Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes from the 1965 television series Belle and Sebastian. Though consistently lauded by critics, Belle and Sebastian's "wistful pop" has enjoyed only limited commercial success.
Erasure is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member of synth-pop duo Yazoo. From their fourth single, "Sometimes" (1986), Erasure established themselves on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the most successful acts of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. From 1986 to 2007, the pair achieved 24 consecutive top-40 entries in the UK singles chart. By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK top 40, including 17 climbing into the top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group.
The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, was held annually between 2000 and 2013, before being revived in 2018 but has not been held since.
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals, and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.
Texas is 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.
Steps are a British dance-pop group consisting of Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards, Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer and Ian "H" Watkins. They were formed in May 1997 and achieved two number-one albums in the UK, 14 consecutive UK top-5 singles including two number ones. The group has sold over 22 million records worldwide, 15 million albums worldwide.In-addition to earning a BRIT Award nomination in 1999, for Best Newcomer, the group would be an opening support act for Britney Spears on her debut American tour the same year. When Richards and Watkins departed to form a recording duo, the group disbanded, on 26 December 2001 (officially). Their penultimate single reached No. 5 on the UK charts, while their final album of greatest hits, Gold (2001), was the group's second No. 1 album in the UK.
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil and twin brothers James and Ben Johnston. Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have released nine studio albums, and following their first three albums, the band expanded their following significantly in 2007 with the release of their fourth album Puzzle, which peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and was awarded a Platinum certification by the BPI.
The Man Who is the second studio album by the Scottish rock band Travis. The album was released on 24 May 1999 through Independiente. It saw a change in musical direction for the band, moving away from the rockier tone of their debut Good Feeling (1997). Four singles were released: "Writing to Reach You", "Driftwood", and the top 10 hits "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" and "Turn".
Steve McCutcheon, known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern British music, with contributions to 30 number one singles in the UK Singles Chart.
Guillemots are a British indie rock band formed in November 2004, originally a four-piece of Fyfe Dangerfield, MC Lord Magrão, Aristazabal Hawkes and Greig Stewart. The band are based in London, with members coming from England, Brazil, Canada and Scotland respectively.
Geraldine "Dina" Carroll is an English singer. She had a string of hits during the 1990s, including the UK top ten singles, "It's Too Late" (1991), "Don't Be a Stranger" (1993), "The Perfect Year", (1993), and "Escaping" (1996). Carroll released two studio albums, So Close (1993) and Only Human (1996), both of which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and were certified platinum. She won Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1994 Brit Awards.
Beautiful World is the fourth studio album by the English pop group Take That. Released on 27 November 2006, it was the band's first studio album in 11 years; it was also the band's first album to be released as a four-piece instead of the original five-piece, without Robbie Williams, who had quit the group in 1995 and was not to rejoin them until 2010. Five singles were released from the album: "Patience", "Shine", "I'd Wait for Life", the European-only single "Reach Out", and "Rule the World", which appeared on the deluxe tour edition. The album features what Take That describe as "a throwback to the 90s, but with a modern twist". Beautiful World is their first album in which every member of the band sings lead vocals on at least one song.
British pop music is popular music, produced commercially in the United Kingdom. It emerged in the mid-to late 1950s as a softer alternative to American rock 'n' roll. Like American pop music it has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, as well as that of the Singles Chart usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs. While these basic elements of the genre have remained fairly constant, pop music has absorbed influences from most other forms of popular music, particularly borrowing from the development of rock music, and utilising key technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes. From the British Invasion in the 1960s, led by The Beatles, British pop music has alternated between acts and genres with national appeal and those with international success that have had a considerable impact on the development of the wider genre and on popular music in general
TMS are an English songwriting and record production team composed of Tom 'Froe' Barnes, Benjamin Kohn and Pete 'Merf' Kelleher. The trio have co-written records for a host of artists including Lewis Capaldi, Dua Lipa, John Legend, Maroon 5, G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha. They have collectively had twenty top 10 singles, sold over 15 million records, accumulated over 5 billion streams and have contributed to over fifty top 40 albums. They co-wrote and produced Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved" which spent seven consecutive weeks at number one and was the best selling single of 2019 in the UK. The song was nominated for Song of the Year at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards and won Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards.
Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of The X Factor. They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and originally Jesy Nelson, before her departure from the group in 2020. Regarded as the show's most successful winning act, their success led to a girl band renaissance in the UK. Little Mix's vocals and harmonies have garnered critical acclaim and the group have been ranked as one of the best vocal girl groups. They were often dubbed, by some media, as the "biggest girl group in the world", before going on a hiatus in 2022, allowing its members to pursue solo projects.
Camille Angelina Purcell, known professionally as Kamille, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from London, England.
Years & Years was an English electropop band formed in London in 2010. The band rose to fame after their single "King" (2015) topped the UK Singles Chart and entered the top ten hit in thirteen other regions. It was preceded by the release of their debut studio album Communion (2015), which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, and became the fastest-selling debut album of the year from a UK signed band. It also features the commercially successful single "Shine", which reached number two in the UK.
Jamie Hartman is an English songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, CA, and the former lead singer of the indie-pop band Ben's Brother.
Thomas Benjamin Grennan is an English singer and songwriter from Bedford and is based in London. Grennan found fame as the guest vocalist on Chase & Status's "All Goes Wrong" in 2016. His debut album, Lighting Matches, was released in July 2018. The album peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and includes the single "Found What I've Been Looking For".
Philip John Plested is an English singer and songwriter. He has co-written songs for artists including Lewis Capaldi, the Vamps, Little Mix, Kygo, James Arthur, Anne-Marie, and Bastille.
