"Aly Bain Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a ""Scottish icon."" Bain was born in Lerwick, Shetland. In the early years of his career, he was—briefly and unofficially—part of the band The Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty, Billy Connolly and Tam Harvey. He was one of the members of the band ""Gordon Hank and the Country Ramblers"", which also included Gordon Smith, Ian Stewart and Jack Robertson in 1967 and was based in Shetland. He became"
"band would later include Gerry Rafferty, who saw Connolly at a charity show in Paisley. ""Gerry was very good for me. He taught me that I would never be a musician as long as my arse looked south. He was just so outstandingly good and getting better, and although I was getting better too, the space between us remained huge. He was a real musician, he knew and felt music, a bass player, with a lovely sense of harmony, as well as a great guitarist. I knew tunes and how to play them but that was where my musicianship ended."
"consummate songwriter, blessed with sensitivity and an enviable melodic flair that at its best recalled Paul McCartney."" Other entertainers also paid tribute to Rafferty, with comedian and ex-bandmate Billy Connolly calling him ""a hugely talented songwriter and singer who will be greatly missed"" and musician Tom Robinson saying, ""His early work with Stealers Wheel was an inspiration to a whole generation of songwriters in the 70s, including me."" Speaking after the funeral, Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers said: ""I think Gerry Rafferty was one of the few people who really successfully straddled the worlds of both folk and popular music."
"earned a positive review from critic Karl Dallas, who noted that all three acts showed ""promise rather than fulfilment"", and observed that ""Gerry Rafferty's songs have the sweet tenderness of Paul McCartney in his 'Yesterday' mood"". In his own stand-up shows, Connolly has often recalled this period, telling how Rafferty made him laugh and describing the crazy things they did while on tour. Once Rafferty decided to look in the Berlin telephone directory to see if any Hitlers were listed. After the duo separated in 1971, Transatlantic owner Nathan Joseph signed Rafferty as a solo performer. Rafferty recorded his first"
"as a trio. However, the nature of the act had changed and Harvey departed shortly afterwards. The remaining duo broke up in the early 1970s after recording two albums of material: ""The New Humblebums"" and ""Open Up the Door"", the former graced by a cover by John ""Patrick"" Byrne, marking the beginning of a long working relationship between Byrne and Rafferty. Connolly embarked on a solo career while Rafferty recorded a low-impact solo album, ""Can I Have My Money Back?"", then formed Stealers Wheel with Joe Egan before eventually emerging as a major recording act with ""Baker Street"". A number"
"of Humpty Dumpty"", a powerful play about how a Belfast family deals with a father becoming a paraplegic as a result of sectarian violence. Later, during the same period, he also founded The Group with actor Tim Woodward. The company presented a series of rarely performed European and American plays in London fringe venues. The work included plays by Luigi Pirandello, Ernst Toller, Fernando Arrabal, Michel De Ghelderode and Howard Fast. John McEnery, Ray Winstone, Catherine Harrison, Mark Drewry and Tim Woodward were among those actors who performed for the company. Between productions for The Group, he also directed the"
"Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum! Produced by Terry Ellis for Chrysalis Records and directed by David Mallet . Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum! is a recording of a February 1981 performance by comedian Billy Connolly, filmed during a run of two weeks at Apollo Victoria Theatre, London. It was the culmination of a marathon British tour which started in August 1980. He opens with observational material about this time touring internationally, particularly in Australia and Los Angeles. He performs several lyrical pieces featuring guitar and autoharp. The video concludes with the rear curtain raising to introduce a support band Billy"
"of songs performed by Connolly on his early comedy albums originated with the Humblebums, and actual Humblebums recordings also frequently turn up on Connolly compilations. A number of Humblebums recordings were reissued following Connolly's rise to international stardom. The Rafferty tracks from this period have been released in a variety of formats, some with just Humblebums material, others adding some or all of ""Can I Have My Money Back?"". According to Richie Unterberger, the Humblebums were a ""subdued, somewhat folk-rock duo"". ""High Fidelity"" also described them as ""folk-rockers"", whose sound ""falls somewhere between the Sarstedt brothers and Cat Stevens. Their"
"American folk-rock band formed by Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman at a chance meeting on open stage at a Boston coffee house, the Stone Phoenix, in 1971. The band was named after a line from the poem ""A Coney Island of the Mind"" by Ferlinghetti. Bristol Sound band ""Unforscene"" used Ferlinghetti's poem ""Pictures of the Gone World 11"" (or ""The World is a Beautiful Place ..."") in the song ""The World Is"" on its 2002 album ""New World Disorder"". In 2011 Ferlinghetti contributed two of his poems to the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Italian unification: ""Song of the"
