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John O'Connor [1] (born 1949) is a British guitarist, songwriter, and composer. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.
O'Connor studied guitar at the London College of Music. He formed Bark recording studio in the 1980s in Walthamstow, North London. [2] He produced, engineered and played guitar on hundreds of records for singers, bands, TV and radio commercials. He moved to California later that decade. He transitioned from writing music to playing music in the 1990s. He played in bands and toured with singers including Maddy Prior, Rick Kemp, Isla St Clair and Bucks Fizz. [3]
In 1982, he and songwriting partner Graham Lister wrote and recorded "Arthur Daley he's Alright". The song was released under the name The Firm by Stiff Records and reached the Top Ten in the UK charts.
In 1987, along with co-writers Graham Lister and Rory Kehoe, O'Connor wrote and recorded "Star Trekkin'". The single spent a fortnight at number one on the UK Singles Chart, [4] and became the tenth best-selling single of 1987 [5] in the UK, selling more than a million copies worldwide. [3]
All singles and more songs were later released on an album called Serious Fun released by K-Tel. [6]
O'Connor moved to California in the late 1980s, where he began writing and recording instrumental new age/world music under the pseudonym Eko. [3] He made five CDs for Higher Octave Music, the first of which was Future Primitive (1989) which reached the Billboard Top Ten New Age Albums. The other albums he wrote were Logikal (1992), Alter Eko (1994), and Celtica (1996). [7] Future Primitive sold about 75,000 copies while the other albums were less popular and sold about 30,000 copies. [7] After completing the final CD in 1996, he appears to have stopped using the pseudonym.
In 1997, 20th Century Fox and Judgmental Films invited him to create the music for the first episode of a new animated television series, King of the Hill, for the Fox television network. He became one of three regular composers for the Emmy award-winning show. The show ran for 13 seasons, ending in 2010. It remains in syndication. [3] In 1998, he won the BMI TV Music Award. [8]
Modern Talking was a German pop duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the top five in many countries. Their most popular singles are "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", "You Can Win If You Want", "Cheri, Cheri Lady", "Brother Louie", "Atlantis Is Calling " and "Geronimo's Cadillac".
Boyzone is an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. Its most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. As of 2018, Boyzone had released seven studio albums and nine compilation albums.
Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. The band's current lineup consists of Sandoval, Colm Ó Cíosóig, Suki Ewers (keyboards), and Josh Yenne.
My Love Is Your Love is the fourth studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released worldwide on November 17, 1998. It was Houston's first studio album in eight years, following I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) although she had participated on three movie soundtracks during that period. My Love Is Your Love is composed of mid-tempo R&B, hip hop soul, pop and dance music, produced by musicians such as Whitney Houston herself, Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock & Karlin, Missy Elliott, Wyclef Jean, David Foster, Lauryn Hill, and Babyface.
This is a summary of 1998 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti, better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 2003. This led to him being signed to Virgin Records and having two UK top 10 hits as a solo artist in 2004: "Eyes on You" at No. 6 and "Stolen" at No. 4. They were included in his critically acclaimed debut album Me Against Myself which, though only moderately successful in the UK, sold more than two million copies across Asia and remains his most successful album to date. Alongside the Rishi Rich Project, Sean was a pioneer of Bhangra-R&B fusion, which his debut album helped popularize among the worldwide South Asian diaspora.
"Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a song by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind". It was released on 13 September 1997 as a tribute single to Diana, Princess of Wales, with the global proceeds from the song going towards Diana's charities. In many countries, it was pressed as a double A-side with "Something About the Way You Look Tonight". It was produced by Sir George Martin.
"Fever" is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, who used the pseudonym "John Davenport". It was originally recorded by American R&B singer Little Willie John for his debut album, Fever (1956), and released as a single in April of the same year. The song topped the Billboard R&B Best Sellers in the US and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard pop chart. It was received positively by music critics and included on several lists of the best songs when it was released.
"SOS" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in June 1975 as the fifth single from their self-titled 1975 album.
