Blancmange

Blancmange was formed in Harrow, London in 1979 by vocalist Neil Arthur (born 15 June 1958, Darwen, Lancashire) andinstrumentalist Stephen Luscombe (born 29 October 1954, Hillingdon, Middlesex). The duo released their first EP "Irene and Mavis" the following year, but had their first real exposure via a track on the seminal Some Bizzare Album, alongside fellow acts Soft Cell and Depeche Mode.

This led to them signing a recording contract with London Records.Blancmange supported Nash the Slash on a London club tour in October and November 1980. Nash introduced the band to the Virgin subsidiary record label DinDisc, but they were ultimately signed by London Records, in 1982.Their first success was the 1982 minor hit single, "Feel Me". Later that year they broke through with "Living on the Ceiling", which reached no.7 in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album, Happy Families (which featured a sleeve painting in the style of Louis Wain) also reached the top 30.

Further hits followed with "Waves", "Blind Vision", "That's Love That It Is" and "Don't Tell Me", all of which reached the top 40, with "Don't Tell Me" even making no.8 in the UK, while their second album Mange Tout reached the top 10. In 1984, Blancmange covered ABBA's single "The Day Before You Came", which reached No 22 in the UK (slightly higher than Abba's original less than two years earlier).
Eventually, as synthpop became less fashionable, the band's fortunes declined. The 1985 single "What's Your Problem" only reached No. 40, and the subsequent album Believe You Me spent only two weeks in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at no.54. Blancmange formally split up in 1987.Luscombe released an album of Indian influenced music Music From New Demons with Pandit Dinesh, Peter Culshaw, Priya Khajuria and Asha Bhosle under the name The West India Company, in 1989. Meanwhile, Arthur released a solo album, Suitcase, in 1994.

for a new album.

Adam Ant

Adam Ant (born Stuart Leslie Goddard, 3 November 1954, Marylebone, London) is an English musician, who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1979 and 1983, including three No.1s.

Goddard was also a star in America where he not only scored a string of hit singles and albums, but was once voted sexiest man in America by the viewers of MTV. He is also an actor, having appeared in two dozen films or television episodes between 1985 and 1999.

The Nolans

The Nolans (billed as The Nolan Sisters from 1974 until early 1980) are sisters from Ireland, brought up in England, who performed as a pop vocal act. The group, best-known for their song "I'm In The Mood For Dancing", gained prominence as guest performers on numerous UK television shows.

The majority of their charted singles and albums occurred in the early 1980s but they continued to be active until 2005 and were particularly successful in Japan. The sisters have pursued varying solo careers in acting, music and television presenting.

In June 2009 it was announced that the Nolan Sisters will be re-forming and touring in October and November 2009. On 28 September 2009 The Nolans released their new album I'm In The Mood Again which features re-recordings of some of their well known hits plus recordings of the well-known diva anthems. The album made its debut in the top 40 album chart reaching number 22.

The Smiths

The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey (vocals) and Johnny Marr (guitar), the band also included Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums).

Critics have called them the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s, and the group has had a major influence on subsequent artists. Morrissey's lovelorn tales of alienation found an audience amongst youth culture bored by the ubiquitous synthesizer-pop bands of the early 1980s, while Marr's complex melodies helped return guitar-based music to popularity in Britain.

The group were signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records, for whom they released four studio albums and several compilations, as well as numerous non-LP singles. Although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together, and never released a single that charted higher than number 10 in their home country, The Smiths won a growing following, and remain cult and commercial favourites.

The band broke up in 1987 amid disagreements between Morrissey and Marr and have turned down several offers to reform since then.

The Specials

The Specials (sometimes called The Special AKA) are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combined a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups. The group was formed by songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers, with Terry Hall (vocals), Lynval Golding (guitar, vocals) and a rhythm section. The band wore mod-style "'60s-period rude-boy outfits (porkpie hats, tonic and mohair suits, and loafers)". In 1979, the song "Too Much Too Young" reached the number one spot in the UK. In 1981, the unemployment-themed single "Ghost Town" single also hit number one in the UK. Their music is featured in film and television soundtracks. After seven consecutive UK Top 10 singles between 1979 and 1981, the band broke up. The band reformed and embarked on a 30th anniversary tour in 2009.

Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy

Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham) is an English singer/songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was a founding member and vocalist/bassist of Duran Duran.

Duffy went on to record as a solo performer under several different names, and is the singer and songwriter for The Lilac Time with his older brother Nick. He has also co-written with Robbie Williams, and Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies.

In 1982, he created the band Tin Tin, with John Mulligan and Dik Davis (both then of Fashion), Andy "Stoker" Growcott (of Dexys Midnight Runners) and Bob Lamb (original producer of Birmingham band UB40). The band was signed with WEA Records in the UK, and released the song, "Kiss Me," which went to no. 155 on the UK chart. By 1983, Tin Tin had signed with Sire Records in the US, and "Kiss Me" hit the dance charts there as well. Another single, "Hold It," was also released in 1983, reaching number 55 in the UK.

Funboy Three

Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful English band which ran from 1981 to 1983 and was formed by singersTerry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials.

They dispensed with the darker, moody sound and demeanour which they and Jerry Dammers had crafted with great success in the ska revival of the late 1970s and went into a much brighter, poppier phase with this new band, though maintaining savagery and wit within the lyrics and Hall's wholly expressionless persona.

Together, they set about making music which covered a variety of genres. The band enjoyed six UK Top 20 hits, including "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" and "Tunnel of Love" and created two albums of which the eponymous Fun Boy Three was the most successful.

The trio's last UK hit was "Our Lips Are Sealed" from the album Waiting, co-written by Terry Hall and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's, who had scored a U.S. hit with the song a year earlier. They then toured the United States and split afterwards.

They were also credited with helping launch the career in 1982 of Bananarama, whom Hall first saw in The Face magazine. The three women provided credited chorusvocals on the hit "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)"; the Fun Boy Three later sang on the Bananarama song "Really Saying Something".

Nick Berry

Nick Berry took a break from his acting role in BBC TV's EastEnders to tour and make an album from which the number one single 'Every Loser Wins' came in 1986. The song was heavily featured within EastEnders in a plotline referred to as The Banned in which the youths of Walford all formed a pop group and performed the songs on screen. It was the second biggest selling single in the UK in 1986, remaining at No1 for 3 weeks. Its composer Simon May received an Ivor Novello Award.

Steve Brookstein from XFactor 2004

Stephen "Steve" Desmond Brookstein (born 10 November 1968 in South London) is a British jazz and soul singer, who rose to fame in the United Kingdom after becoming the winner of the first series of The X Factor in 2004. He is originally from Mitcham, South London.

The X Factor 2004

In early 2004, Brookstein auditioned for the first series of The X Factor, a new television talent show that aimed to discover a star recording artist in the UK (effectively replacing Pop Idol). His audition failed to impress two of the judges, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, who thought he lacked the motivation and confidence to succeed but the third, Simon Cowell, asked Brookstein to return later that afternoon and sing again.

At the second audition, Brookstein managed to impress the other judges and was put through to the next stage of the competition. He went on to reach the live shows, where contestants are put to the public vote, as one of three contestants in the Over 25s category mentored by Cowell. He reached the grand final on 11 December 2004 alongside G4, and won despite a controversial outburst against him from Osbourne. However, according to Sharon Osbourne's subsequent autobiography, he had won every one of the live shows and still holds the record for the winner with the highest ever votes received in the final - 6 million.

Chico - From XFactor 2005

Yousseph Slimani (born 2 April 1971), known as Chico, is a Welsh singer of Moroccan descent who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor.

In 2008, he appeared on the reality TV show CelebAir in which he placed third.

Chico Slimani was born in Bridgend, South Wales to Moroccan parents. Chico's father and mother are both Muslim. At age two, when his parents split during a family vacation, he remained in Morocco and lived with his grandparents. His mother lives in Belgium.

He spent his childhood time in Oujda City (Morocco), but when he was 13 years old, his father living in Crawley, West Sussex called him back to the UK.He has studied martial arts. He also worked as a male stripper for a while before re-discovering Islam.