"of Connelly"" on September 23, 1931 at the Martin Beck Theatre. The company asked the Theatre Guild to help cover the $5,000 cost to perform. The Theatre Guild offered to pay the full amount if the group ""removed Mary Morris and Morris Carnovsky from the cast and if restored the tragic ending"" from the more upbeat and hopeful rewrite Green produced. The group refused and instead raised half on its own, receiving support from Eugene O'Neill. The play was an immediate critical success and was recognized for the special ensemble performances which the group would develop. The group's production of"
"""Redemption"" (1990). He married Betty Russell in December 1941: the couple had a daughter, Mary and a son, Alan. He had affairs with Swiss-British Trotskyist Betty Hamilton and with his political secretary Aileen Jennings. Gerry Healy Thomas Gerard Healy (3 December 1913 – 14 December 1989), was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International and the leader of the Socialist Labour League and later the Workers Revolutionary Party. The part of the Trotskyist movement associated with Healy between 1950 and 1985 was at times the largest in Great Britain. Born in Ballybane, Galway, Ireland,"
"Unfortunately, I’m still the same to this day. I work very hard, I play every day but I’m still ordinary. I can be flashy, but it’s all tricks really. He’s a musician and I’m just not in the same league. So, I gave up these ambitions and concentrated on what I was really born to do."" After Harvey left the group, Connolly and Rafferty continued as a duo and the latter two of their three albums featured just that duo. Connolly sang, played five-string banjo, guitar, and autoharp, and at live shows entertained the audience with his humorous introductions to"
"Gerry Connolly (comedian) Gerald William ""Gerry"" Connolly (born 15 November 1957) is an Australian comedian, actor, impressionist and pianist. He is best known for his satirical caricatures of public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Joh Bjelke-Peterson, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Bill Collins and Dame Joan Sutherland, amongst many others. He has gained much notoriety in Australia and the UK, having much success at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Adelaide Comedy Festival with his hit one-man shows, including ""Gerry Connolly - Alone Or With Others"" and ""ICONNOLLY"". In 1986, his live performances earned him the Wallace"
"in December 1962. This album, along with the group's next, ""The New Christy Minstrels in Person"" was reissued on a single CD as ""Presenting & In Person"" with two bonus tracks by Collectors' Choice Music in 2003. The New Christy Minstrels were created by singer/songwriter Randy Sparks in 1961 by combining three smaller folk groups, The Inn Group trio (John Forsha, Karol Dugan, Jerry Yester), The Fairmount Singers quartet, and his own Randy Sparks trio (Sparks, Jackie Miller, Nick Woods). He also included banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis, jazz singer Peggy Connelly, and"
"The original plan was to have a completed album out by August 1983, but this never materialised. During January 1983, Connolly supported Pat Benatar for three shows including one at Hammersmith Odeon, London. Connolly's Encore, included most of the members of Verity (fronted by ex-Argent guitarist John Verity) and Terry Uttley, bass player from Smokie. Songs played included ""Windy City"", ""Fox on the Run"", ""Hypnotized"" and new numbers, ""Sick and Tired"", ""Red Hair Rage"" and ""Burning The Candle"". These three tracks are available on a bootleg 7"" single and CD. The band and Connolly also played two other dates for"
"The Gaylords (American vocal group) The Gaylords were an American singing trio, consisting of Ronald L. Fredianelli (who changed his name for performances to Ronnie Gaylord, taken from the group name), Bonaldo Bonaldi (who also, in 1976, changed his name to Burt Holiday, at which time the group became Gaylord and Holiday), and Don Rea (who had left the group by the time it became Gaylord & Holiday). Fredianelli was born on June 12, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan. They formed the Gaylords (originally The Gay Lords) in Detroit in 1949. In the 1950s the group had a number of Italian-flavored"
"The Singers Unlimited The Singers Unlimited was a four-part jazz vocal group formed in 1971 by Gene Puerling. The group included Len Dresslar (better known as the Jolly Green Giant in General Mills commercials), Bonnie Herman, Don Shelton, and Puerling himself. Gene Puerling and Don Shelton had formed part of Puerling's successful all-male vocal group, The Hi-Lo's, some years previously, though Shelton was a 1959 replacement for original Hi-Lo's Member Bob Strasen. The Singers Unlimited group were originally formed to record for commercials in the USA, but as time passed, they were persuaded to enter the recording studio to record"
"was power and thrash metal. Piece Dogs disbanded several months after releasing the album. In 1994, Connolly joined the American heavy metal band Sevendust as a guitarist, and has since been with the band through all of their studio releases. In 2012, Connolly formed the American rock supergroup consisting of Connolly on guitar and lead vocals, fellow Sevendust member Vinnie Hornsby, Alter Bridge and Creed drummer Scott Phillips, and former Submersed and current Tremonti guitarist Eric Friedman. The band released their first album ""Human"" in June 2012, before falling into inactivity as members returned to their respective bands in late"
