to sell cars by advertising. I’m selling peace. Yoko and I are just one big peace machine.’ George’s First Solo Appearance With considerably less fanfare than John Lennon and Yoko, George ...
January First US No. 1 When ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ shot to No. 1 in the Cashbox chart on 18 January, having leapt from No. 43 to the top slot, The Beatles were in Paris on a three-week run at the Olympia, staying at the grandiose George V Hotel where they were also writing songs for ...
in buying an island in the Aegean where they could live, record and make merry in the sunshine. It was a chaotic trip with missing yachts, broken-down hire cars and the media anticipating The Beatles’ every move. But the island that had been selected for them seemed suitable and George Harrison, Lennon and McCartney (Ringo Starr had returned ...
movement encompassed artists and writers as well as musicians, called for music to be invaded by the sounds of modern industrial society, of factories, trains, motor cars and planes. Their leading ‘composer’, Luigi Russolo (1885–1947), attempted to recreate these noises using specially constructed mechanical instruments. The composer Varèse was among those who saw these so-called intonarumori (‘noise-intoners’) ...
Get Drafted’, ‘Chemical Warfare’ and ‘Let’s Lynch The Landlord’ tell their own story. The album closed with a sarcastic cover of ‘Viva Las Vegas’. The cover image of burning police cars drove the point home. October Motörhead’s Ace In The Hole Despite mutual hostility between the two sets of fans, the combination of heavy metal and punk was a sure-fire ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.