Chico's initial X Factor audition was notable because judge Simon Cowell walked out in disgust after fellow judges Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne voted him through to the second round. His category ("Over 25s") was mentored by Osbourne, who put him through to the live television phase after a particularly memorable performance at the Osbournes' "home", in which he jumped into a shallow pool and danced in the water (still holding a live microphone).

After the initial live shows, he was widely mocked in the press, but after changing the style of his performances, to become slightly more self-mocking, he began to win voters over. He also became notable for being the first contestant in a Simon Cowell show (Pop Idol, American Idol, The X Factor) to sing a song co-written with X Factor vocal coach Mark Hudson, the suitably camp and iconic "It's Chico Time", named after his catchphrase (Chico: "What time is it?" Audience: "It's Chico Time!")It was notable that Cowell himself was won over during the course of the series, commenting that Chico was a born entertainer, even if he wasn't the recording artist the show was supposedly looking to discover.

Chico failed to reach the final of the show, being voted out in the third from last episode. The competition was eventually won by singer Shayne Ward in December 2005.Slimani had originally planned to release "It's Chico Time" as a single before Christmas, but for contractual reasons he had to wait. Chico was stated as saying "I'm absolutely loving every minute of it, and looking forward to releasing the single at last". The single was eventually released in February 2006; it entered the UK Singles Chart at number one on 5 March 2006, toppling Madonna from the top spot. It remained at number one for two weeks.

In early 2006, Chico took part in the nationwide X Factor tour.

Since his X factor appearance, Chico has made many public appearances all over the UK. He went on tour at Butlins[4], performing full 45-minute sets along with a live band and dancers as part of The Chico Experience.He also appeared under his original name Yusuf Sliman in Muslim events singing Islamic songs including "Moulana" dedicated to Prophet Muhammad and the Awliya' (the Men of God).Chico's follow-up single to "It's Chico Time", a cover of the song "D.I.S.C.O.", entered the chart at number 24 in August 2006. His next single, "Curvy Cola Bottle Body", was released on 8 October 2007 and reached #45 in its first week in the chart.

In December 2007, Chico made an appearance on BBC Two's music panel comedy quiz show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, as part of the "identity parade" feature. He was correctly identified by the panel.

Chico made a guest appearance in the 2007 Christmas special of Ricky Gervais' TV series Extras, taking part in a mock-up of Celebrity Big Brother. Good Day written by Roachie amd produced by Danny Kirsch was used as part of the 2007 Butlins TV adverts.

In the 2008 series of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Chico was a member of "Team Dec" in the feature "Ant vs. Dec: The Teams".

Chico also starred as the celebrity "hider" in an episode of the CBBC show Hider in the House. Later in 2008 he featured as a celebrity in the reality television show CelebAir on ITV2. Slimani came third overall. The video for Chico's fourth single, "Are You In It For Love", was premiered on his official website. It is a cover of a Ricky Martin hit. His debut album titled Lights Camera Action was released beginning of 2009.

Kiki Dee

Kiki Dee (born Pauline Matthews, 6 March 1947, Little Horton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England) is a singer-songwriter, with a career spanning more than 40 years. She is best known for her 1976 duet with Elton John, entitled "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", which went to Number 1 both in the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In 1993 she performed another duet with Elton John for his Duets album, a cover version of Cole Porter's "True Love", which reached #2 in the UK.

Kiki Dee began singing with a local band in Bradford in the early 1960s. Her recording career began as a session singer. She sang backing vocals for Dusty Springfield, among others, and was regarded by other singers but did not achieve solo success in the UK for many years.

However, her 1965 release "Why Don't I Run Away From You" was a big hit on Radios London and Caroline in 1965, and her 1968 release, "On a Magic Carpet Ride", which was originally a B-side, has remained popular with the Northern Soul circuit. Hit songwriter Mitch Murray came up with her stage name, and also penned her first single, "Early Night".

