The Proclaimers are a Scottish duo composed of identical twin brothers Charlie and Craig Reid. They are best known for the songs “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, “I’m On My Way” and “Letter from America”. The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents. They have released nine studio albums from 1987 until the present, as well as two compilation albums and a DVD.
When the Scottish duo of Craig and Charlie Reid emerged in 1987, they were immediately compared to the Everly Brothers. Considering their energetic, melodic folk-rock, the comparison made some sense, even though the Proclaimers didn’t really sound like the Everlys. Instead, the band was a post-punk pop band, aggressively displaying their thick accents on sweet, infectiously melodic songs about love, politics, and life in Scotland.
After two albums in the late ’80s (This Is the Story (1987), Sunshine on Leith (1988)), the band disappeared for several years, suffering from personal problems and severe writer’s block. When their 1988 song “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” was used in the 1993 film Benny & Joon, the duo began to receive massive radio airplay in America, sending them into the Top Ten in the U.S., as well as the rest of the world; it was their first taste of real success. Luckily, the band was close to completing their third album at the time, Hit the Highway, leaving them in a position to capitalize on their success. The single “Let’s Get Married” received little attention, and the band pretty much disappeared.
They made various contributions to several movie soundtracks — Dumb & Dumber and Bottle Rocket — during the latter part of the decade, but family priorities took full scale. The new millennium exuded a much more fresh sounding Proclaimers. They inked a new U.S. deal with Nettwerk, and Persevere (2001) marked Craig and Charlie Reid’s fourth album. It was a return to form; singing about the grim and glory of their native Scotland, but also a sign of the prime of life. The band’s fifth effort, Born Innocent, appeared on their own imprint Persevere in 2003. It was followed by Restless Soul in 2005. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
8 medium potatoes, peeled and halved or quartered, depending on size, scored deeply all over with a fork
1 teaspoon salt
175 g lard
For the Apple Sauce:
3 small cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
4 dessert apples
2 tablespoons lemon juice
90 g butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
For the Gravy:
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups chicken stock (recipes on this website)
1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly
2 tablespoons dry sherry
Fresh sage sprigs, to garnish
Preparation method
Prep: 30 minutes | Cook: 3 hours
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Weigh the pork and calculate the cooking time, allowing 25 minutes per 500 g plus 25 minutes.
Wipe the meat with paper towels. Using a very sharp knife, make diagonal scores in the skin across or vertically down 5–10 mm apart and about 3 mm deep.
Put the meat in a roasting pan and, to encourage the skin to ‘crackle’, rub it all over with the olive oil, then rub in the salt and scatter with rosemary.
Roast the pork in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes to start the skin crisping, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C. Cook, basting every 30 minutes with the fat from the bottom of the pan, until the meat is well done.
About 1 hour before the pork is due to come out of the oven, put the potatoes into a large saucepan, cover with cold water, add the salt and bring to the boil.
Drain well, return to the pan and shake over high heat for 1–2 minutes until they are dry.
Heat the lard in a roasting pan on the shelf above the pork until it sizzles.
Add the potatoes, baste well and roast for 1 1/4 hours, until crisp and golden.
When the pork is cooked, remove it from the oven and leave it to rest in a warm place. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C and let the potatoes finish cooking.
About 30 minutes before the end of the pork’s calculated cooking time, put the cooking apples into a small saucepan with the water, allspice and sugar.
Cover and cook gently until soft and pulpy.
Remove from the heat and mash with a fork.
Peel and core the dessert apples, cut in half horizontally and brush each half all over with the lemon juice.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the sage, then place the apple halves in the pan, cut sides up.
Top each half with the apple sauce and baste well with the sage butter. Cover the pan and cook gently, basting occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the apples are just softened. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
At the end of the calculated cooking time, pierce the pork with a skewer at the thickest part.
The juices should run clear with no trace of pink. (If necessary, continue roasting until done.)
Lift the cooked pork from the roasting pan onto a large, heated serving plate, cover loosely with foil and allow to stand while making the gravy.
Skim off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the roasting pan, then stir the flour into the fat and juices remaining in the pan.
Cook over medium heat until well browned but not burned.
Gradually add the chicken stock and bring to the boil, stirring continuously and scraping any browned residue off the bottom of the pan.
