This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2016) |
Ben & Jason | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Folk-pop, soft rock |
Years active | 1998–2003 |
Labels | Go! Beat, Universal, Setanta |
Past members | Ben Parker Jason Hazeley |
Website | Myspace |
Ben & Jason were a singer-songwriter duo from London, England consisting of Ben Parker and Jason Hazeley. Formed in 1998, they released three albums on the Go! Beat/Universal labels: Hello, Emoticons and Ten Songs About You. When they were dropped from their major label deal, the band released their final album, Goodbye, on the independent label Setanta.
As songwriters-for-hire, they collaborated with Mundy and Martine McCutcheon.
Their single "Air Guitar", from the album Emoticons, reached No. 79 in the UK Singles Chart. AllMusic described Emoticons as an "impressive collection of elegantly crafted folk pop." [1] Better known is their collaboration with Kinobe, "Slip into Something..." (from the album Soundphiles), which reached No. 78 in the UK. [2] The pair went their separate ways in December 2003 after disappointing results but excellent reviews from the penultimate album Ten Songs About You, and in particular the single "The Wild Things".
Ben Parker went on to form the band Lux Luther in 2004 with bass player Ollie Russian, drummer Ben Carpenter (now of the Creepy Morons) and guitarist Gavin Slater (now of Ghosts). After varying success on the London gig circuit, the band split in May 2006 when Parker decided to go solo. Parker appeared on the 2004 CD Scissors in My Pocket by Polly Paulusma in 2004, toured the UK with David Berkeley in 2007 and has also collaborated with Sophie Solomon on her second solo studio album. More recently, Parker has composed the music for BBC Three sitcom How Not to Live Your Life and worked on the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy as music tutor, arranger and producer. He now has a new band, The Chain (formerly Braxton Hix), formed in 2009 with singer Kate Aumonier and produces and writes for new artists such as Pearl & the Puppets and Dutch singer Waylon.
Jason Hazeley now writes comedy, and is one of the authors of The Framley Examiner , Bollocks to Alton Towers , Far from the Sodding Crowd and Viz .
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
Michael Stock is an English songwriter, record producer, musician, and member of the songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. He has been responsible for over a hundred top-40 hits in the UK, including 16 Number One's and is recognised as one of the most successful songwriters of all time by the Guinness World Records. As part of Stock Aitken Waterman in the 1980s and 90s, he holds the UK record of 11 number one records with different acts. In the UK Singles Chart he has written 54 top-ten hits including 7 number ones.
Peter Mark "Marc" Almond is an English singer best known from the synth-pop/new wave duo Soft Cell and for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has also had a diverse career as a solo artist. His collaborations include a duet with Gene Pitney on the 1989 UK number one single "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". Almond's career spanning over four decades has enjoyed critical and commercial acclaim, and he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. He spent a month in a coma after a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2004 and later became a patron of the brain trauma charity Headway.
Matthew Nicholas Hales is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer who has been performing professionally under the name Aqualung since the early 2000s. Aqualung is best known in the UK for his song "Strange and Beautiful", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen Beetle during the summer of 2002 and went on to become a top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart later that year. In the United States, Aqualung is also known for the song "Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A Lot Like Love and various television spots. Hales has released seven albums as Aqualung. The most recent, Dead Letters, appeared in 2022.
Texas are a Scottish rock band from Glasgow, founded in 1986 by Johnny McElhone, Ally McErlaine, and Sharleen Spiteri. Texas, despite their name, has no connection with the state of Texas, USA. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single "I Don't Want a Lover", which was a top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top ten of the charts in many other European countries. Southside entered at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number 88 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, and sold over two million copies worldwide. Despite the success of Southside, the follow-up albums Mothers Heaven (1991) and Ricks Road (1993) were less successful, peaking at number 32 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart respectively, but achieved moderate success on various European markets.
Graham Thomas Parker is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.
Jay Stuart Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his established talents as a songwriter, he is a guitarist, pianist, harmonicist, and a vocalist.
Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singer Ben Watt. The group's early works have been categorized as sophisti-pop with jazz influences before undergoing an electronic music turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed by Todd Terry.
SR-71 was an American rock band formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1998. They are best known for their 2000 single "Right Now", their 2002 single "Tomorrow", and as the original authors of Bowling for Soup's 2004 hit "1985". The name of the band came from SR-71 Blackbird, a supersonic surveillance aircraft of the United States Air Force. The band was originally known as Honor Among Thieves, and as was later the case with SR-71, lead singer Mitch Allan was the only constant member.
Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier was an American soul, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter.
"Hello Mary Lou" is a song written by American singer Gene Pitney first recorded by Johnny Duncan in 1960 and by Ricky Nelson at United Western Recorders Studios on March 22, 1961.
Thirteen:13 were a British alternative rock band, formed in 1999 by members of Catch.
Robert Adrian Catley is an English singer. He is the lead singer of the hard rock band Magnum and is also active as a solo artist.
"Concrete and Clay" is a 1965 hit single recorded by the UK pop group Unit 4 + 2. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1965. The song was written by group members Tommy Moeller and Brian Parker. It was also a top 40 hit for Eddie Rambeau in 1965.
Ginger Wildheart, sometimes known simply as Ginger, is an English rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career as a guitarist in The Quireboys, but is best known as the founder and leader of The Wildhearts. In addition, he has released numerous solo albums and has been involved in many other musical projects.
Alistair Ian Campbell is an English singer and songwriter who was lead singer and co-founder of the British reggae band UB40.
Xan Tyler is a British singer-songwriter.
Right Now is the debut studio album by Scottish singer Leon Jackson, released via Syco Music and Sony BMG, with Steve Mac serving as the albums sole producer. The album was preceded by Jackson's debut single, "When You Believe" which was released in December 2007. The album was first released in the Republic of Ireland on 17 October 2008, following a United Kingdom release on 20 October 2008.
Shakespears Sister were an alternative pop and rock musical duo that was formed in 1988 by Irish singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act but became a duo by 1989, with the addition of American musician Marcella Detroit. Together they released two top-ten albums and a string of top-forty hits, including the 1992 single "Stay", which remained at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for eight weeks. Detroit was let go from the band in 1993, leaving Fahey as the sole member again, until the latter ended the project in 1996. After working under her own name for some years, Fahey revived the Shakespears Sister moniker in 2009. In 2019, Fahey and Detroit reunited as Shakespears Sister for a tour and released the singles "All the Queen's Horses" and "When She Finds You", and the EP Ride Again.
Paul Begaud is an Australian born, US and UK #1 songwriter, record producer and singer. He has written and/or produced songs for artists including Delta Goodrem, Tina Arena, Human Nature, Terri Clark, Honeyz, R&B Singer Selwyn, Donny Osmond and country hall of fame star Wynonna Judd. Begaud's most notable songs include the US Country #1 "Now That I Found You" recorded by Terri Clark and the UK R&B #1 "End of the Line" recorded by UK girl group Honeyz. Begaud also composed the song "Dare to Dream" for the Sydney Olympic Games Opening Ceremony performed by Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham before a global audience of 4.5 billion. Begaud is a 3 x ARIA Producer Of The Year nominee.