"name, due to its being used by both parties. The band members began as friends who knew each other from various schools across Birmingham, England. The name ""UB40"" was selected in reference to a form issued to people claiming unemployment benefit from the UK government's Department of Employment. The designation UB40 stood for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40. The origins of what would become UB40 began when in mid-1978 guitarist Ali Campbell, together with the rhythm section of drummer Jimmy Brown and bassist Earl Falconer, began rehearsing charting reggae songs in addition to some of their own original compositions. They were"
"Ugly Rumours (band) Ugly Rumours was the name of a rock band founded in part by former UK prime minister Tony Blair, while studying law at St John's College, Oxford during the early 1970s; he sang and played guitar. The band's name came from the cover of the Grateful Dead's album ""From the Mars Hotel"". Other members of the band were Mark Ellen, who later went on to present BBC TV's Whistle Test music show and become the founding editor of British music magazine Q and Adam Sharples, currently Director General, Employment Group at the Department for Work and Pensions."
"Eruption (band) Eruption were a popular British disco, R&B, and soul recording act in the 1970s and 1980s. They are best known for their covers of Ann Peebles's ""I Can't Stand the Rain"" and Neil Sedaka's ""One Way Ticket"", which were big disco hits in 1978 and 1979, respectively. The band was formed in 1969 as a school band in the United Kingdom as Silent Eruption, and consisted of musicians of Caribbean origins. The group changed the name to Eruption in 1974. In 1975 Precious Wilson joined the band as a backing singer and they won the RCA Soul Search"
"Vanity Fare Vanity Fare (due to the similarity of the novel and magazine title often misspelled ""Vanity Fair"") are a UK pop/rock group formed in 1966, best remembered for its million-selling song, ""Hitchin' a Ride"", which became a worldwide hit in 1970. School friends Trevor Brice (born 12 February 1945, Rochester, Kent, England) (vocals), Tony Goulden (born Anthony Goulden, 21 November 1942, Rochester) (guitar), Dick Allix (born Richard Allix, 3 May 1945, Gravesend, Kent) (drums) and Tony Jarrett (born Anthony Jarrett, 4 September 1943, in Rochester, Kent) (bass) formed the band in Kent in 1966, originally calling themselves The Avengers."
"Help Musicians UK Help Musicians UK (formerly Musicians Benevolent Fund), is a United Kingdom charity offering help for musicians throughout their careers. Help Musicians UK began as a fund created in 1921 following the death of English tenor Gervase Elwes, who showed compassion and kindness to musicians. After his death in a train accident in Boston, USA, his friends set up a fund for musicians in his name which in 1930, became the ‘Musicians Benevolent Fund’. Fast forward to the present day, and Help Musicians UK helps over 2,000 musicians, covering a wide range of genres, ages and professions. The"
"EMF (band) EMF are a British alternative rock band from Cinderford, Gloucestershire, who came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During their initial eight-year run from 1989 to 1997, EMF released three studio albums and had gone on hiatus and reformed twice. Their first single, ""Unbelievable"", reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart, and was a #1 hit on the U.S. ""Billboard"" Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, ""Schubert Dip"", went to #3 on the UK Albums Chart. The name EMF is believed to be an acronym of Epsom Mad Funkers, a name taken from a fan club"
"attendance card from which the band took their name, emphatically stamped with the words SIGNING OFF in capital letters. It was a statement by the band of leaving behind the world of unemployment and of their arrival on the music scene. The artwork was created by brothers Geoffrey and David Tristram: Geoff went on to become an artist and novelist, while David became a comic playwright. The album was extremely well received and lauded by the UK music magazines at the time of its original release. ""Sounds"" awarded ""Signing Off"" five stars out of five, claiming that ""it is an"
"Band Aid (band) Band Aid is a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" for the Christmas market that year. On 25 November 1984, the song was recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, and was released in the UK four days later. The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. Three subsequent re-recordings of the song"
