Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. They grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, the Spice Girls, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records.
The Presidents of the United States of America is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America, released on March 10, 1995, via PopLlama Records. Columbia Records signed the band shortly after its release to handle increased distribution for the album.
Screaming Trees were an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bassist Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel was replaced by Barrett Martin in 1991. Screaming Trees became known as one of the pioneers of grunge along with Melvins, Mudhoney, U-Men, Skin Yard, Soundgarden, Green River, and Malfunkshun, among others. Although widely associated with grunge, the band's sound incorporated hard rock and psychedelic elements.
Boston is the debut studio album by American rock band Boston, released on August 25, 1976, by Epic Records. It was produced by band guitarist Tom Scholz and John Boylan. A multi-instrumentalist and engineer who had been involved in the Boston music scene since the late 1960s, Scholz started to write and record demos in his apartment basement with singer Brad Delp, but received numerous rejections from major record labels. The demo tape fell into the hands of CBS-owned Epic, who signed the band in 1975.
Sponge is an American rock band formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1992 by vocalist Vinnie Dombroski, guitarist Mike Cross, bassist Tim Cross, drummer Jimmy Paluzzi, and guitarist Joey Mazzola. Dombroski and the Cross brothers were previously in the hard rock band Loudhouse, with Mazzola joining later before the end of the band's tenure. Sponge's discography includes ten studio albums, four live albums, and several charting singles. They are best known for their 1994 hit "Plowed", their 1995 hit "Molly ", and their 1996 hit "Wax Ecstatic ".
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of the brothers Ed and Dean Roland, Will Turpin (bassist), Johnny Rabb (drummer), and Jesse Triplett. Formed in 1992, the original lineup consisted of the Roland brothers, bassist David Neal, guitarist Ross Childress, and drummer Shane Evans. Collective Soul released their Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid album on the independent label Rising Storm Records in 1993. The band went from obscurity to popularity that year after the album's lead single "Shine" received regional radio play. Around the same time, Turpin replaced Neal on bass. The album was then re-released in 1994 by the major label Atlantic Records; thus, "Shine" became a national hit as it peaked at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock and No. 4 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released rock, funk, R&B, doo wop, soul music, blues, pop, rock and roll, and jazz records. In the United States, it is operated through Republic Records; in the United Kingdom and Japan, it is distributed by EMI Records.
David Thomas Mason is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic, and went on to play and record with many notable pop and rock musicians, including Paul McCartney, George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Steve Winwood, Fleetwood Mac, Delaney & Bonnie, Leon Russell, and Cass Elliot.
The discography of the English rock band the Who consists of 12 studio albums, 18 live albums, four soundtrack albums, 36 compilation albums, four extended plays, 58 singles and 25 video albums.
Patrick Henry Travers is a Canadian rock guitarist, singer and songwriter who began his recording career in the mid-1970s.
Tracy Kristin Bonham is an American alternative rock musician. Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, she is a classically trained violinist and pianist, and a self-taught guitarist.
The Storm was an American supergroup rock band, formed in the Bay Area of San Francisco during the early 1990s. The band's first single, power ballad "I've Got a Lot to Learn About Love", peaked at #6 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Hyæna is the sixth studio album by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 8 June 1984 by Polydor Records. The opening track, "Dazzle", featured strings played by musicians of the London Symphonic Orchestra (LSO), a 27-piece orchestra called the "Chandos Players"; it was scored from a tune that Siouxsie Sioux had composed on piano. Hyæna is the only studio album that guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure composed and recorded with Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Dreamboat Annie is the debut studio album by American rock band Heart. At the time, the band was based in Vancouver, British Columbia; the album was recorded in Vancouver and first released in Canada by the local label Mushroom Records in September 1975, eventually reaching number 20 on RPM's Top Album chart and earning a double platinum certification. It was released in the United States on February 14, 1976, through the US subsidiary of Mushroom Records in Los Angeles, peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200. It also reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and Australia in early 1977. The album contains three commercially successful singles, two of which, "Crazy on You" and "Magic Man", became staples on North American FM radio. Producer Mike Flicker helped the group to polish their sound and obtain a recording contract with the label.
Alpha is the second studio album by British rock supergroup Asia, released on 12 August 1983 by Geffen Records. It was recorded at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, and Manta Sound in Toronto from February to May 1983. Alpha adopted a notably more polished sound with radio-friendly elements and less emphasis on progressive rock sections. Like its multi-platinum predecessor, the album was produced by Mike Stone. It was also the last album to feature the band's original line-up for twenty-five years until Phoenix, which was released in 2008.
Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, but in January 2014, Universal restructured Fiction as a standalone label, removing it from Polydor's corporate affiliation. Fiction repertoire is now released internationally through Virgin.
Adrian Israel Gurvitz is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His prolific songwriting ability has gained him hits with Eddie Money's No. 1 Billboard Mainstream Rock hit "The Love in Your Eyes" and with his own song "Classic", a No. 8 UK hit single, as well as the top 10 UK Rock Chart single "Race with the Devil", with his band the Gun. He also co-wrote the track "Even If My Heart Would Break" from the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack The Bodyguard. His early bands the Gun, Three Man Army and the Baker Gurvitz Army were major influences to the first wave of the British hard rock circuit. Gurvitz also gained notability as a lead guitarist, known for his intricate, hard-driving solos. Gurvitz was placed at No. 9 by Chris Welch of Melody Maker’s "Best Guitarists in the World" list.
Flesh for Lulu were an English rock band formed in Brixton, London, England, active between 1982 and 1992. They reformed from 2013 to 2015 with a new lineup. Initially part of the post-punk scene, the band's sound shifted to reflect influences from pop music, country and western, rhythm and blues and blues.
The Circle is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi. Released on November 10, 2009, the album was produced by John Shanks. The album debuted at number 1 in several countries, including the U.S., where it sold 163,000 copies in its first week.
Crash Kings is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The members are vocalist–keyboardist Antonio "Tony" Beliveau, his brother, bassist Mike Beliveau, and drummer Tom Roslak. The band's debut album, Crash Kings, was released May 26, 2009, on Custard/Universal Motown. The first single, "Mountain Man", came out on U.S. modern rock radio stations in October and entered Billboard's Alternative Songs chart the following month. It reached #1 on the Billboard Alternative Radio charts in March 2010. The band is known for using analog keyboards, such as the clavinet, with distortion effects and a whammy bar, in place of a typical lead guitar.
