Madness are an English ska band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up. Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
George Michael was a British singer, songwriter and record producer. Known as a leading creative force in music production, songwriting, vocal performance and visual presentation, he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the MTV era.
"We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, first released on their 1977 album News of the World. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems. The song was a worldwide success, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, number three in Canada and the top ten in many other countries. In 2009 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and was voted the world's favourite song in a 2005 Sony Ericsson world music poll. In 2011, a team of scientific researchers concluded that the song was the catchiest in the history of popular music.
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download, or video release. In other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album.
Melanie Jayne Chisholm, better known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer, best known as one of the five members of the Spice Girls, during which time she was nicknamed Sporty Spice.
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained, hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers in July 1965. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
Westlife are an Irish boy band, formed in 1998 in Sligo, Ireland. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Markus Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne; one of its original members, Brian McFadden, departed the band in 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reunited in 2018.
Lisa Jane Stansfield is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, along with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, formed Blue Zone in 1986. The band released several singles and one album, but after the success of Coldcut's "People Hold On" in 1989, on which Stansfield was featured, the focus was placed on her solo career.
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK. Described as a "high watermark of mid-80s British synthpop songcraft", it was written and produced by George Michael, and has been covered by many artists since its original release.
Louise Gabrielle Bobb, known professionally as Gabrielle, is a British singer and songwriter. Bobb was born in Hackney, London. She released her debut single "Dreams" in 1993 and it topped the UK Singles Chart the same year. Her other singles include "Going Nowhere", "Give Me a Little More Time", "Walk On By" and "If You Ever" – a duet with East 17.
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single, which topped the pop charts in the United Kingdom, though it performed poorly in the United States because Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, disliked the song and refused to promote it.
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland.
"You Raise Me Up" is a song originally composed by the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret Garden. The music was written by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland, and the lyrics by Brendan Graham. After the song was performed early in 2002 by the Secret Garden and their invited lead singer, Brian Kennedy, the song only became a minor UK hit. The song has been recorded by more than a hundred other artists including American songwriter Josh Groban in 2003 and Irish boy band Westlife in 2005 whose versions were hits in their countries. Welsh singer Aled Jones and all-female Irish ensemble Celtic Woman have also recorded successful covers.
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist. She was born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, and she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.
Adam Richard Wiles, known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. After focusing on self-sung projects, in 2012, Harris released his third album 18 Months, which involved various vocalists in its single records and gained international recognition. He has released five studio albums and at one point ran his own record label, Fly Eye Records, which he founded in 2010.
"Flying the Flag " is a song performed by British pop/bubblegum dance group Scooch. The official single version was available from 30 April 2007 and was released as a physical CD single in the following week, on 7 May 2007.
"Rule the World" is a song by British boy band Take That. It was recorded for the soundtrack of the film Stardust (2007), and then included on the deluxe edition of their fourth studio album Beautiful World (2006). It was released in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2007 via digital download and as a CD single the following day. The single peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and went on to become the group's second best selling single, shifting over 1.2 million units and being certified as 2x Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Home" is a song by Canadian singer Michael Bublé, and released on January 24, 2005, as the second single from his second major-label studio album, It's Time. The song was written by Bublé, along with co-writers Alan Chang and Amy Foster-Gillies.
"Chasing Cars" is a song by Scottish-Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Eyes Open (2006). It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the United States and 24 July 2006 in the United Kingdom. The song gained significant popularity in the US after being featured in the second season finale of the popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy, which aired on 15 May 2006.
Kirsty Anna MacColl was a British singer and songwriter. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" and cover versions of Billy Bragg's "A New England" and The Kinks' "Days". Her song "They Don't Know" was covered with great success by Tracey Ullman. MacColl also sang on recordings produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite, most notably "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues.