"to change the band's name to Maze. The group's popularity was enhanced considerably in the UK by DJs Greg Edwards and Robbie Vincent in the late 1970s and early 1980s when they performed live at London's Lyceum Ballroom for broadcast on Capital Radio. They are best known there for their UK #57 hit single, ""Joy and Pain"". Beverly's onstage attire (all-white custom designed and made, casual clothing, including slacks, long-sleeved shirt, and a baseball cap) has become his signature dress style over the years. His son, Anthony, who has toured as a drummer with Maze, organized a tribute in 2009"
"produced weekly concerts for the unemployed in several town halls across London, bringing ""some of the best acts in the world to London for a mere £2 entry fee for people with a UB40 [unemployment] card"". The Albert Hall concert featured as the main act the iconic South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim (formerly known as Dollar Brand), whose music reflected a mix of traditional African, gospel and western jazz. There were two other acts: the African band Xalam and the top flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. For Hollingsworth, the concert showed that the GLC was prepared, first, to put on"
"The band also holds the ""Guinness World Record"" for the most successful act in the UK between the years 1995 and 2005, spending 765 weeks in the top 75 singles and albums charts. Oasis evolved from an earlier group, the Rain, composed of bassist Paul McGuigan, guitarist Paul Arthurs, drummer Tony McCarroll and Chris Hutton on vocals. Unsatisfied with Hutton, Arthurs invited and auditioned acquaintance Liam Gallagher as a replacement. Liam suggested that the band name be changed to Oasis, inspired by an Inspiral Carpets tour poster in the Gallagher brothers' bedroom which listed the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon"
"The Barracudas The Barracudas are an English surf rock band formed in late 1978. The band's original line-up consisted of Jeremy Gluck (vocals), Robin Wills (guitar and vocals), Starkie Phillips (bass and vocals) and Adam Phillips (drums). Before the band recorded its first single, Starkie and Adam Phillips left the band. The band is notable for their 1980 hit single ""Summer Fun"", which started with an excerpt from a 1960s spoof advertisement for the Plymouth Barracuda campaign. The song included dialogue where announcers had difficulty pronouncing the word ""barracuda"". The single reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart. The"
"organisations of live Benefit Concerts run by Celebrity Charity. The concerts were USA for Africa and Live Aid and were broadcast in over 160 countries across the globe. Band Aid and Live Aid combined raised about $150 million (USD) for the famine relief effort in Ethiopia. The first hit was so popular that several of the artists got together again to do a cover version of the original song ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"". These artists include Dido, Robbie Williams and Chris Martin. The group has come together on a total of four occasions composed of popular British and Irish"
"Anti-Social (band) Anti-Social was a UK Punk Rock band from Birmingham, United Kingdom, formed in 1977. They released one single, ""Traffic Lights/Teacher Teacher"" on Dynamite Records DRO1 that is now one of the rarest UK punk record releases. and was included in John Peels legendary Record Box. They became nationally infamous by advertising for someone to commit suicide live on stage for which the band would pay them £15,000. In 1974 bass player Matt Smith joined with vocalist and guitar Robert Fern (a classmate of Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler) and drummer Johnny Harrison in a band called Maniac, which was"
"43 years and was replaced by Howard Tibble. They are still together today with a line-up of Hagley, Wheeler, Tibble and Steve Oakman. In his spare time, Brice sings second tenor with the City of Bath Male Choir, who reached the final of BBC One's "" Last Choir Standing"". His son, Sebastian Brice, is part of the alt/rock band Avius. Vanity Fare Vanity Fare (due to the similarity of the novel and magazine title often misspelled ""Vanity Fair"") are a UK pop/rock group formed in 1966, best remembered for its million-selling song, ""Hitchin' a Ride"", which became a worldwide hit"
"Furniture (band) Furniture were a British new wave band, active from 1979 to 1991. The band is best known for the 1986 Top 30 hit, ""Brilliant Mind"". The longest-serving and best-known line-up of Furniture (from 1983–1990), comprised founder members Jim Irvin (vocals), singer/multi-instrumentalist Tim Whelan and drummer Hamilton Lee, plus bass player/occasional singer Sally Still and keyboard player Maya Gilder. Larry N’Azone (saxophone) was an occasional member during this period and often appeared with the band live. Furniture's chief success was in the UK but they also enjoyed a following throughout Eastern Europe where they toured in 1987 and 1988."