"combining his trio with another trio, The Inn Group (John Forsha, Karol Dugan and Jerry Yester), a quartet, The Fairmount Singers, and banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis and singer/guitarist Art Podell. Large commercial folk groups did not exist in those days, and The New Christy Minstrels burst onto the folk scene with ""a barrage of color-coordinated blazers, starched petticoats, choreographed grins, and stage makeup."" The group's name was derived from Christy's Minstrels, a blackface group formed by Philadelphia-born showman Edwin Pearce Christy in 1842. Sparks modeled his relationship to his band after legendary"
"Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers confirmed Rafferty's dislike of celebrity: ""He was not entirely comfortable with fame. Even more so than most people who work in this business, he saw it as not a good thing"". Reid believed Rafferty was fundamentally unsuited to the pressures of celebrity: ""He struck me as a very, very sensitive man and for someone like that, fame was probably not appropriate."" Billy Connolly agrees that Rafferty had different priorities: ""I wanted success and fame and I got it, to a degree. Gerry wanted respect. He wanted his talent to be respected. He wanted his songs"
"Abner ""Longy"" Zwillman's headquarters in New Jersey and Johnny Torrio was made its executive director. The seven original groups or gangs involved in the ""Big Seven Group"" were Johnny Torrio, Charlie Luciano, Joe Adonis and Frank Costello (and his partner Owney Madden) from New York, Meyer Lansky's and Benny ""Bugsy"" Siegel's Bugs & Meyer Mob from New York and New Jersey, Abner ""Longy"" Zwillman and Willie Moretti from New Jersey and Long Island, Enoch ""Nucky"" Johnson of Atlantic City and the South Jersey shore, Waxey Gordon, Harry ""Nig Rosen"" Stromberg and Irving ""Bitzy"" Bitz of Philadelphia and Charles ""King"" Solomon"
"Melbourne, Queensland and Tasmania Symphony Orchestras, being featured in concerts televised across Australia and the UK. Gerry Connolly (comedian) Gerald William ""Gerry"" Connolly (born 15 November 1957) is an Australian comedian, actor, impressionist and pianist. He is best known for his satirical caricatures of public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Joh Bjelke-Peterson, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, Bill Collins and Dame Joan Sutherland, amongst many others. He has gained much notoriety in Australia and the UK, having much success at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Adelaide Comedy Festival with his hit one-man shows, including ""Gerry Connolly"
"rock melodrama."" Frontman Conor Kiley was described by Allmusic as ""an unholy cross between Iggy Pop, Axl Rose, and Jim Morrison."" The metal band Holy Ghost Revival was founded on Bainbridge Island, Washington state in 2001. The band started when most of the members were still in highschool. According to frontman Conor Kiley, who graduated Bainbridge High School in 2001, ""We were just high school kids that played punk rock music, glam rock and other groovy sounds. We just got together and started doing it."" The name Holy Ghost Revival was taken from a shop sign in Seattle called The"
"humour can be. It has made an indelible mark on me."" His foreman was Sammy Boyd, but the two biggest influences on him, according to the book written by his wife Pamela, were Jimmy Lucas and Bobby Dalgleish. Jimmy was one of Billy's trainers in the yard who helped him to hone his skills as a welder and a comedian. Connolly also joined the Territorial Army Reserve unit 15th (Scottish) Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (15 PARA). He later commemorated his experiences in the song ""Weekend Soldier."" Connolly's nickname ""The Big Yin"" was first used during his adolescent years to differentiate"
"Hall of Fame in 2018. Brothers Mark and David Knopfler, from Newcastle in northeast England, and friends John Illsley and Pick Withers, both from Leicester in the east midlands of England, formed the band in London in 1977. Withers, already a 10-year music business veteran, was the most seasoned of the quartet, having been a session drummer for Dave Edmunds, Gerry Rafferty, Magna Carta and others through the 1970s, as well as having been part of the group Spring which recorded an album for RCA in 1971. At the time of the band's formation, Mark Knopfler was working as a"
"Kenneth Connor and Victor Maddern and ""Every Day's A Holiday"" (US title ""Seaside Swingers"") with Mike Sarne, Ron Moody and John Leyton. Between 1970 and 1973 Garrity and Birrell appeared in the UK ITV children's show ""Little Big Time"", a zany music/talent/adventure show with audience participation. The group made a guest appearance in the BBC sitcom ""Dear John"". As the group's popularity declined in the UK, Freddie and the Dreamers enjoyed a brief spell of fame in the US, riding the wave of the British Invasion when the American teen public was hungry for any British pop music. Unlike many"
"Keter Betts, George Morrow, and Max Roach. In 1956, Mance joined Cannonball Adderley's first civilian band, along with Nat Adderley, Sam Jones, and Jimmy Cobb. They made several recordings for EmArcy/Mercury over the next two years. Dinah Washington hired this group to back her on ""In the Land of Hi-Fi,"" and Mance also recorded sessions with Johnny Griffin, James Moody, and Wilbur Ware for Argo Records and Riverside during this period. After the Adderley group broke up for lack of gigs, Adderley became part of the Miles Davis Sextet, while Mance joined Dizzy Gillespie's band, once again replacing Wynton Kelly."
