Afro Celt Sound System are a European and African group who fuse electronic music with traditional Gaelic and West African music. Afro Celt Sound System were formed in 1995 by producer-guitarist Simon Emmerson, and feature a wide range of guest artists. In 2003, they temporarily changed their name to Afrocelts before reverting to their original name.
Band Aid was the collective name of a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. On 25 November 1984, the song was recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, and was released in the UK on Monday 3 December. The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. Three re-recordings of the song to raise further money for charity also topped the charts, first the Band Aid II version in 1989 and the Band Aid 20 version in 2004 and finally the Band Aid 30 version in 2014. The original was produced by Ure. The 12" version was mixed by Trevor Horn.
Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in Münster in 1982. They gained popularity in the 1980s. The group was founded by singers Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens. They achieved chart success with the singles "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "The Jet Set", and "Dance with Me". Gold remains the only continuous member of Alphaville. They took their name from Jean-Luc Godard's film of the same name.
Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Dorset, the group's biggest hit was "In the Summertime". They had nine charting singles in the UK, including two number ones, five top 20 hits in South Africa, and four in the Top 100 in Canada.
Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They later moved to Stockbridge, Georgia, and more members joined. Some members of the band currently work as ministers for Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia. The band has won a Grammy and a Dove Award.
"Atomic" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fourth studio album, Eat to the Beat (1979). Written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released in February 1980 as the album's third single.
Mint Condition is an American R&B band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band is focused on diverse genres such as jazz, hip hop, funk and dance. Mint Condition has also been nominated for one Grammy and three Soul Train Awards. The group is credited with being one of the last major funk bands to chart before hip-hop and new jack swing dominated black music in the 1990s.
"Red Rubber Ball" is a pop song written by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel, recorded by The Cyrkle, whose version reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and in South Africa and New Zealand. In Canada, the song reached No. 1.
Journey South are an English singing duo, consisting of brothers Andy and Carl Pemberton. They are from Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. Initially the brothers lead a five piece rock band 'The Answer' featuring musicians from the North East of England. After various line-up changes the band moved from Teesside to Essex in July 2000 changing their name to Journey South and becoming a four piece pop/rock band. The initial line-up of Journey South featured Andy and Carl Pemberton along with Paul Williams on keyboard, Max Justice on drums and Matt Ellis on bass. The line up disbanded in 2001 leaving Andy and Carl as the only members. The duo were the last contestant eliminated on the second UK series of television talent show The X Factor in 2005. In July 2015, Andy announced that Journey South had disbanded. However, they have since returned, releasing new songs on Spotify and new videos on YouTube.
"You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" is a song by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO). The song was written by Randy Bachman for the band's third studio album Not Fragile (1974). It was released as a single in 1974, with an instrumental track "Free Wheelin'" as the B-side. It reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and the Canadian RPM chart the week of November 9, 1974, as well as earning the band their only major hit single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single, "Roll on Down the Highway", was also a minor UK hit.
Six were an Irish pop group who formed on the Irish version of the television programme Popstars in 2002. The programme aired on RTÉ One on Sunday nights in the autumn and winter of 2001–02. The band were signed to Simon Cowell under BMG Records UK and managed by Louis Walsh who also appeared as a judge on the show. Their first single, "There's a Whole Lot of Loving Going On", is currently the fastest and third-biggest selling single in Irish history.
"Anyone Who Had a Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) for Dionne Warwick in 1963. In January 1964, Warwick's original recording hit the Top Ten in the United States, Canada, Spain, Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium and Australia.
"Hot Love" is a song by English glam rock band T. Rex, released as a standalone single on 12 February 1971 by record label Fly. It was the group's first number one placing on the UK Singles Chart, where it remained at the top for six weeks beginning on 14 March 1971.
"Touch Too Much" is the debut single by the British band Arrows sung by lead vocalist Alan Merrill, and composed by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was a top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 8 in June 1974. Merrill told Songfacts that the song was turned down by David Cassidy, Suzi Quatro and Sweet.
"Nelson Mandela" is a song written by British musician Jerry Dammers, and performed by the band the Special A.K.A. with a lead vocal by Stan Campbell. It was first released on the single "Nelson Mandela"/"Break Down the Door" in 1984.
Judy Boucher is a reggae and R&B singer. Her first solo song "Dreaming of a Little Island" was a hit in the reggae charts in 1985, and she is best known for her international hit single "Can't Be with You Tonight", which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1987.
"Tom Hark" is an instrumental South African kwela song from the 1950s, believed to have been composed by Jack Lerole. The song was arranged for penny whistle and first recorded by Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes – a South African band formed by pennywhistlers Jack and his brother Elias Lerole – and released in 1956. It was later released in the United Kingdom after it was used as a theme on a television series, and it reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1958.
"Black Is Black" is a song by the Spanish rock band Los Bravos, released in 1966 as the group's debut single for Decca Records. Produced by Ivor Raymonde, it reached number two in the UK, number four in the US, and number one in Canada. With the recording's success, Los Bravos became the first Spanish rock band to have an international hit single. A dance remix was released as a single in 1986.
Stevie Vann, also known as Stevie Lange, is a Zambian-born British singer and vocal coach. She is best known for her work as a backing vocalist and studio singer for many groups and solo performers in the 1970s and 1980s. As lead vocalist for the group Night, she had two top 20 U.S. chart hits in the late 1970s.
Prime Circle are a South African rock band, based in Johannesburg. The band has released 7 studio albums and achieved either gold or platinum status in South Africa. The band has expanded its audience to England and Europe where they are represented by a German agent and have signed an international recording deal, performing at festivals and their own shows in Germany.
