Serious Black es una banda internacional de power metal formada en enero de 2014. Sus miembros pertenecen o han tenido éxito en otras bandas El nombre de la banda se deriva del nombre del mago Sirius Black de la serie de libros de Harry Potter. Para no infringir los derechos de marca, se cambió la ortografía.Según sus propias declaraciones, Roland Grapow y Mario Lochert hablaron de música el 23 de agosto de 2013 en el backstage del "Ripollet Rock Festival 2013". A Lochert se le ocurrió la idea de formar un sexteto y pudo convencer a Grapow, que actuaba allí con Masterplan. De vuelta en Munich, Lochert convenció a su amigo Thom Sauch por teléfono, y Jan Vacik y Dominik Sebastian se unieron a la banda. Finalmente, la formación se reunió en enero de 2014 en los Dreamsound Studios de Múnich para trabajar en su propio material. Después de que ya se escribió el primer material, se encontró un cantante adecuado en el sueco Urban Breed, que vive en los Estados Unidos.
El día antes del inicio de la gira en Bremen, la banda anunció que Roland Grapow y Thomen Stauch no podrían participar. Roland Grapow (debido a tinnitus) es representado en vivo por Bob Katsionis (Firewind), Thomen Stauch (debido a problemas en el hombro) por Ramy Ali (Freedom Call). El primer concierto del grupo fue el 16 de enero de 2015 en el Aladin de Bremen.
A mediados de enero de 2015, se lanzó el álbum debut As Daylight Breaks a través de AFM Records. A partir de esto, las piezas Sealing My Fate y I Seek No Other Life fueron lanzadas en la plataforma de videos YouTube con anticipación. El álbum entró en las listas de álbumes alemanas en el número 61. Aproximadamente un año y medio después, en septiembre de 2016, se lanzó el segundo trabajo "Mirrorworld", también a través de AFM Records. Alex Holzwarth tocó la batería por primera vez en la gira correspondiente. El tercer álbum Magic siguió en agosto de 2017. El día que comenzó la gira, Bob Katsionis anunció que se concentraría en trabajar con Firewind en el futuro, razón por la cual Christian Münzner intervino como sustituto de la gira. El álbum acústico First Light se lanzó poco antes de la Navidad de 2017.
En mayo de 2018, la banda anunció que Ramy Ali se había unido a la banda como bateria permanente después de que Alex Holzwarth se fuera en enero. El álbum Suite 226 se lanzó en esta compilación en 2020. Otro cambio de formación tuvo lugar en 2021. Después de que Urban Breed dejó la banda después de algunas diferencias antes de que comenzara la grabación, el nuevo álbum Vengeance is Mine se grabó con el cantante serbio Nikola Mijic (Eden's Curse) y nuevamente con Bob Katsionis en el propio estudio de Serious Black.
Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got received glowing reviews upon release and became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Nothing Compares 2 U" (written by Prince), was named the number one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.
She has released ten studio albums: 1992's Am I Not Your Girl? and 1994's Universal Mother both went gold in the UK, 2000's Faith and Courage received gold status in the US, and 2005's Throw Down Your Arms went gold in Ireland. Her work also includes songs for films, collaborations with many other artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts. Her 2021's memoir Rememberings was a best seller.
While maintaining her singing career since then she has occasionally encountered controversy, partly due to her statements and gestures. These include her ordination as a priest, despite being a woman with a Roman Catholic background, and expressing strong views on organised religion, women's rights, war, and child abuse.
In 2017, O'Connor changed her name to Magda Davitt. After converting to Islam in 2018, she changed it to Shuhada' Sadaqat (Arabic: شهداء صدقات). However, she continues to record and perform under her birth name.
Los Angeles: The Voices, often shortened toLA: The Voices, is the name of a group of four male singers based in theNetherlands. The original group, founded byGordon Heuckerothwho left the group in 2013, consisted of Heuckeroth, Remko Harms, Richy Brown, Roy van den Akker, and Peter William Strykes. Robbert Besselaar replaced original member Remko Harms in January 2016. It is a vocal band with classic musicals and trained men who bring a repertoire that is a cross between the BritishIl DivoandMarco Borsato.
On December 6 the group received an award at the Carré for their eponymous debut album; it was their first gold album, having sold over 25,000 copies since its November 19 debut. On New Year's Day 2011 a recording of the concert aired on RTL 4.
During Uitmarkt 2010, Los Angeles, The Voices was scheduled to perform but because of bad weather, the performance was canceled.