"Tommy Eyre Tommy Eyre (5 July 1949 – 23 May 2001) was a session keyboardist from Sheffield, England, who appeared on records by Joe Cocker, John Martyn, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, Alex Harvey, Greg Lake, B.B. King, John Mayall, Ian Gillan, Gerry Rafferty, Tracy Chapman and Wham!. He is perhaps most famous for playing on Joe Cocker's UK chart-topper ""With A Little Help From My Friends"", on which he arranged the distinctive organ introduction, and Gerry Rafferty's ""Baker Street"" and ""Right Down the Line"". Eyre began piano lessons at the age of four and started playing guitar when he was"
"with formal instruction from Dennis Cinelli and Pat O'Brien. In 1986, he enrolled at the State University of New York at Purchase, majoring in classical guitar. He continued a fruitful collaboration with childhood friend and drummer, John-Christian Urich. They played together in a variety of contexts from hard rock to R&B. By the time Rafferty finished college, he switched to electric guitar. By the mid to late 1980s, Rafferty and Urich formed the duo Raf and Cooly C, backed by a live band, with Rafferty rapping and playing guitar and Urich adding drums and beatbox. The duo created a local"
"introduces as ""Doner and the kebabs"". Billy plays Banjo, then performs solely as a singer in an act combining vocals with spoken word, at one point beating himself with a leather whip. Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum! Produced by Terry Ellis for Chrysalis Records and directed by David Mallet . Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum! is a recording of a February 1981 performance by comedian Billy Connolly, filmed during a run of two weeks at Apollo Victoria Theatre, London. It was the culmination of a marathon British tour which started in August 1980. He opens with observational material about this"
"of the Country Jump Blues.Eddy formed his own band in the mid fifties and named it the ROCKABILLYS placing him at the beginning of that genre of music, introducing it in Nova Scotia. When Bill Haley and the Comets toured in the Maritimes in 1958 Eddy and his Rockabillys was selected as the Canadian group to open and close for them. He's inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame (#381) as an original Canadian Rockabilly. In 1966 The Men of the Deeps, the coal miners of Cape Breton began, and tour all over North America to this day The pop"
"his repertoire. After graduation, McClary went to college at Tuskegee University in Alabama where he majored in business. As a freshman student at Tuskegee University, McClary met Lionel Richie in the registration line. The two became friends and in 1968 they began to put together a band which they called The Mystics. McClary played the lead guitar and, early on, shared in the lead vocals. The group played local gigs then added more members and changed their name to the Commodores. In 1972, McClary and the Commodores signed with Berry Gordy and Motown Records. McClary spent 15 years as the"
"members were; Ian Terry (vocals, guitar), Frank Boardman (bass) whose idea the band was, and Billy Such (drums). However, those three left the band in 1970 and 'Hogsnort Rupert' then became a trio with a new member John Reilly (vocals, guitar). Reilly departed the band prior to the recording of their third album, which was recorded as a duo by mainstay members Wishart and Luther. During subsequent years and varying incarnations of the band, other 'Hogsnort Rupert' members have included; John Newton, Graham Brown, Neil Worboys, Kevin Findlater, Bernie Reber, Dean Ruscoe, and Graeme Luther. The band's manager in the"