1746–1827 English composer and organist Born in Norwich, Hook was musically precocious, performing in public when he was six and composing an opera at eight. At 17 he settled in London as an organist, and soon obtained posts as organist and composer at Marylebone Pleasure Gardens and then (in 1774) at Vauxhall, retiring in 1820. A fluent ...
(also known as the krummhorn or cromorne) was made out of wood – usually boxwood – that had been bent rather than carved. The bell turned dramatically upwards like a hook, and the narrow cylindrical body flared only slightly, making the instrument lower in pitch than one with a conical bore of the same length. Like the recorder, ...
Harps with multiple ranks were cumbersome to play, however, and in the seventeenth century, a technique was developed of stopping the string by turning a small metal hook next to the string on the fingerboard to increase its tension. Such a system was too slow to be of any value but it led to the creation of the ...
New-wave guitarist Bernard Sumner (b. 1956) was born in Salford, Manchester. Seeing the Sex Pistols in Manchester in June 1976 inspired Sumner and Peter Hook to acquire their first instruments, guitar and bass respectively. Originally called Warsaw, later Joy Division, they recruited drummer Stephen Morris and singer Ian Curtis for their band, making some self-produced records ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1992–present) Formed in Georgia, USA by Ed Rowland (guitar, vocals), brother Dean Rowland (guitar), Ross Childress (guitar), Will Turpin (bass) and Shane Evans (drums). Helped by the ripple effect of the Seattle grunge movement, their hook-laden 1994 single ‘Shine’ became an American hit securing a willing audience for the band’s intense but melodic rock. Hints ...
(Vocals, guitar, b. 1957) Lauderdale pays his bills by writing hook-laden hits for mainstream-country performers such as George Strait, The Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill and Mark Chesnutt, but his own recordings reflect a penchant for traditional country and a quirky sense of humour that land him in the alt.-country category. He grew up in South ...
One half of the infamous ‘Toxic Twins’, along with vocalist Steven Tyler, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry projects a swagger and ultra-cool stage presence that few guitarists can match. Fewer still possess his capacity for muscular, gritty soloing and hook-laden riffing. For over 30 years now, Perry and his stinging guitar tone, generated most often via his signature Gibson ...
of a German song tradition. Recommended Recording: Sacred Music by Cantors of St Thomas’s, Thomanerchor Leipzig (dir) Hans-Joachim Rotzsch (Capriccio) Introduction | Classical Era | Classical Personalities | James Hook | Classical Era | Classical ...
Recorded at the same time as Kid A, Amnesiac (2001) had a lighter feel, but the guitars were mostly used for ambient textures, apart from Greenwood’s catchy hook on ‘I Might Be Wrong’. While the songs on Hail To The Thief (2003) remained complex, some of Radiohead’s earlier energy returned. After a lengthy hiatus, In Rainbows ...
Division’s often bleak and claustrophobic music continues to inspire and influence. Enthused by The Sex Pistols’ legendary first Manchester gig in 1976, school friends Bernard Sumner (guitar) and Peter Hook (bass) formed Stiff Kittens, quickly renamed Warsaw. Recruiting Ian Curtis (vocals) and Steven Morris (drums), they became Joy Division in late 1977. Working with maverick producer Martin Hannett for ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1980–93, 1998–2007) Formed by the remaining members of Joy Division after Ian Curtis’s suicide. Bernard Sumner (guitar, vocals), Peter Hook (bass) and Stephen Morris (drums) with Gillian Gilbert (keyboards, synthesizers) added extra groove and technology to the angular post-punk beats of their former band, thus heavily influencing the ‘Madchester’ and dance music scenes of ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1990–present) Emerging out of former Seattle band Mother Love Bone, the classic line-up consisted of Eddie Vedder (vocals), Stone Gossard (guitar), Mike McCready (guitar), Jeff Ament (bass) and Dave Abbruzzese (drums). The spiky hook-laden rock of Ten (1991) sold in large numbers after Nirvana made Seattle alternative bands popular. Touring with the Lollapalooza II circus cemented their ...
(Vocal duo, 1984–present) As Sweden spawned ABBA, it should come as no surprise that the country’s biggest pop export of the 1990s were also masters of melodic, hook-laden pop songs. Per Gessle and the striking-looking Marie Fredriksson announced themselves with Look Sharp! (1989), which spawned hit singles like the aptly named ‘Dressed For Success’. Over the next ...
earthier R&B rhythm section and rootsy gospel backing vocals. Wonder was one of the very first pop artists to embrace the emerging world of electronic keyboards, and used the hook of the new sounds to good effect on a string of hits such as 1968’s ‘Shoo Be Doo Be Doo Da Day’ (which acknowledged another of R&B’s root influences, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1989–present) Ian Broudie produced bands as diverse as Echo And The Bunnymen and Icicle Works before his own success. The electronic hook of ‘Pure’ was recorded alone, becoming an unexpected hit in 1989. From here The Lightning Seeds then became a studio and touring act in support of a string of immaculate hit pop songs including ‘Three ...
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