In the United States she became the first white British artist to be signed byMotown, releasing her first Motown single in 1970. In the days before BBC Radio 1, Dee was a regular performer of cover versions on BBC Radio, and she starred with a group of session singers in the BBC Two singalong series, One More Time. She also appeared in an early episode of The Benny Hill Show in January 1971, performing the Blood, Sweat and Tears hit, "You've Made Me So Very Happy".
Nevertheless, it was only after she signed with Elton John's Rocket Records that she became a household name in the UK.

Her first major solo hits were "Amoureuse" (written by Véronique Sanson, with English lyrics by Gary Osborne) (1973) and "I've Got the Music in Me" (written by Tobias Stephen Boshell), the latter credited to the Kiki Dee Band (1974). In addition to her burgeoning career as a lead vocalist, she could sometimes be heard singing backing vocals on various Elton John recordings, such as "All the Girls Love Alice" on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and various tracks on Rock of the Westies.She became a household name with her duet with Elton John, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in 1976.

In 1981, Dee joined forces again with Elton John, recording a cover of the Four Tops' song "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever".

In 1983, she supplied backing vocals to Elton John's album Too Low for Zero. Between 1987 and 1990 the theme music to the BBC One TV programme Opportunity Knocks was Dee's recording of "Star", a song written by Doreen Chanter of the Chanter Sisters. Dee also sang the song "What Can't Speak Can't Lie" (1983), composed and recorded by the Japanese jazz fusion groupCasiopea, and with lyrics by Gary Osborne.

She has released 39 singles, 3 EPs, 9 LPs and 3 CDs to date. Dee has also appeared in musical theatre - notably in the lead role in Willy Russell's West End musical Blood Brothers, in which she took on the role originally played by Barbara Dickson for the 1988 production and recording. She received an Olivier Award nomination in 1989 for her acting skills.

In 1990, she contributed to the last recording studio collaboration between Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, on the album Freudiana, performing "You're On Your Own". In 2008, Dee's first DVD was released. Under The Night Sky was a collaboration with guitarist Carmelo Luggeri, filmed live at the Bray Studios in London. That same year, several albums from her earlier 1970s-1980s Rocket catalogue were re-released by EMI Records, including an expanded edition of Almost Naked with extra tracks, including a cover of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold", and a new take on "Sugar on the Floor". The latter song had previously appeared as a full band version by Dee; a piano/vocal version (with slide guitar from Davey Johnstone) by Elton John (a bonus CD track on Rock of the Westies that was the b-side to "Island Girl"); and a jazzy version by Etta James.

She also performed at Live Aid, reprising "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with John, and performing backing vocals on the other songs in his set. She still tours, and occasionally makes guest appearances on television in shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She has recorded with other artists such as Dave Stewart and guitarist Carmelo.

Luggeri.

Leon Jackson - XFactor Winner 2007

Leon Jackson (born 30 December 1988) is a Scottish singer and songwriter who won fourth series of the British television talent show The X Factor in 2007.

The song which had contributed to his win, "When You Believe", was released as a single in December 2007 and reached #1 on both the UK and Ireland singles charts.

Jackson's second single, "Don't Call This Love", from the album Right Now, was released on 12 October 2008, peaking at #3 in the United Kingdom and #8 in Ireland.

The album was released on 21 October 2008, and reached #4 in the UK and #7 in Ireland.

Two further download-only singles were released from the album: "Creative" (November 2008), which charted at #94 on the UK Singles Download chart, and "Stargazing" (January 2009). In March 2009, Jackson was dropped from the Sony BMG label. Jackson stated that he was going forward with a previously scheduled concert tour.

Yazoo

Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) are an English synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of top ten hits in the British charts in the early 1980s. Formed in late 1981 by former Depeche Mode songwriter Vince Clarke (synthesizer) and English singer Alison Moyet (vocals), Yazoo was signed to Mute Records in the United Kingdom and (as "Yaz") to Sire Records in the United States.Yazoo's debut single "Only You" backed with "Situation," was released on March 15, 1982 and rose to number two in the UK charts.

Yazoo released successful studio albums, Upstairs at Eric'sin 1982 and the more successful You and Me Both in 1983. Shortly after, Moyet and Clarke decided to break up. Moyet pursued a solo career while Clarke founded Erasure, another synth pop group.