"Enforcement and Firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. The charity has focused on providing food and clothing to homeless veterans, laptop computers for vets aspiring to continue their education, as well as suicide prevention. See ""Traffic discography"" Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock musicians, including Paul McCartney, George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, David"
"Faithless Faithless are a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs (""Salva Mea"", ""Insomnia"", ""God Is a DJ"" and ""We Come 1""). Faithless recorded six studio albums, with total sales exceeding 15 million records worldwide. The band announced they would split up after their Passing the Baton dates at Brixton Academy on 7 and 8 April 2011. However, in February 2015, they reunited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band. The band was formed in early 1995, and their debut single ""Salva Mea (Save Me)"" was"
"entity after their guitar player, Brinsley Schwarz. The band Brinsley Schwarz came to be known by a wider public audience as the musicians central to a giant publicity stunt involving flying 120 British journalists to New York’s famed Fillmore East to watch their show. The stunt turned into a disaster and left the band in debt, but it galvanised them together, and moving to a large house in the outskirts of London, they added a fifth member, and toured continuously throughout the early seventies, including playing many free shows for good and sometimes dubious causes and supporting Paul McCartney and"
"supergroup Far Corporation (named after the first syllable of his last name), which featured Steve Lukather, David Paich, Bobby Kimball, Simon Phillips, and Robin McAuley, many of Toto fame. Far Corporation is notable for being the first act to chart with a cover version of Led Zeppelin's ""Stairway to Heaven"", becoming a top 10 hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in October 1985. In 1986, Farian produced and mixed the Meat Loaf album ""Blind Before I Stop"". He also sang backing vocals on the first single from the album ""Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries"", which was credited to Meat Loaf"
"The Strange Death of Liberal England (band) The Strange Death of Liberal England, also known as TSDOLE, were a five-piece English band from Portsmouth. Their influences range from folk to indie rock to post rock with this diversity creating a large number of followers, including BBC Radio One DJs Steve Lamacq, Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens. The band took its unusual name from George Dangerfield's 1935 book of the same name, about the early 20th century decline of the Liberal Party. Forming in 2005 the five piece band began life with mainly instrumental songs, however as they grew as a"
"The group, and its name, was a spoof on the popular group Bananarama and was introduced during the 1988 Christmas Special of ""French & Saunders"", in which Burke was a guest. In 1989, along with Bananarama, they created a charity single called ""Help"", to raise money for Comic Relief. It was a cover version of The Beatles song ""Help!"", and was released on the London Records label, entering the UK Singles Chart on 25 February 1989 and reaching a high of #3. It remained in the chart for nine weeks. French, Saunders and Burke returned for Comic Relief in 1997"
"Palladium (band) Palladium were an English pop rock band, active from 2006 until early 2009. They are not to be confused with the Australian or American bands of the same name. The four members became acquaintances through various tours on the session musician circuit and played their first gig together under the moniker ""The Peppernotes"", at a Caribbean Restaurant dressed as Peter Pan in drag. Since then they changed their name to Palladium and played alongside Amy Winehouse, Alphabeat, Mika, The Thrills and The Kooks. They were signed to Virgin Records. Palladium's debut single ""Happy Hour"" was released in July"
"The Casuals ""For the American doo-wop trio see Original Casuals"" The Casuals were a British pop group from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are best known for their 1968 No. 2 UK hit, ""Jesamine"". Originally formed in 1960 by John Tebb (piano and vocals) and Howard Newcombe (guitar), they added Don Fortune (drums) and Zenon Kowalski (bass), and became The Casuals in 1961. After turning professional, they moved to Italy and recorded a number of covers of well-known UK material. Fortune and Kowalski left, and were followed by a series of replacements, culminating in Mick Bray (drums) and Ian Good (bass),"
"Halo James Halo James were a British pop group active from 1988 to 1991. They are best known for their hit single, ""Could Have Told You So"", which reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in 1990. Halo James formed in London. Named after the main character from the comic strip ""The Ballad of Halo Jones"", the band were fronted by session musician/vocalist Christian James (born 21 December 1965) and included Ray St. John (guitar, bass, songwriting; formerly of Latin soul band Pride) and Neil Palmer (keyboards; formerly of short-lived synth-rock act Atomage and dance duo Two People) among"
