Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 11 metropolitan centres in Greater London.

Croydon is located on the natural transport corridor between London and England's south coast, just to the north of two gaps in the North Downs, one followed by the route of the A23 Brighton Road from Purley to Merstham and the other followed by the A22 from Purley to the M25 Godstone interchange.

Historically a part of Surrey, at the time of the Norman conquest of England Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants (as recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086). Croydon expanded during the Middle Ages as a market town and a centre for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing. The Surrey Iron Railway from Croydon to Wandsworth opened in 1803 and was the world's first public horse-drawn railway, which later developed into an important means of transport – facilitating Croydon's growth as a commuter town for the City of London and beyond. By the early 20th century, Croydon was an important industrial area, known for car manufacture, metal working and its airport. In the mid 20th century these sectors were replaced by retailing and service economy, brought about by massive redevelopment which saw the rise of office blocks and the Whitgift shopping centre. Croydon was amalgamated into Greater London in 1965. Road traffic is now diverted away from a largely pedestrianised town centre, but its main railway station, East Croydon, is still a major hub within the national railway transport system. The town is expected to have its urban planning changed as part of Croydon Vision 2020.

History

Toponymy

As the vast majority of place-names in the area are of Anglo-Saxon origin, the most likely theory is that the name Croydon derives originally from the Anglo-Saxon ''croh'', meaning "crocus" and ''denu'' 'valley', indicating that, like Saffron Walden in Essex, it was a centre for the collection of saffron.

There is an alternative if less probable theory of the origin of the name. According to John Corbett Anderson, "The earliest mention of Croydon is in the joint will of Beorhtric and Aelfswth, dated about the year 962. In this Anglo-Saxon document the name is spelt (here he uses original script) Crogdaene. Crog was, and still is, the Norse or Danish word for crooked, which is expressed in Anglo-Saxon by crumb, a totally different word. From the Danish came our crook and crooked. This term accurately describes the locality; it is a crooked or winding valley; in reference to the valley that runs in an oblique and serpentine course from Godstone to Croydon." Anderson refuted a claim, originally cited by Andrew Coltee Ducarel, that the name came from the Old French for 'chalk hill', because the name was in use at least a century before the French language would have been commonly used following the Norman Invasion. However, there was no long-term Danish occupation (see Danelaw) in Surrey, which was part of Wessex, and Danish derived nomenclature is highly unlikely.

Early history

There is a plate recording a Bronze Age settlement on Croham Hurst. In addition there is evidence of a Roman settlement in the area on the London to Brighton Way Roman road, and a 5th to 6th century pagan Saxon cemetery.

In the late Saxon period it was the centre of a large estate belonging to the Archbishops of Canterbury. The church and the archbishops' manor house occupied the area still known as the Old Town. The archbishops used the manor house as an occasional place of residence and continued to have important links as Lords of the manor, a title originally bestowed on Archbishop Lanfranc by William the Conqueror, and then as local patrons right up to the present day. Croydon appears in Domesday Book as ''Croindene''. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury. Its domesday assets were: 16 hides and 1 virgate; 1 church, 1 mill worth 5s, 38 ploughs, of meadow, woodland worth 200 hogs. It rendered £37 10s 0d.

In 1276 the archbishop acquired a charter for a weekly market, and this probably marks the foundation of Croydon as an urban centre. Croydon developed into one of the main market towns of northeast Surrey. The market place was laid out on the higher ground to the east of the manor house in the triangle now bounded by High Street, Surrey Street and Crown Hill. By the 16th century the manor house had become a substantial palace used as the main summer home of the archbishops, visited by monarchs and other dignitaries. The original palace was sold in 1781, by then dilapidated and surrounded by slums and stagnant ponds, and a new residence, nearby at Addington, purchased in its place. Many of the buildings of the original Croydon Palace survive, and are in use today as Old Palace School.

The earliest record of Christian leaders in Croydon is in an Anglo-Saxon will made in about 960, witnessed by Elfsies, priest of Croydon. The Domesday Book contains the earliest written record of Croydon Church. The earliest recording of the name of the church is 6 December 1347, when it was recorded in the will of John de Croydon, fishmonger, containing a bequest to "the church of S John de Croydon". The church still bears the arms of Archbishop Courtenay and Archbishop Chicheley, presumed to be its benefactors.