Yazoo temporarily reunited in 2008 with a tour in Europe and the United States and the release of a four-disc box set.Though short-lived, Yazoo continues to influence and inspire many of today's bands, including LCD Soundsystem, Gil Mantera's Party Dream, Hercules and Love Affair, Shiny Toy Guns and Blaqk Audio.

Aswad

Aswad : One of the UK's most successful reggae bands who at one time were backing artists for Bob Marley.

Aswad reached number one with the single "Don't Turn Around" and had other chart-topping hits such as "Give a Little Love" and "On and On".

The name Aswad is Arabic for "Black".
Among Aswad's catalogue of hits is "Don't Turn Around", a UK no.1 pop hit in 1988. This track was originally a B-side to Tina Turner's hit "Typical Male", which was later covered by Ace of Base; they followed this up with UK #11 hit "Give A Little Love", and a reggae flavoured rendition of "Best of My Love", first popularized and written by The Eagles. In 1989, they contributed the single, "Set Them Free" to the Greenpeace Rainbow Warriors album. In the same year they performed together with Sir Cliff Richard the song "Share A Dream" recorded the previous year, at Wembley Stadium as part of The Event (16 & 17th June, 1989). Their next hit, Shine, was released in 1994. Another track was the upbeat 1998 remake of The Police's "Invisible Sun", performed with Sting.The band also hold the distinction of having played with each one of the ex-Wailers.

Gary Newman

Born in Hammersmith, West London, Gary Webb's father was a British Airways bus driver based at Heathrow Airport. Webb was educated at Town Farm Junior School Stanwell, AshfordCounty Grammar School, Middlesex, Slough Grammar School and Brooklands Technical College. He had an early ambition to be an airline pilot, but did not gain any academic qualifications; however, he did go on to join the Air Training Corps as a teenager. He then briefly did various jobs including fork lift truck driver, air conditioning ventilator fitter and clerk in an accounts department.

2009

In July 2009, Gary Numan appeared as a special guest at the "Wave Goodbye" Nine Inch Nails concert at The O2 arena (London) in London. Before coming on stage, Trent Reznor explained how Numan was "vitally important and a huge inspiration" to him during the past 20 years. Numan then went on to play two songs with Nine Inch Nails; "Cars" and "Metal". Numan appeared once again at the final run of the "Wave Goobye" shows in Los Angeles, CA. On September 2, 2009 at the Hollywood Palladium, Numan joined Reznor on stage to perform "Metal" and "Cars" near the end of the Nine Inch Nails set. He then joined the band onstage a third time at the Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA, this time performing "Metal" and "I Die: You Die" from the album Telekon. He then joined them a third time at the Henry Fonda theater, performing "Down In The Park," "Metal" and "Cars". Mike Garson initially played "Down In The Park (Piano Version)" before they started the song. He then joined them for the final show at the Wiltern Theater.In a recent interview with The Quietus, Numan says that he and Trent Reznor plan to make music together.

St Winifreds School Choir

St Winifred's School Choir, from St Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School in Stockport, United Kingdom, was a choir of children trained by choir mistress Terri Foley, who released a song in 1980 that became the British Christmas number one single of that year. The song was entitled There's No One Quite Like Grandma, and it spent two weeks at number one, and eleven weeks in the UK singles chart in total. Lead vocal was provided by Dawn Ralph. The song was composed by award-winning record producer Gordon Lorenz. The choir were conducted by Miss Theresa Foley.

(October 2009) The singers, now aged in their late 30s and early 40s, are releasing a new song to raise funds for the Big Knit. It aims to raise more than £250,000 for Age Concern and Help the Aged.The group, which includes a police detective, an human resources consultant and a mortgage advisor will work with a vocal coach on the single.

