Born George Alan O’Dowd on June 14, 1961, in Eltham, London, to parents Gerry and Dinah O’Dowd. George grew up in a lively household with his four brothers and one sister. Despite being part of the large working class Irish brood, George claims he had a lonely childhood, referring to himself as the “pink sheep” of the family.
To stand out in the male-dominated household, George created his own image on which he became dependent. “It didn’t bother me to walk down the street and to be stared at. I loved it,” he later reminisced.
George didn’t exactly conform to the typical school student stereotype, either. With a leaning more toward arts rather than science and math, he found it hard to fit within traditional masculine stereotypes. With his schoolwork suffering, and an ongoing battle of wits between him and his teachers, it wasn’t long before the school gave up and expelled George over his increasingly outlandish behavior and outrageous clothes and make-up.
Suddenly George found himself out of school, and without a job. He took any work he could find that paid him enough money to live on including a job picking fruit; a stint as a milliner; and even a gig as a make-up artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he picked up some handy techniques for his own personal use.
Forming the Culture Club
By the 1980s, the New Romantic Movement had emerged in the U.K. Followers of the New Romantic period, influenced heavily by artists such as David Bowie, often dressed in grand caricatures of the 19th century English Romantic period. This included exaggerated upscale hairstyles and fashion statements. Men typically wore androgynous clothing and makeup, such as eyeliner.
The style became a calling card for George, whose flamboyance fit their beliefs perfectly. The attention the New Romantics attracted inevitably created many new headlines for the press. It wasn’t long before George was giving interviews based purely on his appearance.
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Ed Sheeran (born Edward Christopher Sheeran in Halifax, England on February 17, 1991) is a British singer-songwriter. After performing relentlessly around England in his teen years, Ed moved to Los Angeles with no money and no contacts, where he was discovered at The Foxxhole by Jamie Foxx. Foxx was so impressed, he let Ed use his studio to record his songs. In 2011, Ed independently released his first EP, No. 5 Collaborations Project, which led him to be signed by Asylum Records, an affiliate of Atlantic Records. Behind the hit singles “The A Team” and “Lego House,” his official debut album, +, has gone quintuple platinum in the United Kingdom in 2011 and won him several awards in England – Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough of the Year.
His single, “The A Team,” which reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ed has also written songs for One Direction, including the hit song “Little Things.”
Since collaborating with One Direction, Ed has become close friends with the members of the band, as well as Harry Styles’ ex, Taylor Swift. He has also been romantically linked with fellow British folk singer, Nina Nesbitt. In April 2014, Ed released a song that was about how Ellie Goulding cheated on him with One Direction singer Niall Horan.
Ed Sheeran Quotes:
“There’s no key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.”
“I think it’s good to remember that everything has been done before. The public has heard the stereotypical love songs a million times and they’ve heard the stereotypical life-or-death songs millions of times. It’s good to mix it up a little bit.”
“I don’t really do that whole single life thing. I’m kind of heads down and get things done.”
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She defined the 80s with her understated anthem, smooth operator. And in real life, she seems to embody that title track, coming out of retirement whenever she pleases to lay down some more solid gold.
Helen Folasade Adu was born in Nigeria after her parents Adebisi Adu, a lecturer of economics, and Anne Hayes, a district nurse, met and wed in London before returning to Adu’s home nation.
After their marriage failed when Sade was aged four, Anne moved the family back to England. At the age of 18 after completing school, she moved to London to study at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
While at college, she joined soul band ‘Pride’ singing backing vocals. However, her solo performance of ‘Smooth Operator’ went down well with record companies, with Epic signing the singer and three members of the band in 1983.
Sade released her first album ‘Diamond Life’ in 1984 at a time when she was squatting with then-boyfriend style journalist Robert Elms. Her first single ‘Your Love is King’ proved a hit in February 1984 and magazines strived to make her their cover star – unusual for the known reclusive singer.
