Nicholas David Kershaw is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer.
The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band. The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" was a UK number one single in December 1986.
Dead or Alive were an English pop band that released seven studio albums from 1984 to 2000. The band formed in 1980 in Liverpool and found success in the mid-1980s, releasing seven singles that made the UK top 40 and three albums on the UK top 30. At the peak of their success, the lineup consisted of Pete Burns (vocals), Steve Coy (drums), Mike Percy (bass) and Tim Lever (keyboards), with the core pair of Burns and Coy writing and producing for the remainder of the band's career due to Percy and Lever exiting the group in 1989.
China Crisis are an English new wave and synth-pop band. They were formed in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside in 1979 with a core of lead vocalist and keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon. Initially a politically charged post-punk band influenced by Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes, China Crisis soon crossed over to a more commercial sound and had success in the United Kingdom in the 1980s with ten top 50 singles and three top 40 albums. The band also achieved commercial success in other parts of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, and some minor chart successes in North America.
Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986.
"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is a song by English pop band Dead or Alive, featured on their second studio album, Youthquake (1985). Released as a single in November 1984, it reached No. 1 in the UK in March 1985, taking 17 weeks to get there. It was the first UK number-one hit by the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at No. 11 on 17 August of that year, becoming their highest charting single there.
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a song by the Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released as a single in 1985. It was written and composed by the producer Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, a guitarist and songwriter from the Nina Hagen band. Forsey and Schiff wrote it for Simple Minds, and offered it to several acts before Simple Minds agreed to record it. The song was inspired by and used in the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. It was also later used in the 2010 film Easy A.
"One More Chance" is a song by American singer Madonna for her ballads compilation album, Something to Remember (1995). Written and produced by Madonna and David Foster, it was released on March 7, 1996 by Maverick Records as the album's second single in Australia and Japan, and the third single in the European countries. An acoustic pop ballad, the song lyrically talks about attempting to win a lost lover back. The song was inspired by Madonna's real life experience, but she wrote it from the opposite point of view.
"Spin the Black Circle" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 8, 1994, as the first single from the band's third studio album, Vitalogy (1994). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music primarily written by guitarist Stone Gossard. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. It additionally charted at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart, giving them their only top-10 hit in that country. The song was later included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest-hits album, rearviewmirror .
"China" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos, released as the third single from her debut studio album, Little Earthquakes. It was issued on January 20, 1992, by EastWest Records in the United Kingdom. It was the first song written for Little Earthquakes and was originally titled "Distance"; a recurring lyric and theme in the song. It was originally submitted to the Library of Congress in 1987.
"Chinese Democracy" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, and the title track from their sixth studio album. It was released as a radio single on October 22, 2008 and was released on the iTunes Store on November 9, 2008. It was primarily written by Axl Rose and Josh Freese. It was the band's first single of original material since "Estranged" was released in 1994 as the final single off the 1991 album Use Your Illusion II.
The discography of Dead or Alive, a British dance-pop group, consists of seven studio albums, five compilation albums, twenty eight singles, and two video albums.
Carly Rae Jepsen is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of Canadian Idol in 2007. In 2008, Jepsen released her folk-influenced debut studio album Tug of War in Canada before it was internationally released in 2011.
The discography of Weezer, an American rock band, consists of 15 studio albums, two compilation albums, one video album, nine extended plays, 37 singles and 40 music videos. Weezer's self-titled debut studio album, often referred to as The Blue Album, was released in May 1994 through DGC Records. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 and spawning the singles "Undone – The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly", both of which were responsible for launching Weezer into mainstream success with the aid of music videos directed by Spike Jonze. It has sold 3.3 million copies in the United States and has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming the band's best selling album to date. Following the success of their debut album, Weezer took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo began piecing together demo material for Weezer's second studio album. Cuomo's original concept for the album was a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped; the band, however, continued to utilize songs from these sessions into work for their second studio album. Pinkerton was released as the band's second studio album in September 1996. Peaking at number 19 on the Billboard 200, it was considered a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release, selling far less than its triple platinum predecessor. However, in the years following its release, it has seen much critical and commercial championing.
Flaunt the Imperfection is the third studio album by English new wave and synth-pop band China Crisis, released on 29 April 1985 by Virgin Records.
Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two is the second studio album by English new wave and synth-pop band China Crisis, released on 31 October 1983 by Virgin Records.
Zara Maria Larsson is a Swedish pop singer. In 2008, at the age of 10, she won the second season of the talent show Talang, the Swedish version of the Got Talent format. She has received recognition with singles including "Lush Life" (2015), "Never Forget You" (2015), "Girls Like" (2016) featuring Tinie Tempah and "Ain't My Fault" (2016). She was featured on Clean Bandit's single, "Symphony" (2017), which topped the charts in the UK and Sweden. "Ruin My Life" (2018) became an international hit.
"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's debut studio album, Hunting High and Low (1985). The recording combines synth-pop with a varied instrumentation, including acoustic guitars, keyboards, and drums.
"African and White" is the debut single by English new wave band China Crisis. It was released in 1981 on Inevitable Records. A remixed version of the song was reissued as a single by Virgin Records in 1982 and became the band's first appearance on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 45 in August 1982. The song is included on the band's debut studio album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain (1982) and on several compilation albums.
"Working with Fire and Steel" is a song by English new wave band China Crisis, released as the second single from their second studio album Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two (1983). It peaked at No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart and at No. 47 in Australia. It was also a hit on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart where it reached No. 27.