Croydon Parish Church is a Perpendicular-style church, which was remodelled in 1849 but destroyed in a great fire in 1867, following which only the tower, south porch, and outer walls remained. A new church was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, one of the greatest architects of the Victorian age, and opened in 1870. His design loosely followed the previous layout, with knapped flint facing and many of the original features, including several important tombs. Croydon Parish Church is the burial place of six Archbishops of Canterbury including John Whitgift, Edmund Grindal, Gilbert Sheldon, William Wake, John Potter and Thomas Herring. Previously part of the Diocese of Canterbury, Croydon is now in the Diocese of Southwark. The Vicar of Croydon is an important post, in addition to the suffragan Bishop of Croydon.

Addington Palace is a Palladian-style mansion between Addington Village and Shirley, surrounded by park landscapes and golf courses, within the boundaries of Croydon. After an Act of Parliament enabled the mansion to be purchased for the Archbishops of Canterbury in 1807, it became the official residence of six Archbishops until it was sold in 1898. In 1953 it was leased to the Royal School of Church Music until 1996, when it was leased to a private company that developed it as a conference and banqueting venue, with plans for a health farm and country club. The grounds were landscaped by Capability Brown and are mainly a golf course and public park. A famous very large cedar tree stands next to the Palace.

The Elizabethan Whitgift Almshouses, named the "Hospital of the Holy Trinity", have stood in the centre of Croydon (at the corner of North End and George Street) since they were erected by Archbishop John Whitgift. He had petitioned for and had received permission from Queen Elizabeth I to establish a hospital and school in Croydon for the "poor, needy and impotent people" from the parishes of Croydon and Lambeth. The foundation stone was laid in 1596 and the building was completed in 1599.

The premises included the actual Hospital or Almshouses, providing accommodation for between 28 and 40 people, and a nearby schoolhouse and schoolmaster's house. There was a Warden in charge for the well-being of the almoners. The building is constructed with the chambers of the almoners and various offices surrounding an inner courtyard.

Threatened by various reconstruction plans and road-widening schemes, the Almshouses were saved in 1923 by intervention of the House of Lords. On 21 June 1983 Queen Elizabeth II visited the almshouses and unveiled a plaque celebrating the recently completed reconstruction of the building. On 22 March each year the laying of the foundation stone is commemorated as Founder's Day.

Industrial Revolution and the railway

The development of Brighton as a fashionable resort in the 1780s increased Croydon's role as a significant halt for stage coaches on the road south of London. At the beginning of the 19th century, Croydon became the terminus of two pioneering commercial transport links with London. The first, opened in 1803, was the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway from Wandsworth, which in 1805 was extended to Merstham, as the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway. The second, opened in 1809, was the Croydon Canal, which branched off the Grand Surrey Canal at Deptford. The London and Croydon Railway (an atmospheric and steam-powered railway), opened between London Bridge and West Croydon in 1839, using much of the route of the canal (which had closed in 1836), and other connections to London and the south followed.

The arrival of the railways and other communications advances in the 19th century led to a 23-fold increase in Croydon's population between 1801 and 1901. This rapid expansion of the town led to considerable health problems, especially in the damp and overcrowded working class district of the Old Town. In response to this, in 1849 Croydon became one of the first towns in the country to acquire a Local Board of Health. The Board constructed public health infrastructure including a reservoir, and water supply network, and sewers, a pumping station, and sewage disposal works.

A growing town

As the town continued to grow it became especially popular as a pleasant leafy residential suburb for members of the Victorian middle classes, who could commute to the City of London by fast train in 15 minutes. In 1883 Croydon was incorporated as a borough. In 1889 it became a county borough, with a still greater degree of autonomy. The new county borough council implemented the Croydon Improvement scheme in the early 1890s, which resulted in the widening of the High Street and the clearance of much of the 'Middle Row' slum area. The remaining slums were cleared shortly after World War II, with much of the population relocated to the isolated new community at New Addington. New stores opened and expanded in central Croydon, including Allders, Kennards and Grants, and the first Sainsbury's self-service shop in the country. There was also a bustling market on Surrey Street.