This successful debut was followed by ‘Promise’ in 1985 and ‘Stronger than Pride’ in 1988. She spent the majority of the 1980s touring with her albums. In 1989 she married Spanish film maker Carlos Pliego but they divorced in 1995.
In 1992, Sade released ‘Love Deluxe’ and took a break for eight years before recording ‘Lovers Rock’ in 2000. She then received an OBE from the queen in 2002.
During this time, she devoted herself to motherhood after giving birth to her daughter Ila Adu in 1995 after a relationship with a Jamaican musician.
She also relocated from London to the Gloucestershire countryside and decided to reconvene her band in 2008 to record the 2010 album ‘Soldier of Love’.
Sade has said about her work: “I only make records when I feel I have something to say. I’m not interested in releasing music just for the sake of selling something. Sade is not a brand.”
She retired again, this time to London, where she turned her house into a recording studio. Her 1992 album, ‘Love Deluxe’, contained the hit, ‘No Ordinary Love’, which was featured on the ‘Indecent Proposal’ soundtrack. Yet another tour followed.
In 1997 the singer was arrested in Jamaica following a traffic dispute with local police and fled the country, threatened with arrest if she ever returns.
She followed up with another smash hit, ‘Lovers Rock’ in 2000, and recorded ‘Lovers Live’ in 2002.
Edgy and non-typically including herself in the good girl image, Katy Perry may be one great example of the future musician. Born on October 25, 1984 in a strict Christian family, Perry was later known for her song “Ur So Gay”. Her parents are two devoted pastors who directed their daughter into singing in churches or local restaurants. Perry said that her mother used to ban her from listening to what they call “secular music.” Thus, young Perry was apt in gospel music until one day during a slumber party she heard the voice of Freddie Mercury.
Inspired by the Queen front man’s style of singing, she was metaphorically ‘opened’ to another possible side of music, although it was not until much later that this side of her would come out as her main music style. At the age of 15 she moved from birth town Santa Barbara, Calif. to Nashville to work closely with songwriters. Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp of Red Hill Records signed her to the label to release her debut album which was self-titled while she used her name Katy Hudson. The album that contained Christian songs was released in 2001.
At 17, she met Glen Ballard …
who is responsible for the extreme success of Alanis Morissette in the album “Jagged Little Pill“. Citing Morissette as one of her influences, Perry found comfort in working with Ballard who then gave her necessary mentor. In 2004 she became the vocalist of The Matrix production team and recorded some songs with Ballard that made her dubbed “The Next Big Thing” by Blender magazine. Through her sessions with Ballard, Perry was heard by Capitol Music executive, Jason Flom who then agreed to sign her in Spring 2007.
By being in the club, Perry was introduced to a number of renowned musicians such as Greg Wells, Butch Walker, Dr. Luke and Max Martin. In November 2007 she offered free download of the song “Ur So Gay” on her MySpace account. It was an instant hit, but it was the second single “I Kissed a Girl” that propelled her to chart success. The latter song was used in an episode of teen drama series “Gossip Girl“, thus prompting it to climb up the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #2.
Perry constantly added her live experience by scoring the opening act slots for big singers like Mika and The Starting Line. Her full-length …
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Born George Alan O’Dowd on June 14, 1961, in Eltham, London, to parents Gerry and Dinah O’Dowd. George grew up in a lively household with his four brothers and one sister. Despite being part of the large working class Irish brood, George claims he had a lonely childhood, referring to himself as the “pink sheep” of the family.
To stand out in the male-dominated household, George created his own image on which he became dependent. “It didn’t bother me to walk down the street and to be stared at. I loved it,” he later reminisced.
George didn’t exactly conform to the typical school student stereotype, either. With a leaning more toward arts rather than science and math, he found it hard to fit within traditional masculine stereotypes. With his schoolwork suffering, and an ongoing battle of wits between him and his teachers, it wasn’t long before the school gave up and expelled George over his increasingly outlandish behavior and outrageous clothes and make-up.
