The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits ". Their music combines the danceable rhythms of ska and rocksteady with the energy and attitude of punk. Lyrically, their work presented overt political and social commentary.
Paul David Heaton is an English singer-songwriter. He was the frontman of the Housemartins, who had success with the singles "Happy Hour" and the UK number one "Caravan of Love" in 1986 before disbanding in 1988. He then formed The Beautiful South, whose debut single and album were released in 1989 to commercial success. They had a series of hits throughout the 1990s, including the number-one single "A Little Time". They disbanded in 2007. He subsequently pursued a solo career, which produced three albums, and in 2014 he released What Have We Become?, a collaboration with former Beautiful South vocalist Jacqui Abbott. As of 2022, he has recorded four more albums with her: Wisdom, Laughter and Lines in 2015, Crooked Calypso in 2017, Manchester Calling in 2020 and N.K-Pop in 2022.
Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the late 1970s to the present day.
Blazin' Squad were an English hip hop group. The group had six top ten hits, including "Crossroads", a cover version of the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony original. Jon O'Brien of AllMusic called them the "self-proclaimed pioneers of 'chav' culture".
3 of a Kind were a UK garage act, best known for their 2004 number one hit single, "Baby Cakes". Its members were Liana Caruana, Nicholas Gallante and Marc Portelli. Marc and Liana met the day they recorded "Baby Cakes".
"Black Betty" is a 20th-century African-American work song often credited to Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter as the author, though the earliest recordings are not by him. Some sources say it is one of Lead Belly's many adaptations of earlier folk material.
Ottis Dewey "Slim" Whitman Jr. was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. Recorded figures show 70 million sales, during a career that spanned over seven decades, and consisted of a prolific output of over 100 albums and around 500 recorded songs, that not only consisted of country music, but also of contemporary gospel, Broadway show tunes, love songs and standards. In the 1950s, Whitman toured with Elvis Presley as the opening act.
James Kerr is a Scottish singer and the lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You " (1985), which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Other commercially successful singles include "Glittering Prize" (1982), "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" (1982), "Waterfront" (1983) and "Alive and Kicking" (1985), as well as the UK number one single "Belfast Child" (1989).
DJ Luck & MC Neat are a British musical duo, composed of Joel Samuels and Michael Rose mainly performing a combination of house music and UK garage. They had three consecutive top 10 hits in the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2000.
James Morrison Catchpole is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 2006, his debut single "You Give Me Something" became a hit in Europe and Australia, peaking in the top five in the UK and claiming the number one spot in New Zealand. It preceded the release of his debut album Undiscovered (2006), which was released through Polydor Records and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart. In 2007, Morrison won the Brit Award for Best British Male.
"Café del Mar" is a song first released in 1993 by the trance project Energy 52. It is named after the famous bar located in Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. Almost instantly recognisable by its distinct melody, its popularity is reflected in the countless remixes that have since been created as well as its being featured on hundreds of CD compilations. The main melody of "Café del Mar" is based on "Struggle for Pleasure" by Belgian composer Wim Mertens.
Wonderful is the fifth solo studio album and the eighth LP overall of English musician Adam Ant, released in March 1995 by EMI. It peaked at number 24 on the UK Album Chart and number 143 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The band for this album included Ant's long-time collaborator Marco Pirroni, along with ex-Ruts drummer Dave Ruffy and Morrissey's guitarist Boz Boorer.
"Break 4 Love" is a song written, produced and recorded by Vaughan Mason, the principal member of American house music group Raze, the song's original credited performer. The song, the group's only significant US hit, featured vocals by Keith Thompson and Vaughan Mason, as well as sexual sound samples by Erique Dial. The single peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1988. It is still considered a classic of the early house music genre.
"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" is a song written by Enrique "Kiki" Garcia and Gloria Estefan, and released by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine in 1987 as the lead single from their tenth studio album, Let It Loose (1987),. The song was their fourth top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number five. In the UK, it took a year and a half for the single to become a chart hit.
Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant is a greatest hits compilation album from Adam Ant that covers his early work with Adam and the Ants as well as his solo work.
Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr is the first solo album by Simple Minds front-man Jim Kerr, released on 17 May 2010. The album entered the UK charts at No. 94 on 29 May 2010 and UK Independent Chart at No. 8. The album also made the charts in some other European countries, most notably Germany, Italy, France and Belgium.
A.K.A. is the eighth studio album by American singer Jennifer Lopez. It was released on June 13, 2014, by Capitol Records. Lopez started working on the album in February 2013, after the end of her first worldwide tour, the Dance Again World Tour. Originally scheduled to be released in November 2013, Lopez postponed the album release to 2014. Undecided between Same Girl and A.K.A. as the album's title, Lopez eventually chose the latter as the title.
"Runnin' (Lose It All)" is a song by British record producer Naughty Boy, featuring American singer Beyoncé and British singer Arrow Benjamin. It was released online on 17 September 2015 through Virgin EMI Records. Upon its release, the song received positive reviews from music critics, mostly praising the song's arrangements and Beyoncé's vocals. A music video was directed by Charlie Robins and it depicted a woman and a man chasing each other underwater. Commercially, the track has reached number one in France and Scotland, the top 10 in the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and the top 20 in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
"Rainin' in My Heart" is a song written by James Moore and Jerry West and performed by Harpo. It reached number 17 on the U.S. R&B chart and number 34 on the U.S. pop chart in 1961. It was featured on his 1961 album Slim Harpo Sings "Raining in My Heart..." It is not to be confused with the similarly titled Buddy Holly song, "Raining in My Heart".