Croydon became the location of London's main airport until the second world war. During the war, much of central Croydon was destroyed by German strategic bombing and attacks by V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets, and for many years the town bore the scars of the destruction. After the war, Heathrow Airport superseded Croydon Airport as London's main airport.

By the 1950s, with its continuing growth, the town was becoming congested, and the Council decided to introduce another major redevelopment scheme. The Croydon Corporation Act was passed in 1956. This, coupled with government incentives for office relocation out of London, led to the building of new offices and accompanying road schemes through the late 1950s and 1960s, and the town boomed as an important business centre in the 1960s, with the building of a large number of multi-storey office blocks, an underpass, a flyover and multi-storey car parks.

Modern Croydon

In more modern times Croydon has developed an important centre for shopping, with the construction of the Whitgift Centre, which opened in 1969. The Fairfield Halls arts centre and event venue opened in 1962. The Warehouse Theatre opened in 1977. The 1990s saw further changes intended to give the town a more attractive image. These include the closure of North End to vehicles in 1989 and the opening of the Croydon Clocktower arts centre in 1994. Tramlink began operation in May 2000. A new equally large shopping centre, Centrale, opened in 2004 opposite the Whitgift Centre, straddling the site of the smaller Drummond Centre and what was once a large branch of C&A;. There are plans for a large new shopping centre, Park Place, which will replace most of the eastern edge of the shopping district including St George's Walk; the redevelopment of the Croydon Gateway site; and extensions of Tramlink to Purley, Streatham, Lewisham and Crystal Palace. Croydon has become the second-largest place to shop in the south east, after central London, offering a wide range of shops and department stores. Notable independent traders include House of Reeves, a two-outlet furniture store established in 1867. One of their stores was razed to the ground by an arson attack during a civil disturbance on 8 August 2011. It is home to many high density buildings such as the Nestlé Tower, being London's third main CBD, after the Square Mile and the Docklands and South London's main business centre. The Croydon area is served by various hospitals of which the main one is Croydon University Hospital in London Road. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said he would support Croydon becoming an official city.

Governance

For centuries the area lay within the Wallington hundred, an ancient Anglo-Saxon administrative division of the county of Surrey. Croydon was created a municipal borough of Surrey in 1883. In 1889, through its growing economic importance, it was made a county borough exempt from county administration. In 1965 the County Borough of Croydon was abolished and its former area was transferred to Greater London and combined with that of the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District to form the present-day London Borough of Croydon.

Most of the area lies within the Addiscombe and Fairfield wards, which form part of the Croydon Central constituency. The rest of the town is in the Croham ward, which is part of Croydon South. These wards are all in the local authority of Croydon, which has the responsibility for providing services such as education, refuse collection, and tourism. The Addiscombe ward is currently represented by Councillors Russell Jackson, Andrew Price, and Maria Garcia de la Huerta, members of the Conservative Party. The Fairfield and Croham wards also brought back Conservatives, leaving the area represented only by Conservatives at council level. Labour lost the seat that it had in Addiscombe in the 2006 local elections. The area also forms part of the London constituency of the European Parliament. The sitting Member of Parliament for Croydon Central is Gavin Barwell, a member of the Conservative Party. The sitting Member of Parliament for Croydon South is Richard Ottaway, who is also a member of the Conservatives.

The police service is provided by the Metropolitan Police with Croydon Police Station on Park Lane next to Croydon College. The London Fire Brigade provide services for the area and Greater London as a whole. The nearest fire station is in Old Town, which has only two pumping appliance.

Geography

Croydon is situated in the centre of the borough of Croydon. To the south are the North Downs, which stretch to the white cliffs of Dover in Kent, as well as parts of Surrey and the south coast. The Pilgrims' Way path is to the south of Croydon.

The town is bordered by Selhurst and South Norwood to the north, which are both part of the same borough; South Croydon to the south; Shirley due east and Beddington in the borough of Sutton to the west. The northernmost point of Croydon is at the junction with Northcote Road and Whitehorse Road where there are a community centre and a few retail shops, overlapping with Selhurst and Broad Green. The postcode area that covers most of Croydon is CR0, which forms part of the CR postcode area. The CR postcode was created especially for Croydon and its surrounding areas.