Howard Jones

Howard Jones (born John Howard Jones, 23 February 1955, Southampton, Hampshire, England.In October 2006, Jones released "Building Our Own Future" as a podsafe track, as one of several established artists looking to use podcasts as a new means of promoting their music and tours. The song debuted at #1 on the PMC Top10 on 29 October 2006 and spent four weeks at the top of the chart. Howard's track "Revolution of the Heart" spent five weeks at #1 on the PMC Top10 during 2007 and finished the year as the #2 song in their annual countdown.Jones embarked on an acoustic tour of Australia in 2007, beginning in Brisbane and concluding on 5 April in Perth. The Revolution Remixed & Surrounded album was followed in November by Live in Birkenhead. Jones performed another acoustic set, with other 1980s acts at the Retrofest, on 1 September 2007 at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. Jones also went into the studios with The Young Punx to record vocals for their summer 2008 release, "And The Feel Goes On".Jones is a member of Sōka Gakkai, and is musical director of its choir, the Glorious Life Chorus. The chorus performes some of his songs in its repertoire, including "Building Our Own Future" and "Respected". He returned to Australia again in 2009, this time accompanied by vocalist Laura Clapp and music technologist Robbie Bronnimann. On 26 February 2009 Jones was at the UK premiere of Roland's new V-Piano in Bristol and performed "Hide and Seek". He continues to tour, and will be playing the 'Big Hair Affair 2009' on 1 August 2009 at the Ryedale Arena, Pickering.His next album 'Ordinary Heroes' will be released in late 2009, and he will be touring London, Cardiff and Manchester with a string section and Welsh male voice choir, as well as performing the new album.

Kajagoogoo

Kajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their first single, "Too Shy", which reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart (#5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100) in 1983.Kajagoogoo announced a UK tour (their first as a five-piece since 1983) for September 2009.

UB40

UB40 are a British reggae pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has placed more than 50 singles on the UK charts, and has also achieved considerable international success. Their #1 hits (which are all covers) include "Red Red Wine", "Can't Help Falling in Love", and "I Got You Babe".On 24 January 2008 it was announced that Ali Campbell would be leaving the group after 30 years. It was originally stated that this was in order for Campbell to concentrate on solo projects, but Campbell later said he was leaving due to "management difficulties". The remaining seven members released a statement saying: “Ali made a very simple decision, he chose to pursue and put his solo career over and above continuing to work with UB40 after February 2008, it’s as simple as that". The news that a second original member was leaving the band as a result of "management trouble" came on 19 March 2008. Keyboard player Michael Virtue followed Campbell, and also launched an investigation, with Campbell's legal company, into the financial dealings of the group.It was reported by some Birmingham newspapers on 13 March 2008, that Maxi Priest would be the new lead singer of UB40 and had recorded a cover of Bob Marley’s "I Shot the Sheriff" with the band, based on information from an unnamed "source close to the band." Priest had joined UB40 on tour in 2007, culminating in sell out shows at the NEC in December. Another local newspaper reporting that Maxi Priest would be the new UB40 frontman, also included a statement from band spokesman Gerard Franklyn which contradicted this claim: "Maxi is collaborating with the band to record material but there is no decision been made to replace Ali Campbell with one definitive singer. The reports are half correct he will be appearing with them for this new recording." In April 2008, the BBC reported that Campbell was to be replaced in the band by his brother Duncan, with reggae singer Maxi Priest also bolstering the line-up on tour.The band's new album, Twentyfourseven, UB40's last with the original lineup, was a free insert in The Mail on Sunday's 4 May 2008 issue. The full 17 track version was released on 21 June 2008, but failed to go top 75 in the UK. This is a first for UB40, as all the official albums have previously gone Top 50 on the UK Albums Chart.

