Van Morrison
JIMMY PAGE
Jimmy Page is without doubt one of the most influential guitarist of our time. Jimmy Page went from a bright eyed, young Skiffle lad to a founding member of Led Zeppelin, Page is a prolific songwriter and musician.
Born in England, Page haphazardly discovered the guitar as an adolescent and according to sources is largely, self taught. Like many young musicians of this time, he was inspired by the blues and rock-n-roll music being imported from America. Page’s first televised appearance was in 1957 playing in a Skiffle group.
Page would often jam with other icons but then only other local musicians like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. He eventually would go on to be a session musician and work on songs for other artists more notably, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull and Van Morrison. Some of these recordings were documented, some not and some controversial.
In 1964 and 1965, Page was offered Eric Clapton’s spot in The Yardbirds. He declined both times and didn’t actually join the band until 1966. The band eventually had some line-up drop outs. Page decided to recruit Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones and out of the ashes of the failing Yardbirds rose Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin created classic rock radio standards such as Dazed and Confused, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, Black Dog, and Stairway to Heaven.
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The music produced, composed and played by Page during his Led Zeppelin days continues to be the archetype for future rock, punk and metal bands. His techniques in downstroke guitar riffs, innovative dual guitar harmony, mesmerising solos and on-stage theatrics are some of the most quoted inspirations. According to a 2005 interview, Page estimated that he owned over 1500 guitars but he is most well-known for playing a double headed Gibson and Les Pauls. Gibson would go on to release signature Jimmy Page models.
After the death of Bonham, Led Zeppelin broke up. Page continued to be active within the music industry including forming a supergroup with Yes bassist, Chris Squire called XYZ, featuring on a Honeydripper’s recording, film soundtracks and session work. In 1988, he released a solo album called Outrider. In the 90s, he successfully collaborated with Whitesnake front man, David Coverdale. In 1994, he reunited with Plant again for a widely acclaimed MTV Unplugged session.
Four years later, a US rapper, Puff Daddy sampled Kashmir for his hit, Come with Me which featured on the Godzilla soundtrack. Page played a cameo role in the video to support the single.
Page has carried on in this vain by playing live with modern acts and re-mastering Led Zeppelin material.
Die-hard (and not so die-hard) fans were in awe and admiration when Page joined the surviving Led Zeppelin members for a reunion concert in 2007. The reunion caused an international stir and media frenzy.
Juanita Appleby
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Lonnie Donegan
Lonnie Donegan, born Anthony James Donegan on 29th April 1931, is known as the ‘King of Skiffle’. He is considered the first real British pop superstar. His first track, 'Rock Island Line' attained international fame in 1956 and crossed sales of 3 million copies, giving Donegan his first gold disc and was a Top 10 hit in the UK and the US.
Lonnie launched a somewhat craze, which resulted in the emergence of more than 50,000 skiffle groups in United Kingdom alone. For more than six years every single he released entered the Top 10. He chalked up 24 successive Top 30 hits and was the first British male to score 2 US Top 10s. His next single, 'Diggin’ My Potatoes' was banned by the BBC for its suggestive lyrics but gave Donegan a slight veneer of rebelliousness. His next single, 'Lost John' reached No.2 in the UK charts.
His other successes include, 'Gamblin’ Man', 'Puttin’ On The Style', 'Cumberland Gap' and 'Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Over Night)', which was one of his 2 US hits. He continued appearing in the charts until 1962 when he succumbed to the arrival of The Beatles and beat music.
He spent a decade as a record producer at Pye Records. 1997 saw Lonegan presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ivor Novello Awards, where he sang with long time fan, Van Morrison.
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Donegan died in November 2002, aged 71, after suffering a heart attack midway through a UK tour. Dire Straits legend Mark Knopfler released a tribute song to Donegan entitled “Donegan’s Gone”.
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TOM JONES
Born Thomas Jones Woodward on 7th June 1940 in the Welsh town of Pontypridd, Tom Jones is as synonymous with Wales as daffodils, coal and leeks.
Tom Jones sang from an early age; he was a member of his school choir, and he often sang at family gatherings. After leaving school with no qualifications, he joined a local beat group - Tommy Scott and The Senators - in 1963. Often performing in black leather, Tom Jones soon gained recognition in South Wales. However, The Senators were still unheard of in London.
The band recorded seven tracks with the legendary producer Joe Meek, but true to form, Meek refused to release the tapes. Tom Jones and the Senators returned to the Working Men’s Clubs and Dance Halls of South Wales, and it was in such a venue that London-based manager Gordon Mills spotted Tom Jones. Mills became Tom Jones’ manager, and managed to get him signed to the renowned Decca label.