Croydon is split up by a number of different areas in the same borough. Fairfield, Broad Green, West Croydon and South Croydon make up the rest of Croydon, but are known as separate areas in their own right. The most prominent of these towns is South Croydon, which has become a town of its own, with various shops and its own high street. It is essentially a dormitory suburb for Croydon and Central London. The street South End is the prominent main road in South Croydon and continues northward as High Street, Croydon and southward as Brighton Road.

The town is split in the middle with a rough line from west to east along Wellesley Road on the A212 road. This type of urban planning has been discouraged recently by the London Plan and there have been a number of proposals to ease the relation between East Croydon station and the town centre of Croydon. Croydon Vision 2020 aims to solve that problem and make the whole road easier for pedestrians by creating a centre island pathway.

Culture

Arts

There are several arts venues. Foremost amongst these is the Fairfield Halls, opened in 1962, which consists of a large concert hall frequently used for BBC recordings, the Ashcroft Theatre and the Arnhem Gallery. Fairfield is the home of the London Mozart Players, whose Principal Guest Conductor is flautist Sir James Galway. Many famous faces have appeared at the Fairfield Halls, from the Beatles through Bucks Fizz, Omid Djalili, Robert Cray, JLS, Chuck Berry, BB King, Don McLean, The Monkees, Johnny Cash, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Tom Jones, The Stylistics, Status Quo, Level 42, A-HA, John Mayall, Jools Holland, Kenny Rogers, James Last to Coolio. The main concert hall was used for the conference scene in the Tom Hanks film The Da Vinci Code.

The Warehouse Theatre is a studio theatre known for promoting new writing, as well as comedy and youth theatre. Croydon Clocktower, built by the London Borough of Croydon in the mid-1990s, houses a state-of-the-art library, the David Lean cinema, a performance venue in the old reference library and the town museum. The Pembroke Theatre had many productions with well known actors before its closure in about 1962.

There are several local and small venues for comedy and community events dotted around Croydon and its neighbourhoods. Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation celebrated its 40th birthday in 2005. There are several community arts groups, particularly in the large Asian community. There are controversial plans to develop an arena for entertainment and sporting events at the Croydon Gateway site.

A calendar titled "Rare Roundabouts of Croydon", with a picture of a different Croydon roundabout each month, has enjoyed some success.

Literature

Croydon is the setting of two poems by British Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, "Croydon" and "Love in a Valley".

The borough has been the residence of many renowned authors and novelists, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who set up house in Norwood, D. H. Lawrence, and French novelist Emile Zola who lived for a time in the Queen's Hotel, South Norwood. Cicely Mary Barker, author and illustrator of the Flower Fairies series of books, was born in Croydon.

Croydon is the setting of many novels. The now defunct airport lent itself to the mysteries, ''The 12.30 from Croydon'' and ''Death in the Clouds'', and the town is mentioned in some Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Music

Croydon has been at the centre of the development of the dubstep genre, a relatively recent musical development that traces its roots from Jamaican dub music, UK Garage and drum and bass. Artists such as Benga and Skream, who honed their production and DJing skills whilst working at the now defunct ''Big Apple Records'' on Surrey Street, along with Norwood's Digital Mystikz, DJ Chef, Timi Korus and Thornton Heath's Plastician, form the core roster of dubstep DJs and producers.

Croydon also has a thriving rock scene producing such local talent as 5th Man Down, Frankmusik and Noisettes. Local venues for live music include the Black Sheep Bar, The Ship, The Green Dragon, The Brief, The George, and The Scream Lounge.

In addition to the Fairfield Halls, there have been several notable venues in Croydon that have hosted major established national and international rock acts - established in 1976, The Cartoon was a very popular live music venue, but closed its doors for the final time in November 2006. The Greyhound in Park Lane (in the site within the Nestle complex currently occupied by the Blue Orchid) played host to acts such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, David Bowie, Queen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Damned, The Boomtown Rats, A-ha in (1987) and many others during the 1960s and 1970s. The ''Fox and Hounds'' Pub saw the debut of the Electric Light Orchestra on 15 April 1972.

The composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) lived at 30 Dagnall Park, Selhurst, until his death. He grew up in Croydon and sang in the church choir at St George's and taught at the Crystal Palace and many other schools of music. He died from pneumonia after collapsing at West Croydon station. There is an impressive grave with a touching poem at Bandon Hill Cemetery, as well as exhibits about him in the Clock Tower Museum, Katharine Street.