Strain the gravy through a fine sieve into a saucepan, then blend in the redcurrant jelly and dry sherry, simmer for 5 minutes and season to taste.
Arrange the apple halves around the pork, garnish with the sprigs of sage and serve with the roast potatoes and gravy.
Buttered cabbage or green peas make a good accompaniment for this dish.
Born and raised in Cleveland’s East 85th & Quincy area to Naomi Womack and Friendly Womack, Womack was the third of five brothers. Raised Baptist, their mother played organ in their church and their father was a minister and musician, often known to play guitar though he advised his sons to not touch the instrument while he was away. One night, eight-year-old Bobby, who was often playing it, broke a guitar string. After Friendly replaced the string with a shoelace, he let Bobby play the guitar for him. According to Bobby later, Friendly was shocked by his son’s talents as well as the talents of his other sons. Soon afterwards, he bought Bobby his own guitar and formed The Womack Brothers. The group toured the gospel circuit with their parents accompanying them on organ and guitar respectively. In 1954, the group under the moniker Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers, the group issued the Pennant single, “Buffalo Bill”. Bobby was only ten years old at the time.
Even though Curtis Womack often sang lead, Bobby Womack was allowed to sing alongside him showcasing his gruff baritone vocals in contrast to his older brother’s smoother tenor. During performances, Bobby would sometimes imitate the role of a preacher. Sam Cooke discovered the group performing while he was still in the Soul Stirrers in 1956 and began mentoring the boys, promising them that he would help with their careers once he established himself. Within four years, Cooke had formed SAR Records and signed the quintet to the label. Bobby was sixteen. The group recorded two gospel sides before Cooke decided to have the boys switch over to pop music. Upon telling his father of the decision to go secular, an emotional Friendly Sr. told them that they had to leave the house. Cooke had the brother’s move to Los Angeles.
Changing their name to The Valentinos, Cooke produced and arranged the group’s first hit single, “Looking for a Love”, which was a pop version of a gospel song they had released titled “Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray”, written by Bobby. The song became a R&B hit and helped land the group a spot on James Brown’s Revue. The group’s next hit came in 1964 with the country-tinged “It’s All Over Now”, co-composed by Bobby. Their version was rising on the charts when The Rolling Stones covered it. Bobby was initially angry until he saw his first royalty check for the single after it had become a hit. The Valentinos’ career was left shaky after Sam Cooke was shot and killed in a Los Angeles motel. Devastated by the news, the brothers disbanded and SAR Records folded. Bobby forged on a solo career, releasing sides for the Him and Checker labels without much success no thanks in part due to the controversy of his marriage to Cooke’s widow, Barbara Campbell. By 1966, Womack had settled on session work.
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Hot Chocolate formed in Brixton, London, England in 1968. Members of the group included Errol Brown, Tony Connor, Larry Ferguson, Harvey Hinsley, Patrick Olive and Tony Wilson.
In 1969 the band started working on a reggae version of the John Lennon song “Give Peace A Chance”. Errol Brown had changed the lyrics for their version but was informed that he could not do this without John Lennon’s permission, so a copy of the demo was sent to the Beatles Apple record label to see what they thought of it. Fortunately, John loved the version and it was released on the Apple label.
The group was given the named ‘The Hot Chocolate Band’ by a secretary at the company, Mavis Smith, the band later changed it to just ‘Hot Chocolate’.
Towards the end of 1969 Mickie Most signed Errol and the cofounder of the group Tony Wilson as writers and recorded their songs with Mary Hopkins, Julie Felix and Herman’s Hermits before encouraging them to come up with a song for themselves. In 1970 Hot Chocolate, with Errol Brown as lead singer, released their first record entitled “Love Is Life” which reached number 6 in the charts. This was the start of a fifteen year career for the group who amassed a total of over 30 hits and also became the only group in the UK to have a hit for fifteen consecutive years.
In 1981 Hot Chocolate had the honour of being invited by Prince Charles and Lady Diana at their pre-wedding reception at Buckingham Palace which was attended by heads of Government and many members of European Royalty.
In 1986 Errol left the band and took time out to spend more time with his wife and then young children. The rest of the members of Hot Chocolate also took some time off to consider their future and in 1992 Patrick Olive, Harvey Hinsley and Tony Connor joined up with agent Richard Martin and decided to start touring again.