Suddenly George found himself out of school, and without a job. He took any work he could find that paid him enough money to live on including a job picking fruit; a stint as a milliner; and even a gig as a make-up artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he picked up some handy techniques for his own personal use.
Forming the Culture Club
By the 1980s, the New Romantic Movement had emerged in the U.K. Followers of the New Romantic period, influenced heavily by artists such as David Bowie, often dressed in grand caricatures of the 19th century English Romantic period. This included exaggerated upscale hairstyles and fashion statements. Men typically wore androgynous clothing and makeup, such as eyeliner.
The style became a calling card for George, whose flamboyance fit their beliefs perfectly. The attention the New Romantics attracted inevitably created many new headlines for the press. It wasn’t long before George was giving interviews based purely on his appearance.
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Sam Smith, a 21-year-old singer from London with milk-white skin and a tightly swirled pompadour, has made a name for himself as the soulful guest vocalist for dance music’s new wave, including breakout electronic group Disclosure, producer Naughty Boy and disco veteran Nile Rodgers. Now, with a debut solo album and tour on the way, he’s attempting to go it alone.
The transition from guest star to solo act can be difficult, but plenty of people are betting on his success. In December, he won the 2014 Brits Critic’s Choice Award and earlier this month, he won the BBC’s “Sound of 2014” music critics poll, which often predicts commercial success. (Past winners include Adele, 50 Cent and Ellie Goulding.)
He’s also demonstrated strong ticket sales. Most of his European tour dates have sold out well in advance. All of his U.S. performances sold out last year—including two nights at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, the first of which sold out in less than 24 hours. He recently announced a 10-city North American tour to promote his forthcoming album, “In the Lonely Hour,” due out in the U.S. on June 3. The San Francisco date sold out in a day.
Critics praise the fluid quality of Mr. Smith’s voice as well as his emotional lyrics and almost bashful stage presence.
Over the next six months, Capitol Records will shift from coordinating buzzy collaborations to launching Mr. Smith’s solo career, culminating in the release of his album. “We’ve had the big collaborative feature songs, but now we’re moving into Sam’s own music,” said Greg Thompson, executive vice president of Capitol Music Group.
Before the album makes its debut, the label plans to release an EP in February in the U.S., and then have Mr. Smith begin touring while his songs are promoted on college radio. “You need that time to drum up people’s appetite,” Mr. Thompson said.
Growing up in a small town 25 miles north of London, Mr. Smith began training as a jazz singer when he was 8 and had his first manager by age 12. He listened exclusively to female “power singers” until about a year ago, he said, such as Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan and Amy Winehouse, thus the soul and gospel undertones in his music. At 18, he moved to London to tend bar while playing gigs around the city. He met Disclosure in the fall of 2012 through common managers who suggested he sing over the duo’s new track “Latch.” The song became the first single from Disclosure’s debut album “Settle,” which received a 2013 Grammy nomination for Best Dance Album. Read more…..online.wsj.com
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Ed Sheeran (born Edward Christopher Sheeran in Halifax, England on February 17, 1991) is a British singer-songwriter. After performing relentlessly around England in his teen years, Ed moved to Los Angeles with no money and no contacts, where he was discovered at The Foxxhole by Jamie Foxx. Foxx was so impressed, he let Ed use his studio to record his songs. In 2011, Ed independently released his first EP, No. 5 Collaborations Project, which led him to be signed by Asylum Records, an affiliate of Atlantic Records. Behind the hit singles “The A Team” and “Lego House,” his official debut album, +, has gone quintuple platinum in the United Kingdom in 2011 and won him several awards in England – Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough of the Year.
His single, “The A Team,” which reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ed has also written songs for One Direction, including the hit song “Little Things.”