The town centre was for 30 years home to Europe's largest second-hand record store, Beanos, offering rare vinyl, CDs and books. In November 2008, it was announced that Beanos would close. The premises (off Church Street near the Grants cinema complex) are to become a "market place" with stalls for rent by small business and individuals.

Croydon is home to the BRIT School for performing arts and technology, based in Selhurst, which has produced stars such as Adele, Katie Melua, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Katy B, Imogen Heap, Dane Bowers and members of The Feeling & The Kooks.

Media

Croydon also plays host to the filming of the popular Channel 4 show, Peep Show. Croydon is also home to several video game developers, including ''Crawfish''. The ITV police drama The Bill, although it was set in East London, was filmed in Croydon and many of the town centre locations were filmed around Surrey Street and St George's House (the Nestle Building). Sun Hill Police station is situated in nearby Mitcham. In 2007, the music video for pop star Mika's single ''Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)'' was filmed in various locations around the town, including the High Street and Surrey Street Market. Croydon was also revealed to be the true birthplace of Phillip the "African Prince" in the 1980 film version of Rising Damp. (Don Warrington revealed in Britains 50 Best Sitcoms on Channel 4, that this fact was actually supposed to be revealed in the TV Series, but that the death of Richard Beckinsale meant that this was not possible). The opening credits for the sitcom Terry and June featured the eponymous stars walking around the Whitgift Centre and the Fairfield Halls area. Croydon also has its own fully independent television station. It does not receive any government or local authority grant or funding and is supported by donations, spornsorship and by commercial advertising.

Transport

The River Wandle is a major tributary of the River Thames, where it stretches to Wandsworth and Putney for 9 miles (14 km) from its main source in Croydon. It forms a rough western boundary with the London Borough of Sutton, and for part of its length forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Croydon and Lambeth. The main river ends near Croydon with one of its tributaries ending in Selhurst. Just to the south of Croydon is a significant gap in the North Downs, which acts as a route focus for transport from London to the south coast. The old London to Brighton road used to pass through the town on North End before it was shut off to motor traffic. The A23 now bypasses the centre of the town and follows Purley Way, to the west of the area, instead.

;Buses Transport for London operates a variety of buses in and around Croydon. Most buses serve the West Croydon bus station, which is next to the rail and tram stop. Buses from Croydon serve destinations such as Heathrow Airport, Norwood, New Addington, Purley, Lewisham, Penge, Mitcham, Norbury and Bromley.

;Rail The Brighton Main Line railway route south from Croydon links the town to Sussex, Surrey, and Kent and to Central London to the north: providing direct services to Hastings, Southampton, Brighton, Portsmouth, Gatwick Airport, Bedford and Luton. The main station for all these services is East Croydon station in the east part of the town centre. East Croydon station is the largest and busiest railway station in Croydon and the third busiest in London, excluding those in Travelcard Zone 1.

West Croydon station serves all trains travelling west except the fastest. The East London Line, operated by London Overground opened in May 2010 reaching destinations such as Surrey Quays, Shoreditch, Dalston and Highbury (from 2011) serves West Croydon. The East London Line Extension will be a major contribution to London's transport infrastructure in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in the capital in 2012. There are currently no plans for any London Underground services to be extended to Croydon, mainly due to the East London Line extension and the promise of extended the Tramlink network. There are also more regional stations scattered around the borough. Passenger rail services through Croydon are provided by Southern and First Capital Connect.

;Tramlink The light rail system ''Tramlink'' (Operated by Tramtrack Croydon, a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London), opened in 2000, and Croydon serves as its main hub. Its network consists of three lines, from Elmers End to West Croydon, from Beckenham to West Croydon, and from New Addington to Wimbledon, with all three lines running via the Croydon loop on which it is centred. It has been highly successful, environmentally friendly and a reliable light rail system carrying around 22 million passengers a year. It is also the only tram system in London but there is another light rail system in the Docklands. It serves Mitcham, Woodside, Addiscombe and the Purley Way retail and industrial area amongst others. An extension to Crystal Palace is currently on hold. Other possible extensions include Sutton, a new park and ride close to the M25, Coulsdon, Purley, Kingston upon Thames, Tolworth, Tooting, Brixton, Bromley and Lewisham for an interchange with the Docklands Light Railway. If the Cross River Tram was still being planned for construction, it may have had an interchange at Brixton, but those plans have since been cancelled.

