Dio was an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Dio left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice. The name Dio was chosen because it made sense from a commercial standpoint, as the name was already well known at that time.
Los Lobos are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños. The band rose to international stardom in 1987, when their version of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic, and Robert Plant. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2018, they were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They are also known for performing the theme song for Handy Manny.
Poison is an American glam metal band formed in 1983, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The most successful incarnation of the band consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Bret Michaels, drummer Rikki Rockett, bassist and pianist Bobby Dall, and lead guitarist and backing vocalist C.C. DeVille. The band achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s and has sold 16 million records in the United States and over 50 million albums worldwide.
Julian Miles Holland, is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine, The The, Ringo Starr and Bono.
Bodyjar are an Australian pop punk band which formed in 1990. They began performing under the name Bodyjar in 1994; their previous names included Damnation (1990–91) and Helium (1992–93). The latter group released an album, You Can't Hold Me Down, in October 1992. As Bodyjar their original line-up were Cameron Baines on vocals and guitar; Ben Petterson on vocals and guitar; Grant Relf on vocals and bass guitar; and Charles Zerafa on drums. In 1995 Ross Hetherington replaced Zerafa on drums. In 1999 Tom Read replaced Petterson on guitar and in 2004 Hetherington made way for Shane Wakker on drums.
The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King along with Scott Gildersleeve, and John “Jack” Hayes. With the addition of Keith Hages joining on bass in 1983 the band started playing their first public performances. This original lineup played a total of five or six live shows. The original lineup of The Queers initially broke up in late 1984, but reformed with Joe Queer and a new line-up in 1986. In 1990, the band signed with Shakin' Street Records and released their first album Grow Up. The album earned the band notability within New England, but with the release of their next album 1993's Love Songs for the Retarded, on Lookout! Records, their following grew larger.
The Whitlams are an Australian indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the line-up has changed numerous times. From 2001 to 2022, he was joined by Warwick Hornby on bass guitar, Jak Housden on guitar and Terepai Richmond on drums – forming the band's longest-lasting and best-known line-up. Four of their studio albums have reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 20: Eternal Nightcap, Love This City, Torch the Moon and Little Cloud. Their highest charting singles are "Blow Up the Pokies" and "Fall for You" – both reached number 21. The group's single, "No Aphrodisiac" was listed at number one on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1997 by listeners of national radio station, Triple J. In January 1996 Stevie Plunder was found dead at the base of Wentworth Falls. Andy Lewis died by suicide in February 2000.
Geoffrey Noel Crombie is a New Zealand percussionist and former member of the band Split Enz. He fulfilled multiple roles including costume and hair designer, singer, album cover designer, and music video director. Prior to Split Enz, Crombie worked as a postal assistant and was also an artist. He attended Mana College and then moved to Auckland to study art at Elam School of Fine Arts.
Michael den Elzen is a musician and music producer based in Melbourne, Australia. He has performed for over 30 years with many well-known Australian and New Zealand artists, principally as a guitarist, and has contributed music for several Australian movie soundtracks.
Schnell Fenster were a New Zealand rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1986 by Noel Crombie on drums and percussion, Nigel Griggs on bass guitar and backing vocals, Phil Judd on lead vocals and guitar, and Eddie Rayner on keyboards and piano – who were all former members of New Zealand-formed rock group, Split Enz. Fellow founder, Michael den Elzen on lead guitar had worked with Tim Finn Band, another band formed by a Split Enz alumnus. Judd's band were briefly named The Wanx: but Rayner soon left and they changed their name to faux-German for "quick window", because it "appealed to [their] perversity". The group formed the core members of Noel's Cowards, a short-term ensemble, whose sole output was six tracks for the soundtrack of a feature film, Rikky and Pete, in 1988. Schnell Fenster released two studio albums, The Sound of Trees (1988) and Ok Alright a Huh Oh Yeah (1990), before disbanding in 1992. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989 they were nominated for Breakthrough Artist – Album for The Sound of Trees, Breakthrough Artist – Single for "Whisper" and Best Cover Art for Judd's graphic art.
The Lightning Seeds are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie, formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, the Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification (1994). The group experienced commercial success throughout the 1990s and are well known for their single "Three Lions", a collaboration with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1996 and 2018, with a re-worked version also reaching the top spot in 1998.
ApologetiX is an American Christian parody band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band was founded in 1990, and since then, has played in almost all 50 states, released 40 studio albums, and built up a fan club that includes over 65,000 people. The band is currently composed of J. Jackson on vocals, Keith Haynie on bass guitar, Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums, Bill Hubauer and Chris VonBartheld on keyboard, and Tom Milnes and Tom Tincha, both on lead guitar.
Maná is a Mexican pop rock band. The band is considered one of the best-selling Latin music artists and the most successful Latin American band of all time with over 40 million records sold worldwide. The group's current lineup consists of vocalist/guitarist Fher Olvera, drummer Alex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bassist Juan Calleros. Maná has earned four Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, six Premios Juventud awards, 19 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and 15 Premios Lo Nuestro awards.
The Makers were an Australian band formed by ex-Split Enz keyboardist, Eddie Rayner, and musician and singer, Brian Baker. The duo formed in 1988 after recording the tracks for a feature film, Rikky and Pete. The self-titled debut album The Makers released in 1990, provided three singles. The second album, Hokey Pokey, was released in 1992 with two further singles. They toured Australia in 1991 supporting the B-52's.
Tsuyoshi Sekito is a Japanese video game composer, arranger, and musician who has been employed at Square Enix since 1995. As a composer, he is best known for scoring Brave Fencer Musashi (1998), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) and The Last Remnant (2008). He also plays the guitar in the rock bands The Black Mages and The Star Onions; both groups arrange and perform compositions from the Final Fantasy series.
Weddings, Parties, Anything. was an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1999. Their name came from The Clash song "Revolution Rock". Musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the 70's.
Philip Raymond Judd is a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for being one of the founders of the bands Split Enz and The Swingers.
The Big Steal is a 1990 Australian teen comedy film set in Melbourne, Australia directed by Nadia Tass starring Ben Mendelsohn, Claudia Karvan and Steve Bisley. David Parker was the scriptwriter and cinematographer. The film went on to win three Australian Film Institute awards.
Safta Jaffery was the British founder and owner of one of the first producer management companies in the United Kingdom called SJP/Dodgy Productions. The company's producers produced albums for artists such as Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Roger Waters, Rolling Stones, Razorlight, Supergrass, Coldplay and The Cure, among others. They amassed over 150 certified platinum, gold and silver sales awards all across the globe. Jaffery was also the co-owner and managing director of the music publishing company Taste Music, Ltd. and the artist management company Taste Media, Ltd. Taste Media managed and produced a number of high-profile artists, most notably discovering, and representing the rock band Muse.