"Bilbo Baggins (band) Bilbo Baggins was a band from Edinburgh who used to be the support act for the Bay City Rollers, sharing the controversial Tam Paton as manager. Their 1978 single, She's Gonna Win, made #42 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2014 the UK's Intellectual Property Enterprise Court halted the band's attempt of a revival following an objection from the Saul Zaentz Company in the United States. SZC, which owns the rights to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, had their complaint upheld because the band's name ""did not differentiate it clearly enough from the famous hobbit"
"calling the move ""way overdue"". In November 1984, Michael joined other British and Irish pop stars of the era to form Band Aid, singing on the charity song ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" for famine relief in Ethiopia. This single became the UK Christmas number one in December 1984, holding Michael's own song, ""Last Christmas"" by Wham!, at No. 2; Michael also donated the royalties for ""Last Christmas"" to Ethiopia. ""Do They Know It's Christmas?"" sold 3.75 million copies in the UK and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history, a title it held until 1997 when it"
"Breathe (British band) Breathe were an English pop rock band formed in London in 1984. The band had a string of hit singles during 1987 and 1988 including ""Don't Tell Me Lies"", ""Jonah"", and ""How Can I Fall"". The group's biggest chart success was ""Hands to Heaven"", which reached no. 2 in the United States in late 1987. Originally a larger, five-piece band called Catch 22, the members of Breathe were childhood friends who went to Yateley School together in Hampshire where they lived. They later trimmed down to a quartet. Phill Harrison (bass) left to join the Fire Brigade."
"between July 1978 and January 1980. The band split up in 1980, with Deane and Jaymes going on to greater chart success with salsa-tinged pop act Modern Romance. Leyton Buzzards The Leyton Buzzards The Buzzards were a British rock band, active between 1976 and 1980, best known for their minor hit single, ""Saturday Night (Beneath the Plastic Palm Trees)"". The band took their name from their home town of Leyton, an area of east London, punning upon the name of the Bedfordshire town, Leighton Buzzard. They were initially a pub rock band, but soon adapted to punk rock/new wave. Their"
"Samuel Smiles (band) Samuel Smiles (frequently known as Tim Bowness/Samuel Smiles, the name to which all of their albums were attributed) were an intermittently active English ambient-folk band. Their best known line-up featured singer Tim Bowness (of the band No-Man). During the mid-1980s Michael Bearpark had played guitar for two Warrington art rock groups, After The Stranger and Plenty, both of which also featured future No-Man singer Tim Bowness. Bearpark subsequently moved south to study chemistry at King's College, London, where he won the Samuel Smiles Award For Scientific Genius (named after the Scottish writer, social reformer and self-help advocate)."
"2009 album ""Reality Killed The Video Star"", co-writing and co-producing ten of the tracks. Candy Flip Candy Flip were a British electronic dance band associated with the Madchester music scene in the early 1990s. They are best remembered for their cover version of The Beatles hit ""Strawberry Fields Forever"", which was a No. 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart. Candy Flip were named after ""candyflipping"", the slang term for the practice of taking ecstasy and LSD at the same time. The band was formed in 1990 by Danny Spencer (vocals, keyboards) and Ric Peet (keyboards). The band had a"
"British Electric Foundation B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation) was a band/production company formed by former Human League members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh which became largely eclipsed by its best-known project, Heaven 17 (with lead singer Glenn Gregory). Ware and Marsh's first release as B.E.F. in 1980, a collection of instrumentals entitled ""Music For Stowaways"", was initially available only on cassette and was inspired by the appearance of the first Sony Walkman (at first marketed in the UK as the Sony Stowaway). There was also a vinyl release, ""Music For Listening To"", mainly targeted for export sales, which was slightly"
"Heavy Load (punk band) Heavy Load was a British punk rock band, described by ""The Sunday Times"" in 2009 as ""possibly the most genuinely punk band touring today"". Its members met at Southdown Housing, a non-profit assisted-living community for people with mental health issues and learning disabilities, and were a mix of service users and staff. The band composed the theme for the BAFTA-nominated film ""Cast Offs"" and is itself documented in the film ""Heavy Load"". The band were also the founders of the charity Stay Up Late, a campaign seeking to improve the social lives of people with learning"