The band found a new singer Greg Bannis and keyboard players Andy Smith & Steve Ansell. Since 1992, the band has enjoyed years of continued success touring all around the world performing to many thousands of fans who love the music of Hot Chocolate. In 1997 the classic single “You Sexy Thing” reached number one in the charts after it was featured in the movie ‘The Full Monty’ and a new Hot Chocolate ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation released in October 1997 reached number 10 in the album charts.
In 2010 singer Kennie Simon replaced Greg Bannis on vocals creating what many are saying is the best sound ever.
Pitbull (whose given name is Armando Christian Pérez) launched his own Polo Grounds Music/J Records imprint (Mr. 305 Records), introduced his specialty vodka Voli, partnered with Sheets, the dissolvable energy strip, inked major sponsorship deals with blue-chip brands Kodak, Dr. Pepper, Bud Light and capitalized on his enormous popularity in the community by releasing his first Spanish-language album, Armando, which features the Top 5 Latin Billboard pop single “Bon Bon.”
To top it all off, the Miami native was awarded his hometown’s Key to the City as a thank-you for the positive PR he has brought Florida’s nightlife capitol. So when Pitbull explains that he’s titled his new album Planet Pit because he feels as if the world is his right now, he’s not just blowing smoke. “I’m not suggesting I run the world, I just feel like I’ve built my own planet,” he says. “I’m catching a lot of people’s ears, whether it’s with my music or appearing on someone else’s track.
When ‘I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]’ took off, I started traveling the world, and I saw the impact that a global hit can have — the way it brings people together. So now I’ve set my goals even higher. Going in to make Planet Pit, I said, ‘Okay, Pitbull was cool, Mr. 305 was great — now it’s time for Mr. Worldwide.You need to generate a lot of heat if you want to be Mr. Worldwide, but if there’s one thing Pitbull has — besides a way with rapid-fire rhymes, billion-dollar beats, and globally infectious hooks — it’s charm by the boatload. Always impeccably dressed in a sharp suit and shades, Pit enters a room trailed by his pals happily bantering away in Spanish, a gorgeous girl, and members of his management team.
Even while juggling a constant stream of incoming texts and emails on his two smartphones, Pit has the ability to make everyone he meets feel at home, addressing them as “Mama” or “Papo,” and asking if they need anything.
He’s the consummate professional: confident and charismatic — a true star.Pit’s magnetic personality electrifies Planet Pit — a spicy, stylish stew of raps, beats, and hooks influenced by the music Pit has absorbed growing up and living in Miami, which claims a wide range of dance-driven sounds thanks to the Cuban, Dominican, Colombian, and Caribbean people who make it their home.
“I grew up with salsa, merengue, bachata, booty-shaking music, freestyle music, then came hip hop for me. So you throw all that in a pot, which we call a paella in Spanish — that’s what I’m trying to do with this album,” says Pit, who performed in such far-flung locales as France, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, and Singapore, among others, while promoting Rebelution. “It embodies a bit of everywhere I’ve been. For example, ‘Shake Señora’ has got T-Pain, who’s from Tallahassee and Sean Paul who brings the Jamaican feel. I’m trying to be the ambassador; the bridge builder who brings elements from all over the world and puts it all together so it sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before.” Read more…..mtv.com
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Pitbull (whose given name is Armando Christian Pérez) launched his own Polo Grounds Music/J Records imprint (Mr. 305 Records), introduced his specialty vodka Voli, partnered with Sheets, the dissolvable energy strip, inked major sponsorship deals with blue-chip brands Kodak, Dr. Pepper, Bud Light and capitalized on his enormous popularity in the community by releasing his first Spanish-language album, Armando, which features the Top 5 Latin Billboard pop single “Bon Bon.”
To top it all off, the Miami native was awarded his hometown’s Key to the City as a thank-you for the positive PR he has brought Florida’s nightlife capitol. So when Pitbull explains that he’s titled his new album Planet Pit because he feels as if the world is his right now, he’s not just blowing smoke. “I’m not suggesting I run the world, I just feel like I’ve built my own planet,” he says. “I’m catching a lot of people’s ears, whether it’s with my music or appearing on someone else’s track.
