Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock and flashy glam rock scenes at the time. Although short-lived, pub rock was played live in small traditional venues like pubs and clubs. Since major labels showed no interest in pub rock groups, pub bands sought out independent record labels such as Stiff Records. Indie labels used relatively inexpensive recording processes, so they had a much lower break-even point for a record than a major label.
Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upper Stort Valley, which has been made navigable through other towns and features a canal section near its watermill.
The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England, that operated from 1976 to 2009.
Eddie and the Hot Rods are a pub rock band from Essex founded in 1975. They are best known for their 1977 UK top ten hit "Do Anything You Wanna Do", released under the shortened name Rods. The group broke up in 1985, but reformed in 1996. Singer Barrie Masters was the only constant member until his death in 2019. The band continued to tour, fronted by their former bassist, Ian 'Dipster' Dean.
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts.
Lee's Palace is a rock concert hall located on the south side of Bloor Street West east of Lippincott Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Paul Murray Granville Gray is an English bassist notable for playing with the rock bands Eddie and the Hot Rods and The Damned.
Harlow Town Football Club is an English football club based in Harlow, Essex. The club is a member of the Eastern Counties League Division One South and plays at The Harlow Arena.
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue in London, England. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, originally opened in 1887, with an art moderne structure built between 1935 and 1937 by specialist American architect C. Howard Crane. With the active support of London mayor Boris Johnson, in an attempt to create Europe's "largest regeneration scheme", its proposed heritage listing was refused after it was acquired by developers, who promptly in 2008 applied for and were granted a Certificate of Immunity from Listing by English Heritage, and its demolition was completed in 2017.
The Starwood Amphitheatre was the primary outdoor music venue in the Nashville, Tennessee area from 1986 to 2006. It was owned by Live Nation and had a capacity of 17,137. It had previously been owned by SFX Entertainment and Clear Channel Worldwide, both predecessors of Live Nation Entertainment. It was demolished in 2007 and the site, as of 2021, has not yet been redeveloped. It was not affiliated with the now-defunct Starwood hospitality company.
The Guvernment, formerly known as RPM, was a nightclub complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was also the name of one of the two main performance venues within the complex. The other venue was Kool Haus. Other smaller rooms within the complex included: The Drink, D'Luxe Lounge, The Orange Room, SkyBar, Charlies, Tanja and Acid Lounge. The Guvernment opened in 1996 and closed in early 2015.
The Crawdaddy Club was a music venue in Richmond, Surrey, England, which opened in 1963. The Rolling Stones were its house band in its first year and were followed by The Yardbirds. Several other notable British blues and rhythm and blues acts also played there.
Collapsed Lung are an English, Harlow-based Britpop group, best known for the song "Eat My Goal". They formed in February 1992.
The 12 Bar Club was a music venue in London that opened in 1994 on Denmark Street – known as Britain's "Tin Pan Alley" – just off Charing Cross Road and close to Soho.
The Half Moon is a public house and music venue in Putney, London. It is one of the city's longest running live music venues, and has hosted live music every night since 1963.
Morning Parade were an English five-piece alternative rock band from Harlow, Essex that formed in 2007 before signing with Parlophone in 2010. Its self-titled debut album was released early in 2012. The line-up was composed of Steve Sparrow, Phil Titus (bass), Chad Thomas (guitar), Ben Giddings (piano/synths), and Andrew Hayes (drums). The band broke up on 4 December 2014.
Friars Aylesbury is a music club that runs in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It opened in 1969 but closed down twice, once in 1970 for a period of nine months and again in 1984 for a period of twenty-five years. Friars Aylesbury reopened in June 2009 to tie in with its fortieth anniversary.
Richard Holgarth is a British guitar player with Eddie and the Hot Rods and John Otway, as well as being the former co-owner of The Square; a music venue in Harlow, Essex.
Stephen Martin Walwyn is an English rhythm and blues guitarist, best known for his playing with Dr. Feelgood, but who has also played with Eddie and the Hot Rods, Steve Marriott and the DTs, the Roger Chapman Band, the Big Town Playboys and his own band Steve Walwyn and Friends.
