The Dream Academy were a British band consisting of singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist Kate St John, and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. The band is most noted for their 1985 hit singles "Life in a Northern Town", "The Love Parade" and their 1985 cover of the Smiths' song "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want", which was featured in the John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off in 1986.
Nicholas Berry is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in EastEnders from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in Heartbeat from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart singles with "Every Loser Wins" in 1986, which went to number one, and the theme song from Heartbeat, a cover of the Buddy Holly song "Heartbeat", in 1992.
Simon May is a British composer. He has composed many British television theme tunes, including EastEnders and Howards' Way, and the music for the 1988 film The Dawning.
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections.
EastEnders is a long-running British soap opera that has aired on BBC One since 19 February 1985. Since its inception, several spin-offs have been produced, including books, television documentaries, videos, music singles and an album. During the run up to the first episode of EastEnders, interest with the public was already high, something which continued afterwards. EastEnders proved as successful as was hoped for by the BBC in its first years, so they capitalised on it with a number of products.
Cindy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Collins. She first appeared 10 May 1988 and originally departed on 27 December 1990, before returning as one of the show's central antagonists from 13 October 1992 until her exit episode on 10 April 1998; the character died off-screen of childbirth on 5 November 1998.
Simon "Wicksy" Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nick Berry between 1985 and 1990. Wicksy was introduced to take on some of the more adult storylines that had been scripted for another character, Mark Fowler; Mark's actor, David Scarboro, had left the serial prematurely due to personal problems. Wicksy was the soap's first male pin-up.
Kelvin Carpenter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul J. Medford from 12 March 1985 to 3 September 1987.
"You Can Call Me Al" is a song by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his seventh studio album, Graceland (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. Written by Simon, its lyrics follow an individual seemingly experiencing a midlife crisis. Its lyrics were partially inspired by Simon's trip to South Africa and experience with its culture. Released in August 1986, "You Can Call Me Al" became one of Simon's biggest solo hits, reaching the top five in seven countries.
The Banned is a fictional band in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The storyline first aired in 1986 and although it was considered to be a failure on-screen, it nevertheless became a successful part of the serial's extensive merchandising industry that year, as it spawned two hit singles in the UK Music Charts.
"You're the Voice" is a song written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder and Chris Thompson, and recorded by the Australian singer John Farnham and released as a single in September 1986 ahead of his album Whispering Jack. "You're the Voice" was one of the biggest hits of 1986 in Australia, topping the Kent Music Report singles chart for seven weeks from 3 November to 21 December. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1987 it won Single of the Year.
"Something Outa Nothing" is a song written by Simon May, Stewart James and Bradley James, for the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It featured in an EastEnders storyline in 1986 and was recorded by actors Letitia Dean and Paul J. Medford. It was released as a single in 1986 reaching number 12 in the UK Singles Chart.
The Final Wave is the second live album released by Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It is a recording of the band's final Melbourne concert on 27 January 1986. The album reached #16 on the Australian album charts upon its release.
"Stand Back" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her second solo studio album The Wild Heart (1983). The song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1983 and reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Top Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in August of that year. "Stand Back" has been a staple in Nicks' live shows since its pre-album debut at the 1983 US Festival, and it has also been included in the Fleetwood Mac tour set lists since 1987.
"Mockingbird" is a 1963 song written and recorded by Inez and Charlie Foxx, based on the lullaby "Hush, Little Baby".
"Fifty Grand for Christmas" or "50K for Christmas" is a holiday single by Paul Holt. It was released by Sanctuary Records on December 6, 2004. The song was written by Bradley and Stewart James, who also penned Nick Berry's #1 single "Every Loser Wins". The lyrics revolve around a bet that Simon Cowell made with auditionee Paul Holt during auditions for The X Factor, that he would pay him £50,000 if he got a #1 single. Holt was quickly signed by a record label - and backed by X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne - to release "Fifty Grand for Christmas", which only charted at #35 in the UK. The song was a pastiche of Roy Wood's style, though Holt's singing voice is similar to that of Gary Puckett.
Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock musician and producer. He was a founding member of Boom Crash Opera on guitar, bass guitar, vocals and as a songwriter in 1985; they released three albums before Pleasance left in 1992. Their hit Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles, "Great Wall" and "Onion Skin" were co-written by Pleasance, who also co-produced their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times. His debut solo release, Galleon received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards for 1992. Pleasance composed the theme music for Australian television series, SeaChange (1998–2001), for 2006 feature film Kenny and more recently he composed the theme music for the prison drama series Wentworth. Pleasance is married to Michelle and, as from May 2009, he was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria where he has a recording studio.
The Simon May Collection is a 2010 compilation album of television and film music written by Simon May.
"Get It Right" is a song performed by the cast of American television series Glee, taken from their sixth soundtrack album, Glee: The Music, Volume 5. It is sung by Lea Michele who portrays the series' lead character, Rachel Berry. The song was written by the series' music producer Adam Anders, who created the song with his wife Nikki Hassman, and writing partner Peer Åström. Anders and company wrote the song specifically for Michele, and based the lyrics on Rachel's storyline. The song was released with a number of Glee songs on the iTunes Store on March 15, 2011. Musically, "Get It Right" is a piano-driven pop ballad, with mild country influences. According to MTV's Aly Semigran, the song has similarities to Britney Spears' "Everytime" (2004).