The first single, "Stay Safe with Me," appeared on 10 September 2010, the same night it was heard during their debut performance in the finals of Holland's Got Talent with Gordon in the designation process. From the moment the single was available to download, it reached third place in the Top 200 downloads of iTunes. Nor were they during the week promotion that appeared in Life4You and Coffee and heard on 100% NL. Gordon has indicated that he wants his group to win the contest.
On November 1, 2010 the group's debut album Los Angeles was scheduled to be released. This was moved to November 19 because of the death of Gordon's mother. The first single is "Stay safe with me," a Dutch translation (by Gordon) of an Afrikaans composition by Sean and Niel Schoonbee Buttler, both from South Africa. The album features 13 songs; Gordon wrote the title song and the lyrics of eight other songs. The album also features a Spanish song, "Tu me das Alas," with lyrics by Alma Nieto.
On December 6 Carré group received from the hands of Tineke de Nooij a gold record for selling more than 25,000 albums. The evening concert was broadcast on New Year's Eve 2010. In May 2011 they were guests at the concerts in the Amsterdam Arena for the Toppers.
On March 14, 2013 it was announced that the group's founder, Gordon Heuckeroth—better known by his stage name Gordon, would be stepping out of the group. Gordon was too busy with his own solo career and did not want to stand in the way of the success of the group. His last performance with the band was on March 31, 2013.
Kevin Max Smith (born August 17, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known for being a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk. As a solo artist following the band going on hiatus, he has recorded 12 full-length studio albums, including a Christmas album. From 2012 until 2014, he was the lead singer of the band Audio Adrenaline.
While at Liberty University, he met fellow dc Talk bandmates: Toby McKeehan ("tobyMac") and Michael Tait. They formed DC Talk in 1988 and went on to achieve great success in both Christian and mainstream music winning numerous Dove Awards and Grammys. The band went on to win 4 Grammy Awards, 16 GMA Dove Awards, and other recognition. The band went on hiatus in 2000 to pursue solo careers.
Max's first solo album, Stereotype Be, released on August 28, 2001, was praised by Allmusic for "[combining] pop, rock, and world music to create a versatile and intriguing project.". Artists Adrian Belew and Tony Levin of King Crimson, Larry Norman and drummer Matt Chamberlain contributed to the album along with Max's collaborator Erick Cole. It became a turning point in Max's career, as the project was a foreshadowing of Max's own brand of alternative music.
While Stereotype Be has developed a considerable cult following, it was not well received in the Christian music market. Soon after its release, Max was dropped from his Christian label, Forefront Records. Undeterred, Max began to slowly build his solo career through live shows and word-of-mouth. He released independent albums via his website, including Between the Fence & the Universe and a spoken-word collaboration with Adrian Belew, Raven Songs 101, both in 2004.
In April 2007, Infinity Music announced that Max had been signed to their label for his next project. The Blood was released on December 26, 2007.According to Max, "The Blood is not a classic hymns cover project or a white/homogenized version of black gospel or soul music. It's a sensitive and stylized adaption of the music that was at the root of rock and roll, blues and popular culture.
Max has attempted to create a name for himself apart from DC Talk. While he does not shy away from vocally defending his faith, he has expressed a desire to create art with a universal appeal. He insists, "My music is for a Christian and a Buddhist to pick up and still enjoy, as well as for an atheist. But it is there to prod and ask questions: What is my worldview? What do I believe in, and why do I believe it?"
In February 2008, Max starred in the independent film The Imposter. In the film, Kevin plays a character named "Johnny C", a singer who becomes addicted to OxyContin and loses his family and job as a Christian music star. The movie also features Tom Wright and Troy Baker.
In 2009, Max released Crashing Gates through dPulse records. It was critically praised as returning to his experimental side in the rock and pop genres.
In February 2011, Max formed a supergroup with Broadway singer Tony Vincent and longtime collaborator David Larring. The band was tentatively named "Bad Omens". The three were writing songs when Vincent decided to drop out to pursue theater interests, leaving the new band in a state of pause. A song, "Control", can be heard on Max's SoundCloud.
On February 27, 2012, Max released Fiefdom of Angels-Side One, the first of two albums to coincide with the forthcoming novel series of the same name. The overall project were chosen covers of well known 80's rock songs, with one Kevin Max original and a Muse cover set to lush orchestration. Ology Magazine describes the work as "a new wave mix-tape played at full volume through the Sistine Chapel".