Bucks Fizz

Bucks Fizz are a British pop group, formed in 1981 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest that year. They won with "Making Your Mind Up", which is still their best-known song. The group was initially made up of four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston, whose gimmick was that they were all blond. The group went on to have a successful career around the world, although their biggest success was in the UK where they had three No.1 singles and became one of the top-selling groups of the 1980s. Worldwide their record sales exceeded 15 million.In December 2004, G, Nolan, Baker and Preston reformed briefly after 15 years to be part of 'The Here and Now Tour' of the UK. To distinguish this line-up from G's other group, they renamed themselves The Original Bucks Fizz (despite Preston not being an original member). Due to prior commitments with the current lineup of the group, G could not make all of the dates played, but did appear at some shows. Following this, Nolan, Baker and Preston subsequently performed more shows together as a three-piece under the same title and featured in the Congratulations show, the 50th Anniversary of Eurovision in Copenhagen. In September 2008, Preston, Baker, Nolan and Aston reunited for a makeover show Pop Goes the Band for Living TV, which was screened in March 2009.In April 2009, Preston announced that she was leaving The Original Bucks Fizz due to other commitments. Soon after it was announced that original member Jay Aston would be joining Baker and Nolan in the group for live shows - the first time she has been a part of Bucks Fizz since 1985.

The Buggles

The Buggles was a New Wave band formed in 1977 consisting of Trevor Horn (bass guitar, guitar, percussion, and vocals), Geoff Downes (percussion and keyboards) and Bruce Woolley.In June 2005, Geoff Downes faintly hinted on his blog at an arrangement with Trevor Horn for a new Buggles album to coincide with MTV's 25th birthday, although the blog has not been updated for a while, and an album has not materialised. With the expected worldwide re-release of Adventures in Modern Recording by Horn's own ZTT Records however, there is still a sign of Buggles activity.Horn's current band, The Producers, have covered Video Killed the Radio Star at all of their performances so far. A clip of one of these performances at Camden Town can be seen on the website for ZTT Records.

Sandie Shaw

Sandie Shaw (born Sandra Ann Goodrich, 26 February 1947, Dagenham, Essex, England) is a British singer. She was, as described in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "the barefoot pop princess of the 1960s".

This distinctive vocalist, who has a 41 year UK chart span, was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest.The new millennium saw Shaw not only set up her own official website, but also embark on a legal battle to establish ownership of her entire recording catalogue. She succeeded in 2002 and began working with contemporary acts and producers, reworking much of her 1960s and 1980s material.In 2003, Shaw licensed her recording catalogue worldwide to EMI, continued to develop her Arts Clinic, and began executive coaching and mentoring. Meanwhile, EMI released compilations of her French and Italian recordings, and the following year released similar compilations in Spanish and German. Newly-remastered versions of Reviewing the Situation and Hello Angel also were issued with bonus tracks, and toward the end of the year a 4-CD box set entitled Nothing Comes Easy was released, containing all the 'A' and 'B' sides of all her UK singles, plus rare and unreleased tracks. All songs were digitally remastered, and some were heard in stereo for the first time. The set was accompanied by a booklet with a track-by-track commentary from Shaw.

Also in 2003, actress Ashley Williams portrayed Shaw on an episode of the American television series American Dreams, performing "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" on American Bandstand.

EMI continued to release Shaw's material and in 2005 issued The Very Best of Sandie Shaw — the first ever compilation to feature the original versions (digitally remastered) of all of her biggest hits from "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" to "Nothing Less Than Brilliant" on one CD. All of Shaw's original studio albums (with the exception of Choose Life) have since been released in digitally remastered format on CD with bonus tracks. During this decade, she reneged on previous declarations of hatred for the Eurovision Song Contest and announced that she was proud of her Eurovision past on the BBC show Making Your Mind Up. She also briefly sat in for Brian Matthew on his long-running BBC Radio 2 Saturday morning show Sounds of the 60s in December 2006.

On 26 February 2007, in honour of her 60th birthday, Shaw released a new version of "Puppet on a String" on her website. The re-tooled version, called "Puppet's Got A Brand New String," had a complete overhaul in sound and vocals under the supervision of her friend Howard Jones and mixer Andy Gray. The schlager style of the song was replaced with a calmer melody.

In August 2007, Shaw revealed that she had had corrective surgery on her iconic feet, which she described as "ugly" - the surgery left her immobile until October 2007.