Since collaborating with One Direction, Ed has become close friends with the members of the band, as well as Harry Styles’ ex, Taylor Swift. He has also been romantically linked with fellow British folk singer, Nina Nesbitt. In April 2014, Ed released a song that was about how Ellie Goulding cheated on him with One Direction singer Niall Horan.
Ed Sheeran Quotes:
“There’s no key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.”
“I think it’s good to remember that everything has been done before. The public has heard the stereotypical love songs a million times and they’ve heard the stereotypical life-or-death songs millions of times. It’s good to mix it up a little bit.”
“I don’t really do that whole single life thing. I’m kind of heads down and get things done.”
Got a request?
Want a song dedicated to you?
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Few new wave groups were as popular as Culture Club. During the early ’80s, the group racked up seven straight Top Ten hits in the U.K. and six Top Ten singles in the U.S. with their light, infectious pop-soul. Though their music was radio-ready, what brought the band stardom was Boy George, the group’s charismatic, cross-dressing lead singer. George dressed in flamboyant dresses and wore heavy makeup, creating a disarmingly androgynous appearance that created a sensation on early MTV. George also had a biting wit and frequently came up with cutting quips that won Culture Club heavy media exposure in both America and Britain. Although closely aligned with the new romantics — they were both inspired by Northern soul and fashion — Culture Club had sharper pop sense than their peers and they consequently had a broader appeal. However, their time in the spotlight was brief. Not only could they not withstand the changing fashions of MTV, but the group was fraught with personal tensions, including Boy George’s drug addiction. By 1986, the group had broken up, leaving behind several singles that rank as classics of the new wave era.
The son of a boxing club manager, Boy George (b. George O’Dowd, June 14, 1961), found himself attracted to the glam rock of T. Rex and David Bowie as a teenager. During the post-punk era of the late ’70s, he became a regular at London new romantic clubs. Along with his cross-dressing friends Marilyn and Martin Degville (a future member of Sigue Sigue Sputnik), George became well-known around the London underground for his extravagant sense of style, and Malcolm McLaren invited him to join an early version of Bow Wow Wow. George briefly appeared with the band as Lieutenant Lush before leaving to form In Praise of Lemmings with bassist Mikey Craig (b. February 15, 1960). Once guitarist Jon Suede joined the group, they changed their name to Sex Gang Children. Within a few months, the band met Jon Moss (b. September 11, 1957), a professional drummer who had previously played with Adam & the Ants and the Damned.
By 1981, Boy George had renamed the group Culture Club and Suede had been replaced by Roy Hay (b. August 12, 1961), a former member of Russian Bouquet. Toward the end of the year, they recorded a set of demos for EMI, but the label turned them down. Early in 1982, the band landed a contract with Virgin Records, releasing “White Boy” in the spring. Neither “White Boy” or its follow-up, “I’m Afraid of Me,” made the charts but the British music and fashion press began running articles about Boy George. In the fall, Culture Club released their breakthrough single, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” which rocketed to the top of the charts. Shortly afterward, the band’s debut, Kissing to Be Clever, climbed to number five on the U.K. charts and the non-LP single “Time (Clock of the Heart)” reached number three. Early in 1983, Kissing to Be Clever and “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” began climbing the U.S. charts, with the single peaking at number two. “Time” reached number two in the U.S. shortly after the non-LP British single “Church of the Poison Mind,” attained the same position in the U.K. “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” became a Top Ten hit in America that summer.
By the time Culture Club’s second album Colour By Numbers was released in the fall of 1983, the band was the most popular pop/rock group in America and England. “Karma Chameleon” became a number one hit on both sides of the Atlantic, while the album reached number one in the U.K. and number two in the U.S. Throughout 1984, the group racked up hits, with “It’s a Miracle” and “Miss Me Blind” reaching the Top Ten. In the fall, the group returned with its third album, Waking Up With the House on Fire. While “The War Song” reached number two in the U.K., the album was a disappointment in America, stalling at platinum; its predecessor went quadruple platinum.