A Girl Like Me is the second studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on April 10, 2006, by Def Jam Recordings. For the production of the album, Rihanna worked with Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate, J. R. Rotem, and label-mate Ne-Yo, who wrote the album's second single. Described as a "deft mixture of island rhythms, contemporary R&B, and balladry", A Girl Like Me is a pop, reggae and R&B album influenced by Rihanna's Caribbean roots. The album also incorporates elements of dancehall, dub-pop, hip hop, club, dance and rock music as well as ballads, which music critics were ambivalent towards.
Fascination Records is a United Kingdom-based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as an imprint of Polydor Records. The label was launched in spring of 2006, and is managed by former TOTP Magazine editor Peter Loraine.
"Star Trekkin' " is a song by British novelty band the Firm. It parodies the first television series of Star Trek and prominently features comical voice caricatures of the original Trek characters, provided by members of the band, a studio technician, and the wife of one of the songwriters. One of the song's phrases, "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it", originated with "Star Trekkin'" but has been subsequently misattributed to the TV series.
The Firm was a British music act, formed by guitarist, session musician and music producer John O'Connor, which had hits in the 1980s with novelty songs.
The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, by lead vocalist, keyboardist, and guitarist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic and released their first album The Script in August 2008, preceded by the debut single "We Cry" as well as other singles such as "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", "Breakeven" and "Before the Worst". The album peaked at number one in both Ireland and the UK. Their next three albums, Science & Faith (2010), #3 (2012) and No Sound Without Silence (2014), all topped the album charts in Ireland and the UK, while Science & Faith reached number two in Australia and number three in the United States. Some of the hit singles from the albums include "For the First Time", "Nothing", "Hall of Fame" and "Superheroes". The band's fifth studio album, Freedom Child, was released on 1 September 2017, and features the UK Top 20 single "Rain". Their sixth studio album, Sunsets & Full Moons, was released on 8 November 2019, and features the single "The Last Time". A Greatest Hits album was released on 1 October 2021.
Only by the Night is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in September 2008 through RCA Records. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the release of their third, Because of the Times. The album was recorded by producers Jacquire King and Angelo Petraglia in April 2008 at Nashville's Blackbird Studio.
"Sex on Fire" is the first single released from American rock band Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, Only by the Night. The song gave Kings of Leon their first number-one single in Australia, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, charting at the top spot on digital downloads alone in the latter country, before its physical release. In September 2009, it was Britain's second most-downloaded digital single ever. The song has sold 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom as of November 2012. It has also gained significant popularity in the United States, reaching number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's second highest-charting song there on the latter chart.
Battlefield is the second studio album by American singer Jordin Sparks, first released on July 17, 2009 through Jive Records and 19 Recordings. The album debuted at number 7 in the United States, number 11 in the UK, number 34 in Australia and top 20 in many territories.
"S.O.S. " is a song performed by American R&B and pop recording artist Jordin Sparks. It is the second single from her second studio album titled, Battlefield. The song was released first in New Zealand on August 14, 2009 and was sent to US radio on September 29, 2009. It was released in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2009.
The Invisible Men is a song writing and music production trio consisting of Jason Pebworth, George Astasio and Jon Shave. Song's written by The Invisible Men have so far achieved over 7 billion Spotify streams, 30 million record sales worldwide and the duo has frequently ranked among Music Week's Top Songwriters. The duo's song writing and production catalogue includes Becky Hill & Sigala's Heaven On My Mind, Sigala's Say You Do and Just Got Paid, DJ Fresh's UK No. 1 hit "Hot Right Now", No. 3 hit "Dibby Dibby Sound" and Conor Maynard's debut top 5 hits "Can't Say No" and "Vegas Girl", Jessie J's hits "Do It Like A Dude", "LaserLight", "Who's Laughing Now?" and the Noisettes' "Don't Upset The Rhythm" and "Never Forget You".
Alexander Junior Grant, professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British music producer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for producing several hit singles for artists of multiple music genres, such as Dr. Dre, Nicki Minaj, B.o.B, Eminem, Matthew Koma ("Stars"), Diddy, Imagine Dragons and Cheryl.
Here I am at 49...