Brotherhood Of Man

As the 2000s dawned, the group went into semi-retirement and cut back on touring. However, in 2002, they devised a new live show based on their roots in the 1970s. Entitled The Seventies Story, the show comprised a trip through the decade, with the group performing well-known songs from each year along with a narration of contemporary events. The group returned to the studio and recorded an album of the show's songs. Again, this album was not released in shops, but was available on CD at the show's venues. The tracks did get a general release later on however on various compilation albums. In 2004, the first Brotherhood of Man DVD was released, featuring TV performances of many of their singles.To date, the group still do occasional shows with both The Seventies Story and with their own material. Most recently they have teamed up with the current incarnation of Bucks Fizz and together they perform as a two-part show. They frequently play to sold out houses, The Seventies Story being particularly successful in receiving good reviews.Brotherhood of Man still find themselves in demand on both the Nostalgia and gay circuit. They have appeared a number of times at London's G-A-Y theatre and regularly appear on TV both in the UK and abroad, mostly around Eurovision time each year. In 2006, they appeared at the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest gala held in Denmark, where they were voted in the top 5 Eurovision songs of all time - the highest of any UK entry.

Black Lace

Black Lace were a British pop group from Ossett in West Yorkshire. They first came into the public eye after being selected to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 in which they finished in 7th position with the song "Mary Ann". They went on to have success with a number of lightweight Europop party anthem style hits such as "Superman" "Agadoo" and "Do The Conga".

On March the 30th 2009 Dene Michael released a new mambo version of Agadoo being joined in the new Black Lace line up by a former Merseyside pub singer, Ian Robinson. Bruce Jones, who played Les Battersby in the UK TV soap opera "Coronation Street" , directed and played a cameo role in the video which was filmed in a single day. Comedian Roy "Chubby" Brown and another former Coronation Street actor, Kevin Kennedy, who played Curly Watts in the soap opera also made cameo appearances in the video, as did serveral members of the cast of the ITV sitcom "Benidorm". The video, filmed on location in Spain, features the present lineup of the band, devoid of the bleached blonde mullet style hairstyles which were a trademark of Black Lace in its 1980s incarnation, driving a red Alfa-Romeo GTV Spider along a promenade whilst being followed by a procession of mostly middle aged people performing the actions to the famous "Agadoo, push pineapple shake the tree" dance.

Jason Donovan

He was Scott to Kylie's Charlene in the Aussie soap in the 80s, and later her boyfriend in real life. In 1990 he won Best Male Solo Singer and Worst Male Solo Singer at the Smash Hits Awards. 2008 he has a new CD out; 'Let It Be Me' is Jason Donovan's first album in fifteen years. This latest offering sees the former soap star coveringa selection of timeless classics from the fifties and sixties. In 2009 Jason stars as Tick in Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre in London.

Musical Youth

You must remember Musical Youth of the 80's. You will know Musical Youth for their massive hit “Pass The Dutchie”, which was selling major numbers at the end of 1982 and in the beginning of 1983. Well as of 2009 they are still going, albeit in a different form. In July 2004, a new release by Musical Youth saw the light of day: “Pretty Woman” by Pato Banton & Musical Youth was released by Numious Music. Musical Youth played Butlins, Bognor Regis on 11th October 2008 and Butlins, Skegness 12th October 2008.

Denise Pearson

2008 was Five Star 25th Anniversary, Stedman and Denise had agreed to do a few PAs at Butlins. March 29th was the first gig with Stedman and backing dancers whilst Denise is at work Songwriting in Sweden. October 2008 Denise would return to join Stedman and the backing dancers for gigs at Butlins over October and November 2008. Stedman Pearson appeared on Celebrity Scissorhands on BBC1, for Children In Need 2008. Doris and Lorraine interviewed on radio to talk about their life in the group and what they are all doing now. Denise made her West End debut, performing in Thriller - Live, at the Lyric Theatre on 2 January 2009. She continued to appear in the show until April 2009. 'Five Star'; Lorraine, Doris, Denise, Delroy and Stedman, would be performing some gigs later in 2009, in association with with their father and manager Buster Pearson.

Welcome

Hello, you have come to the right place. This is where soon you will see that the site will be tracking the has-been stars, the flash-in-the-pan folk and those celebrities who were simply too annoying during their 15 minutes of fame... or those you fell in love with for their talent and just wondered where they are now.