Tom Jones’ first single Chills and Fever failed to chart when it was released in late 1964, but the following year, his next record It’s Not Unusual was a smash; hitting the number 1 spot in the UK Singles Chart and reaching the top 10 of the US Billboard Chart. 1965 ended with Tom Jones being awarded the ‘Grammy Award for Best New Artist’. A year later, his cover version of The Green, Green Grass of Home spent seven weeks at number 1 in the UK.
Tom Jones’ first international performance was at Las Vegas’ Flamingo Club in 1967. His performance at New York’s Copacabana Nightclub the following year saw him confronted by a swooning, screaming, knicker-throwing female horde. This marked the beginning of Tom Jones’ concentration on lucrative club performances, rather than on recording albums.
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The 1970s provided Tom Jones with multiple successes, including the records Daughter of Darkness, The New Mexican Puppeteer and She’s a Lady. He also starred in a number of variety shows on American television, including ‘This is Tom Jones’ and ‘The Tom Jones Show’. However - despite these numerous triumphs - his popularity began to wane towards the end of the decade. The 1985 single A Boy From Nowhere reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, and his cover of Prince’s Kiss (which charted at number 5) went some way to reintroduce Jones back into the public consciousness. His comeback truly arrived with the 1999 release of Reload, a selection of duets with several other high-profile artists including The Pretenders, Robbie Williams and Van Morrison. In 2000, Tom Jones was invited by the then president of United States Bill Clinton to perform at the Millennium celebrations at Washington D.C. That same year, Jones was presented with the BRIT award for ‘Best Male’.
He celebrated his 65th birthday in 2005. To mark the occasion, he performed a spectacular concert in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd (his first performance in his hometown since 1964), which saw a musical legend returning to where it all began.
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THIN LIZZY
Thin Lizzy began life in Dublin in 1969 when childhood friends Phil Lynott and Brian Downey were approached by two former members of Van Morrison's band 'Them', Eric Wrixon (keyboards) and Eric Bell (guitar).
'Thin Lizzy' was released in 1971 on Decca. During 1972 they toured Europe, but it was only really back in Ireland that their tours provided the funds to keep the band going.
Later that year, Slade went on tour and Thin Lizzy were booked as their support. Decca released a record to coincide with this tour, and chose Lizzy's unique rock version of a traditional Irish folk song: "Whiskey In The Jar".
"Vagabonds Of The Western World" was released in the autumn of 1973 described as ‘mystical Celtic meets hard hitting rock’.
A newly formed line-up signed with Phonogram releasing "Jailbreak" in 1976 and the single "The Boys Are Back In Town" both massive international hits.
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"Bad Reputation" was released in September of 1977 and stormed to number 4 in the UK charts. Coming as it did on the back of "Jailbreak" and "Johnny The Fox", this cemented the band's position as one of the most successful rock bands of the time.
Thin Lizzy embarked on a US tour in the autumn of 1977 .The track 'Still In Love With You' is considered by many to be a highlight of Phil's career.
Thin Lizzy's 'final' UK show was on 28th August 1983 at the Reading Festival. Their farewell concert came on 4th September that year at the Monsters Of Rock Festival in Nuremburg, Germany.
Phil Lynott died of drug related problems in 1986 aged 36.
The band have continued to perform with a replacment lead singer.
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VAN MORRISON
Van Morrison, was born George Ivan Morrison on 31st August 1945 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A critically acclaimed singer/songwriter some of Van 'Van the Man' Morrison's albums are considered some of the best ever made including "Moondance", "Astral Weeks" and "It's Too Late to Stop Now". His work came from a number of genres including R&B, soul, Rock 'n' Roll, celtic, blues and jazz. He can play the guitar, saxaphone, harmonica, keyboard, tambourine, drums and ukulele.
Van Morrison achieved considerable international fame, largely as an album artist. In 1993, Morrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2003 the Songwriters Hall of Fame as well. VH1 ranked him No. 25 in their list of "100 Greatest Artists of Rock and Roll". and Rolling Stone magazine rated Morrison No. 42 in their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
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His superb albums include "Blowin' Your Mind!", "Moondance", "Astral Weeks", "His Band and the Street Choir", "Saint Dominic's Preview", "Tupelo Honey", "Hard Nose the Highway", "Veedon Fleece", "It's Too Late to Stop Now", "The Healing Game", "Live at Austin City Limits Festival" and the more recent album "Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl".
Van released the majority of albums through Bang, London, Warner Bros, Mercury, Lost Highway Records, Exile/Polydor, Listen to the Lion/EMI and Decca. Now in his 60s Morrison is still active in music.
Albums: (for Warner Brothers, except as noted)
Blowiri Your Mind, Bang, 1967.
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