Following a brief tour in February, Culture Club went on hiatus for 1985, with Craig, Moss, and Hay pursuing extracurricular musical projects in the interim. During the year, Boy George — who had previously denounced drugs in public — became addicted to heroin. Furthermore, his romance with Moss, which had always been rocky, began to disintegrate. All of these problems were kept hidden, but it became evident that something was wrong when Culture Club returned to action in the spring of 1986. Though their comeback single, “Move Away,” became a hit in April, its accompanying album From Luxury to Heartache stayed on the charts for only a few months. Rumors of George’s heroin addiction began to circulate, and by the summer, he announced that he was indeed addicted to the drug. In July, he was arrested by the British police for possession of cannabis. Several days later, keyboardist Michael Rudetski, who played on From Luxury to Heartache, was found dead of a heroin overdose in George’s home. Rudetski’s parents unsuccessfully tried to press wrongful death charges on Boy George.
While Boy George was battling heroin addiction, and his subsequent dependence on prescription narcotics, Culture Club broke up. George confirmed the group’s disbandment in the spring of 1987, and he began a solo career later that year. While his solo career produced several dance hits in Europe, George didn’t land an American hit until 1992, when his cover of Dave Berry’s “The Crying Game” was featured in the Academy Award-nominated film of the same name.
Grace Jones was one of the more unforgettable characters to emerge from New York City’s hedonistic Studio 54 disco scene during the late ’70s. Born May 19, 1952, in Kingston, Jamaica, Jones studied theater at Syracuse University before launching a career as a model. Jones’ statuesque and flamboyant look proved to be a hit in the New York City nightclub scene, which led to a recording contract with Island Records in 1977. While such disco-based albums as 1977’s Portfolio, 1978’s Fame, and 1979’s Muse failed to break the singer commercially, Jones soon amassed a substantial following among gay men with her sexually charged live show, leading to her title at the time of “Queen of the Gay Discos.”
But with the dawn of the ’80s came a massive anti-disco movement across the U.S., leading to Jones focusing on more new wave and experimental-based work, resulting in two of her best-known and strongest releases — 1980’s Warm Leatherette and 1981’s Nightclubbing — both produced by the noted reggae team of Sly & Robbie (the latter release spawned one of Jones’ biggest hits, “Pull Up to the Bumper,” as well as covers of Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing” and the Police’s “Demolition Man”). It was also around this time that Jones changed her look to suit the times by replacing her S&M look of the ’70s with a detached, androgynous image. Jones’ sixth solo release overall, Living My Life, followed in 1982, while the singer took a break from recording to focus on film work and landed roles in such movies as Conan the Destroyer and the James Bond flick A View to a Kill (Jones’ romantic life also provided tabloid fodder at the time when she was linked with Rocky IV star Dolph Lundgren).
Jones eventually returned to her recording career, enlisting super-producer Trevor Horn (Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Yes) to oversee 1985’s Slave to the Rhythm, which turned out to be a somewhat autobiographical work (the same year, a ten-track compilation was issued as well, Island Life). Jones’ penchant for working with big-name producers continued on 1986’s Inside Story; with production chores handled by Chic’s Nile Rodgers, the album spawned one of Jones’ last successful singles, “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You).” After 1989’s Bulletproof Heart, Jones seemed to turn her back on her recording career (although 1993 saw the release of a new single, “Sex Drive”), as she again focused primarily on movies, including a role in Eddie Murphy’s hit 1992 comedy Boomerang. The double-disc set Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions (a collection of 26 tracks that Jones recorded with Sly & Robbie during their early-’80s union) was released in 1998, which was followed up four years later with Island Life, Vol. 2. She returned to music in 2008 with Hurricane, an album featuring contributions from Brian Eno, Wendy & Lisa, Tony Allen, and others. In 2011 the album was re-released with a bonus disc featuring dubs created by producer Ivor Guest.