When ‘I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]’ took off, I started traveling the world, and I saw the impact that a global hit can have — the way it brings people together. So now I’ve set my goals even higher. Going in to make Planet Pit, I said, ‘Okay, Pitbull was cool, Mr. 305 was great — now it’s time for Mr. Worldwide.You need to generate a lot of heat if you want to be Mr. Worldwide, but if there’s one thing Pitbull has — besides a way with rapid-fire rhymes, billion-dollar beats, and globally infectious hooks — it’s charm by the boatload. Always impeccably dressed in a sharp suit and shades, Pit enters a room trailed by his pals happily bantering away in Spanish, a gorgeous girl, and members of his management team.
Even while juggling a constant stream of incoming texts and emails on his two smartphones, Pit has the ability to make everyone he meets feel at home, addressing them as “Mama” or “Papo,” and asking if they need anything.
He’s the consummate professional: confident and charismatic — a true star.Pit’s magnetic personality electrifies Planet Pit — a spicy, stylish stew of raps, beats, and hooks influenced by the music Pit has absorbed growing up and living in Miami, which claims a wide range of dance-driven sounds thanks to the Cuban, Dominican, Colombian, and Caribbean people who make it their home.
“I grew up with salsa, merengue, bachata, booty-shaking music, freestyle music, then came hip hop for me. So you throw all that in a pot, which we call a paella in Spanish — that’s what I’m trying to do with this album,” says Pit, who performed in such far-flung locales as France, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, and Singapore, among others, while promoting Rebelution. “It embodies a bit of everywhere I’ve been. For example, ‘Shake Señora’ has got T-Pain, who’s from Tallahassee and Sean Paul who brings the Jamaican feel. I’m trying to be the ambassador; the bridge builder who brings elements from all over the world and puts it all together so it sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before.” Read more…..mtv.com
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PleaseContact Us with the song and artist you like, the name you want published and we will do our best to find it.
Nicknames are fine but nothing rude, please.
Havana Brown always planned on being a singer – it’s just becoming a world-famous DJ kind of got in the way.
The Melbourne glamour has just released her sizzling debut single ‘We Run The Night’, but she first started singing at the modest age of six. Admittedly though, her ‘performances’ back then were a little different…
“I’d put together shows at family dinners and drag along my poor cousins, who didn’t know how to dance or sing. I don’t know how entertained everyone was,” Brown recalls with a laugh. “I was really into R&B, like Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation and Bobby Brown.”
After countless years of singing lessons, performing in dance troupes and cheerleading for her hometown Aussie Rules and basketball teams, Brown got serious about making her own music right after leaving high school.
She started working with Panos Liassi, a Melbourne-based London DJ/producer and one half of R&B/reggae partystarters, Supafly Inc. Such was their musical connection, she ended up following him to the UK to form a Fugees-style group called Fishbowl with two other members. They got signed to the Polydor UK label almost instantly, but sadly, in-fighting saw the act split before they even got to release a single.
“When I look back, it was a pretty dark time,” says Brown. “Getting signed is a big deal for a new artist. You think, woah, this is it! But it wasn’t…”
Like anyone suffering a break up, Brown threw herself into the party scene and one night, she had a dancefloor epiphany of her own: the DJ had the best job in the room and she wanted in.
After learning the basics from Panos, she scraped together enough money from her four-quid-an-hour job to buy her first pair of decks and started hitting up bars with her demo.
Her persistence finally paid off when she scored her first residency at London’s exclusive Kabaret nightclub. “I told the promoters I’d play my first gig for free and they could throw me off after the first song. I don’t think they even thought I’d turn up the next night. When I did, they were like ‘oh, you were serious?’ I ended up playing for an hour and they loved it.”
Arriving back in Australia at the end of 2006, Brown – in her own words – “worked her little tush off” to keep her DJ dream alive. After working the club circuit, she became the first female DJ in Australia to sign a major label record deal with Universal Music in 2008, released her first mix CD, Crave, and topped the year off opening for the Pussycat Dolls on their promo tour.
The Dolls’ management were so impressed with her DJ-with-dancers show, they asked her back for their full tour in 2009. And as word spread, Brown found herself supporting the cream of the pop crop, including Rihanna, Chris Brown, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, with the latter inviting her on her European tour a year later.
Since then, Brown’s star has only gotten brighter. These days, she boasts weekly radio mixup shows in Australia and abroad (on the popular Radio FG France dance network), has sold over 150,000 copies of her Crave series (now up to Volume 5) and played events as dazzling and diverse as the official Grammy’s After Party and the Singapore F1 Grand Prix alongside Beyonce and the Black Eyed Peas. Along the way, she’s also clocked up more than 100,000 loyal Facebook fans.
