Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in the Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of founding duo and principal songwriters Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, along with Martin Cooper and Stuart Kershaw (drums). Regarded as pioneers of electronic music, OMD combined an experimental, minimalist ethos with pop sensibilities, becoming key figures in the emergence of synth-pop; McCluskey and Humphreys also introduced the "synth duo" format to British popular music. In the United States, the band were an early presence in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion.
Happy Mondays is an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder (bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined the band onstage as a dancer and percussionist. Rowetta joined as a second vocalist in 1990. They were initially signed to Tony Wilson's Factory Records label.
The Sequence was an American female hip–hop trio from Columbia, South Carolina, who formed in 1979. The Sequence is noted as the first female hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill Records label in the late–1970s and early–1980s. The group consisted of Cheryl Cook, known as "Cheryl The Pearl", Gwendolyn Chisolm, known as "Blondy", and lead singer and rapper Angie Stone, known as Angie B, who were all high school friends.
Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson, John Munson, and Jacob Slichter. They are best known in the U.S. for their 1998 top-20 single "Closing Time". They also had international success with the singles "Singing in My Sleep", "Secret Smile" and "Chemistry".
Richard Paul Astley is an English singer. He gained fame through his association with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, releasing the 1987 album Whenever You Need Somebody, which sold 15 million copies worldwide. His debut single "Never Gonna Give You Up" was a No. 1 hit in 25 countries, winning the 1988 Brit Award for Best British Single. His 1988 single "Together Forever" became his second song to top the US Billboard Hot 100 and was one of his eight songs to reach the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The title track, "Whenever You Need Somebody", was also a No. 1 hit.
Stephen Brian Street is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album Viva Hate following the split of the Smiths.
Julee Ann Cruise was an American singer and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released four albums beginning with 1989's Floating into the Night.
"Sugar, Sugar" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, produced by Barry and recorded by The Archies, a fictional bubblegum pop band from Archie Comics. It was released as the group's third single on the Calendar Records label on May 24, 1969, rereleased on the Kirshner Records label in July 1969, and included on their second album, Everything's Archie. In the autumn of 1969, it topped both Billboard's Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, ranking number one for the year in both America and the UK. It is the most successful bubblegum pop single of all time, and is widely regarded as the apotheosis of the late-1960s/early-1970s bubblegum music genre. In mid-1970, R&B/soul singer Wilson Pickett achieved success on both the US soul and pop charts with a cover version.
Ooberman were an English band first formed in 1997 in Liverpool, England. The band released their debut album The Magic Treehouse in 1999. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release of their second album Hey Petrunko, but reformed in 2006 and released their third album Carried Away the same year. Six of their singles have charted on the UK singles chart, with "Blossoms Falling" (1999) peaking at #39.
"Arabian Knights" is a song by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees. The track was written by Siouxsie and the Banshees and co-produced with Nigel Gray. It was released in 1981 as the second and final single released from their fourth studio album, Juju.
"Never Too Much" is the debut song written, composed, produced, and performed by Luther Vandross. The R&B song was released in 1981, as the lead single from Vandross's debut album of the same name. The title track hit number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, reached number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Hey Petrunko is the second album by Ooberman, released in March 2003 on the band's own Rotodisc label. It was recorded and produced by the band.
Carried Away is the third album by Ooberman, released in August 2006 on the band's own Rotodisc label. It was recorded and produced by the band.
Running Girl is a mini-album by Ooberman, released in October 2001 on the band's own Rotodisc label. A single of the title track was released in November 2001. The title track was also featured on the band's Hey Petrunko album.
The Shorley Wall EP was the second release by Ooberman, following the Sugar Bum single, and was the first release that gained the band attention from the press and music fans. It was named as the single of the year for 1998 by The Times.
Bluebell Morning is an EP by Ooberman, released in May 2002 on the band's own Rotodisc label. The title track and "SnakeDance" were reworked and featured on the band's 2003 album Hey Petrunko.
The discography of Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, an American rapper, consists of four solo albums, two compilation albums, and several singles. Bey began his hip hop career in 1994 in the underground rap group UTD alongside his sibling group members DCQ and Ces, after which he pursued a solo career. In 1998, he made his mainstream debut on Rawkus Records in the duo Black Star with rapper Talib Kweli. "Definition", the lead single from Black Star's self-titled debut album, reached No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
Tear Down These Walls is the seventh studio album by British singer Billy Ocean, released in February 1988 by Jive Records as the follow-up to Ocean's critically and commercially successful 1986 album Love Zone.
"Diggin' a Hole" is a song by Canadian rock band Big Sugar. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1996 album, Hemi-Vision. The song was co-written by Canadian musician Andy Curran and well known Canadian actor and TV host Dan Gallagher. The song was re-released in 1999 on the U.S. version of Big Sugar's next album, Heated. The song was featured on the compilation album Hit Zone 3.
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head is the twenty-fifth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in the spring of 1970 by Columbia Records. Williams was less focused on covering recent hits on this project and instead selected several songs from the singer-songwriter genre. The concept for the album came from Mason Williams, who contacted producer Dick Glasser about co-producing an album that would give Williams's fans a medley of songs that did more than just highlight the most familiar parts of popular songs but rather focus on a unifying theme or storyline of songs that were not necessarily hit records. Billboard magazine opined that the album "may well be titled 'A Journey Through Life.' Through carefully selected songs it conveys a message of dreams, hopes, reality, frustrations and ultimate truth."