In August 2012, Max became the new lead vocalist in a reunited Audio Adrenaline. He continued with the band until June 2014, when the band opted to take a different creative direction.
In late 2014, Max released two singles, "Infinite" and "Light Me Up". On March 10, 2015 the album Broken Temples was released.
In 2015, Max released another studio album of covers of pop standards Starry Eyes Surprise. Max released Playing Games With the Shadow in 2016, Serve Somebody in 2017, and both AWOL and Romeo Drive in 2018.
In 2020, Max released spoken word album Radio Teknika with electronic pioneers 3Kstatic and in the same summer released Revisiting This Planet a tribute to legendary rock artist Larry Norman.
The Korgis are a British pop band known mainly for their hit single "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" in 1980. The band was originally composed of singer/guitarist/keyboardist Andy Davis (born Andrew Cresswell-Davis 10 August 1949) and singer/bassist James Warren (born 25 August 1951), both former members of 1970s band Stackridge, along with violinist Stuart Gordon and keyboardist Phil Harrison.
Released their first single "Young 'n' Russian" in early March 1979 on the label Rialto Records, owned by their managers Nick Heath and Tim Heath. Joined briefly by drummer Bill Birks; their next single "If I Had You," was released soon after and moved up to Number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, featuring on Top of the Pops and prompting the release of an eponymous debut album, The Korgis, in July 1979.
The follow up singles a re-release of "Young 'n' Russian" and "I Just Can't Help It" failed to chart. However the next single, from their second album Dumb Waiters (1980) was "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" (1980), a hit in three countries, peaking at Number 5 in the UK, 18 in the US and 11 in Australia. The album reached Number 40 in the UK in 1980 and was followed by the singles "If It's Alright With You Baby" and "Rovers Return". The commercial breakthrough that accompanied the release of their second album and the resulting singles was not enough to keep them together, however, and Davis departed the band prior to the recording of their third album, Sticky George, despite having a number of songwriting credits on the album. The lead single from Sticky George, "That Was My Big Mistake", was released under the name 'James Warren & The Korgis' to denote the fact that Davis and Warren had now gone their separate ways. By the end of 1980, Gordon and Harrison had also departed the band; subsequently the band was augmented by the arrival of guitarist John Baker, drummer Roy Dodds, and keyboardist Maggie Stewart. This line-up went on to promote "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" and subsequent singles on European TV and promotional appearances. The following year the band was joined by flautist Steve Buck and was contemplating a Korgis Live show that ultimately failed to materialise; leading the band to dissolve and Warren to go solo in 1982. The single "Don't Look Back", originally a demo from the Sticky George sessions, was however remixed by Trevor Horn, known for his work with The Buggles, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Dollar and Yes, and issued by London Records in the summer of 1982. A follow-up single with Horn, "Endangered Species", was planned but never materialised.
Warren went on to issue a solo LP entitled Burning Questions in 1986. Some of the singles during this era were released as 'The Korgis' (essentially a one-man band consisting solely of Warren during this period) and co-produced by Andy Davis.
The band reunited in 1990 to re-record "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime". The re-formed group, consisting of Warren, Davis, and Baker, released the album This World's For Everyone in 1992, having some success in Continental Europe and Japan, before breaking up again in 1993.
In 2005, Warren, Davis, and Baker reunited again for a film shoot for DVD/compilation album Kollection, and recorded the fourteen-track album Unplugged, which was released on the Angel Air record label the following year.
In 2006, the Korgis released their first single in thirteen years, "Something About The Beatles", which can be heard on Myspace. This song belatedly acknowledges the influences of John Lennon in particular, which was very strong on "If I Had You" and "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" which capture the ethereal sounds of Lennon's early 1970s output. The band acknowledged John Lennon's influence in interviews at the time, shortly before his murder.
Former member Stuart Gordon, died on 28 August 2014 from lung cancer. He was 63.
When Stackridge took a break from touring in 2014; Warren and Davis organised a tour of the UK in 2015 under the name of The Korgis and using exactly the same five-piece line-up as Stackridge. The re-formed Stackridge usually included some Korgis songs in their live set. Stackridge retired in 2017, and a recording of the farewell concert was released as The Final Bow.