Now, twenty years since that first giddy singing lesson, she’s ready to retake the mic and launch that long-overdue singing career. And she’s not afraid to say she’s a little bit nervous…
“It’s exciting, nerve-wracking and intimidating all at the same time,” she says. “I’ve been working on this for a while and I didn’t want to release anything until I was completely satisfied with it. I can’t wait for people to hear this song.”
Written and produced by dance duo More Mega, first single ‘We Run The Night’ is the perfect introduction to the talents and tastes of Havana Brown. A certified dancefloor detonator, the song’s as epic as it is euphoric with an insanely infectious breakdown that’s guaranteed to throw the crowd into overdrive.
“It’s created for both the clubs and the radio,” she reveals. “That was really important for me and it was very difficult to pull off. As for the track, it’s about how music makes me feel.”
Brown says her vast experience as a DJ playing other people’s tunes has also had a huge impact on how she approaches her own.
“In the past, I wasn’t quite sure what type of artist I want to be. But now, after DJing and Fishbowl falling apart, which has been a blessing in disguise, now I’m very confident about what I want.”
At the same time, she realises that some people can be just as dismissive of female pop singers as they are of female DJs. But that, she says, only motivates her more.
“It actually drives me more when people say bad things,” she confesses. “It doesn’t make me angry, it’s more ‘I’m just going to annoy you even more by going out there even harder.’”
“I know I’m putting myself out there in a different way,” she adds. “Originally I was behind the console playing other people’s music but now I’m up front performing my own. I’m revealing myself – it’s like being naked.”
So far, Havana’s career as a jet-setting DJ has been nothing short of dazzling, but now she’s ready to shine in a whole new light. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Havana Brown the artist.
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Gormé enjoyed hit singles of her own, none selling bigger than 1963’s “Blame It on the Bossa Nova“, which was also her final foray into the Top 40 pop charts. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. In the UK, “Yes, My Darling Daughter” reached #10. She won a Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance in 1967, for her version of “If He Walked Into My Life”, from Mame. The latter made #5 on the Billboard magazine Easy Listening chart in 1966, despite failing to make the Billboard Hot 100. Indeed, most of Gormé’s singles chart success from 1963 onward were on the Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary charts, where she placed 27 singles (both solo and with her husband) from 1963 to 1979 (of which “If He Walked Into My Life” was the most successful). As a soloist, her other biggest hits during that period included “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?” from On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (#17 Easy Listening, 1966) and “Tonight I’ll Say a Prayer” (#45 Pop and #8 Easy Listening, 1969, also her last Hot 100 entry as a solo artist).
She gained crossover success in the Latin music market through a series of albums she made in Spanish with the famed Trio Los Panchos. In 1964, the two acts joined forces for a collection of Spanish-language standards called Amor. “Sabor a Mí” became closely identified with Gormé and emerged as one of her signature tunes. The disc was later reissued as “Canta en Español”. In 1965, a sequel appeared called More Amor (later reissued as “Cuatro Vidas”). Her last album with Los Panchos was a 1966 Christmas collection, “Navidad Means Christmas”, later reissued as “Blanca Navidad”. Gormé also recorded other Spanish albums in her career, including the Grammy-nominated La Gormé (1976), a contemporary outing. The 1977 release Muy Amigos/Close Friends, a duet collection with Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera, also received a Grammy nomination. As a duo with her husband, the act was billed as Steve and Eydie. In 1960, Steve and Eydie were awarded the Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group for the album, “We Got Us”. Their biggest hit single as a duo, “I Want to Stay Here”, was written by Gerry Goffin andCarole King and reached #28 in 1963. Under the pseudonym “Parker and Penny”, Lawrence and Gormé achieved their last chart single (#46 on the Adult Contemporary chart) with a cover of the 1979 Eurovision song contest winner, “Hallelujah”. The song most closely identified with the duo, the Steve Allen composition “This Could Be the Start of Something”, never reached the charts, though it remains a staple in their live act. Gormé and Lawrence have appeared on TV, including countless appearances on The Carol Burnett Show, as well as The Nanny. She and Lawrence appeared together on Broadway in the short-lived musical, Golden Rainbow.
