The Cuban Boys are an English electronic group and production team, currently composed of Skreen B and Ricardo Autobahn; the band formerly also included B.L. Underwood ("Blu") and Jenny McLaren. Their music is characterised by fast electronic beats, heavy reliance upon samples and the repetition of the name drop "the Cuban Boys" in the background of many of their tracks. They achieved success after being aired on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show with sample-heavy dance tracks and cut-ups and were responsible for the UK No. 4 hit single "Cognoscenti vs. Intelligentsia" which was released through EMI.
Blue are a British boy band consisting of members Simon Webbe, Duncan James, Antony Costa and Lee Ryan. The group formed in 2000 and released three studio albums before announcing a hiatus in late 2004. In January 2011, the group reformed and represented the United Kingdom at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with the song "I Can", coming in 11th place with 100 points. In 2013, it was confirmed that the group would be joining The Big Reunion, in which six groups from the past reform for a one-off gig. On 27 March 2013, the group announced they would embark on their first headlining tour later on in the year, their first tour in nearly ten years.
Eurovision: You Decide is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, including Festival of British Popular Songs (1957), Eurovision Song Contest British Final (1959–1960), The Great British Song Contest (1996–1999), Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up (2004–2007), Eurovision: Your Decision (2008), and Eurovision: Your Country Needs You (2009–2010), but was known, for most of its history, as A Song for Europe.
Uniting Nations are a British dance music act formed in Liverpool in 2004. They achieved chart success across Europe. The act was originally made up of Paul Keenan and Daz Sampson as band members, songwriters and producers. After their 2005 hit "Out of Touch", which was the debut and most successful single of the band, Craig Powell joined in as frontman of the band. A number of songs on the Uniting Nations' debut and only album One World, released in 2005 on Gut Records, were also performed by vocalist and session artist Jinian Wilde.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Teenage Life" written by Daz Sampson and John Matthews. The song was performed by Daz Sampson. The British entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was selected via the national final Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2006, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote.
"Everything" is a song recorded by Greek-Cypriot singer Anna Vissi, written by Nikos Karvelas and Vissi herself. It is best known as the Greek entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens.
"Teenage Life" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, which was sung by Daz Sampson in English.
"Boom Bang-a-Bang" is a song recorded by Scottish singer Lulu. The song was written by Alan Moorhouse and Peter Warne. It was the British winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, held in Madrid. It was the joint winner with three other entries: Salomé singing "Vivo cantando" for Spain, Lenny Kuhr singing "De troubadour" for the Netherlands, and Frida Boccara singing "Un jour, un enfant" for France.
"We Are the Winners" was the Lithuanian entry into the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, sung by Lithuanian all-star group LT United, consisting of Andrius Mamontovas, Marijonas Mikutavičius, Viktoras Diawara, Saulius Urbonavičius, Arnoldas Lukošius and Eimantas Belickas.
Bus Stop was a British dance act made up of Darren Sampson, alongside Graham Turner, Mark Hall and Nikki Reid (Lane). The group was formed in 1998 and had a string of hit singles before disbanding in 2002. Main vocalist, Sampson, went on to represent the UK in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Flying the Flag " written by Russ Spencer, Morten Schjolin, Andrew Hill and Paul Tarry. The song was performed by the group Scooch. The British entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland was selected via the national final Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2007, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through two rounds of public televoting.
John Matthews better known by his stage name Ricardo Autobahn is an English producer, songwriter and musician. He is also known in collaborations with Daz Sampson as in Rikki & Daz and the projects like Barndance Boys, Cuban Boys, and his current project Spray.
Brian "Red" Hurley is an Irish singer. Hurley's career includes singing lead for bands such as The Colours, The Wheels, and The Nevada. He had a series of number one records in the 1970s while performing with The Nevada. Hurley also represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 with the song "When".
Heart Full of Soul is the debut solo studio album released by Blue band member and singer, Antony Costa. The album was released only in Japan.
Rikki & Daz, was a pop music duo, formed in 2002 by John Matthews and Daz Sampson. John Matthews of the Cuban Boys fame and also known as Ricardo Autobahn, became Rikki in the duo. He teamed up with Sampson, named just Daz in the duo and went on to release the single, "Rhinestone Cowboy ", a take on Glen Campbell's hit "Rhinestone Cowboy". It featured the country singer in a new vocal for the release, and Campbell appeared in the video. The single went on to reach No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 16 in the Irish Singles Chart. The pair also contributed separately to a cover of their version of the song with the band Hyperbubble on their 2017 album Western Ware.
The Barndance Boys was an English trio musical formation made as a country and folk dance act in 2003. Barndance Boys was the brainchild of John Matthews from the Cuban Boys fame. He launched the novelty band with Darren Sampson known as Daz Sampson, with whom he had cooperated in many other musical projects including in the duo Rikki & Daz. Brian LH was also included to complete the trio.
Craig Powell is a British artist and former front man of the British dance act Uniting Nations. After leaving the musical band in March 2006, he has had top 20 chart success all over Europe, including United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Switzerland and France. He was also a keen martial arts sportsman in karate, jujitsu, kickboxing and he is very much fond of MMA.
Jinian Wilde, sometimes Jin Wilde and Wilde!, is an English singer, songwriter, studio vocalist, vocal instructor and musician who has worked with a number of musical projects and with UK's Paris Music. He is also founder of Wilde Rose Studio using the name Dr. VoX. He has collaborated most notably with Uniting Nations, Daz Sampson and since 2007 is lead singer in the David Cross Band, a band formed by David Cross who was the electric violinist of King Crimson.
Emily Reed is an English singer who took part in A Song for Europe, the selection process for representing the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003. She was one of four finalists, singing "Help Me". She finished second to the winning song "Cry Baby" by Jemini. "Help Me" brought in 64 points to the winning song's 68 points. Jemini went on to represent the UK and scoring "nul points" in the contest.
Western Ware is an album by the American synth-pop/electropop band Hyperbubble from Fellowshipwreck released on February 26, 2017. An aim of the collection was to follow through on the promise of band member Jess DeCuir to "plan to produce, mix and create the first electro Country & Western LP" since the work of Gil Trythall. One reviewer noted that the recording also marked a change for Hyperbubble in that while Jess is regarded as "the voice of band, ...on this album Jeff (DeCuir) cleans up rather nicely as lead vocalist on a good number of tracks."