In 2017, Warren, encouraged by old mate, guitarist/arranger Al Steele, played some dates as James Warren and Friends. This included a Korgis set, and has led on to the first ever touring version of The Korgis - featuring James Warren. The first gig was at The Sunshine Festival in August 2018, and saw the return of John Baker plus Glenn Tommie from Stackridge (who also played on the original of "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime"), and Al Steele from the 1990s touring band. During 2019, the band have played in Leeds, Shoreham, Bristol, and the 100 Club in London. During the Covid lockdown in 2020, The Korgis began recording their first new album in close to 30 years. It is entitled Kartoon World and is planned to be released in early 2021. The album has a common thread and could even be called a 'concept album'. On 11 February 2022 they again played the 100 Club and featured a number of songs from the new album.
Other cover versions of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" also took the song back into the UK Singles Chart over the years, most notably those by The Dream Academy (1987), Yazz (1994), Baby D (1995), Army of Lovers (1995) and German technoduo Marc et Claude (2000). In 1997 a cappella group The King's Singers recorded the track with lead vocals by James Warren. Tracey Ullman and Rod Stewart have also covered "If I Had You". Ginger of The Wildhearts performed "If I Had You" in 1998, as heard on the double album Grievous Acoustic Behaviour – Live at the 12 Bar.
The Soviet synthpop/synthwave act Forum also released a Russian language cover under the title ‘Falling Leaves’. Unlike much of their other output which saw limited release in some Western countries, this recording was made without prior agreement with the label (Asylum), or the band and is virtually unknown outside of the former Soviet Union.
In 2005, Canadian musician-turned-record label executive Jaimie Vernon of Bullseye Records released his second solo album Time Enough at Last, which featured "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime".
In 2008, Beck performed "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" at the O2 Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park.
The Swedish artist known as 'The Field' released the album Yesterday and Today (2009), which included a cover of the song "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime".
A version called "Need your Lovin" was created by Jungle producers NRG back in 1992, sampling the original Korgis track, of which Baby D did their own version.
Yazz (born Yasmin Evans, 19 May 1960)] is an English pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single "The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population.
Yazz was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to a Jamaican father and English mother. She attended Holland Park School, where she excelled at sports, including the 400 metres. She was also a member of the England under-19 volleyball team. Following a spell as a catwalk model, she scored a number of club hits after recording with the group The Biz in 1983. Her first commercial success came in early 1988, when she sang on Coldcut's "Doctorin' the House"] She soon launched a solo career on Big Life records, a label set up by her husband Jazz Summers, releasing her debut solo single, "The Only Way Is Up", in the summer of 1988. It went on to spend five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart, eventually becoming the second-biggest-selling UK single of the year. Her follow-up "Stand Up for Your Love Rights" was another big hit (UK number 2), while her debut album Wanted (UK number 3 was certified double platinum in the UK in September 1989 for sales exceeding 600,000.
She had a fourth UK top-10 single in 1989 with "Fine Time", but has since recorded only sporadically. A second Big Life album, titled Revolution of Love, was scheduled for release in 1990 following the single "Treat Me Good" (peaking at number 20 in the UK).The album was shelved, however, when Yazz parted ways with the label.
Yazz signed with Polydor Records, and an album titled One True Woman was scheduled for release in May 1992[7] following the release of the title track, but was also cancelled. She returned to the Top 40 in 1993, performing with Aswad on the hit "How Long".[3] Her second album, One on One was finally released in 1994, including some of the tracks recorded for the One True Woman album.
She continued to release singles throughout the 1990s, including a cover version of The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye". In 1997, she released The Natural Life, an album of cover versions, after signing with East West Records. The album was released in Japan, Australia and some parts of Europe, but not in the UK.
During this period, Yazz began to reevaluate her career choices: she wanted to give up a lifestyle that included her failed marriage to Summers (their union had resulted in a daughter, Rio, born in April 1990), and her dependency on alcohol. After she had researched various religions, a friend who used to be her hairstylist suggested she try visiting her church. Soon, she decided to "turn her life over to Christ".
Her 2008 album Running Back to You, distributed in the UK by ICC Records, charted her spiritual journey and her new-found Christian faith. Yazz is now based in Spain, and is an active member of the Calahonda Baptist Church. She returned to Britain occasionally to promote this album, performing songs from it live interspersed with several anecdotes pertaining to her faith.
In August 2009, Yazz performed with a full band on stage for the first time in several years at a church in Southampton. In October 2010, she performed again with a band at Cathedral House in Huddersfield, home of the Huddersfield Christian Fellowship.
A three-CD remastered deluxe edition of the Wanted album, containing Yazz's 1990 single "Treat Me Good", B-sides and remixes, was released on Cherry Red Records on 25 November 2016.