Croydon's early transport links

The horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway was the world's first public railway. It was opened in 1803, had double track, was some long and ran from Wandsworth to Croydon, at what is now Reeves Corner. In 1805, it was extended to Merstham as the Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway. The railway boom of the 1840s brought superior and faster steam lines and it closed in 1846. The route is followed in part by the modern Tramlink. The last remaining sections of rail can be seen behind railings in a corner of Rotary Field in Purley. With the opening of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway line to London Victoria in 1860, extra platforms were provided that the LBSCR treated as part of a separate station named ''New Croydon''. The South Eastern Railway (SER) was excluded from this station, which ran exclusively LBSCR services to London at fares cheaper than those the SER offered from the original station. In 1864, the LBSCR obtained authorisation to construct a ½-mile long branch line into the heart of the town centre near Katharine Street where Croydon Central station was built. The new line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the Town Council before finally closing in 1890. The station was subsequently demolished and replaced by the new Town Hall. In 1897-98, East Croydon and New Croydon stations were merged into a single station equipped with three island platforms, which remain today. Even so, the two stations kept separate booking accounts until 1924.

The Croydon Canal ran for from what is now West Croydon station. It travelled north to largely along the course of the present railway line to New Cross Gate, where it joined the Grand Surrey Canal and went on into the Thames. It opened in 1809 and had 28 locks. It had a strong competitor in the Surrey Iron Railway and was never a financial success. It sold out to the London & Croydon Railway in 1836. The lake at South Norwood is the former reservoir for the canal.

Croydon Airport on Purley Way was the main international airport for London until it was superseded by London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport. Starting out during World War I as an airfield for protection against Zeppelins, and developing into one of the great airports of the world during the 1920s and 1930s, it welcomed the world's pioneer aviators in its heyday. As aviation technology progressed, however, and aircraft became larger and more numerous, it was recognized in 1952 that the airport would be too small to cope with increasing air traffic. The last scheduled flight departed on 30 September 1959. The air terminal, now known as Airport House, has been restored and has a museum open one day a month.

Education

The town is home to Croydon College, with its main site on Park Lane and College Road near East Croydon railway station. It currently has over 13,000 students attending one of its three sub-colleges. The sub-colleges were created in 2007 to allow for more students to be catered for and to ensure that the courses on offer, the style of teaching and the way the college is run are right for the students that attend each college. The three colleges that were created by the action are the Croydon Sixth Form College, Croydon Skills and Enterprise College and the Croydon Higher Education College. The Higher Education College offers university-level education in a range of subjects from Law through to Fine Art. Croydon Skills and Enterprise College delivers training and education opportunities that have been designed to meet the various needs of businesses of all sizes, across different sectors within London and the south east.

See also

List of people from Croydon

List of schools in Croydon

Notes

Croydon Observatory Borough Profile,Ethnicity Census Figures by Ward. (Population of Fairfield ward 2001 at the census is 14085 ) Accessed January 2011.

References

External links

London Borough of Croydon

Croydon Television

Open directory project

Category:Districts of London Category:Districts of Croydon Category:Metropolitan centres of London Category:Market towns in London Category:Districts of London listed in the Domesday Book Category:Turkish communities in the United Kingdom

ca:Croydon fa:کرویدون fr:Croydon is:Croydon nl:Croydon (Londen) simple:Croydon zh:克羅伊登

name	The Edge
background	solo_singer
birth name	David Howell Evans
born	August 08, 1961Barking, London, England
origin	County Dublin, Ireland
instrument	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
genre	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, activist
years active	1976–present
label	Island (1980–2006)Mercury (2006–present)
associated acts	U2, Passengers
website	U2.com
notable instruments	Gibson ExplorerFender StratocasterGibson Les PaulFender TelecasterGretsch Country GentlemanGretsch White FalconRickenbacker 330/12 }}

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge), is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's ''The Joshua Tree'' and 1991's ''Achtung Baby''. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record ''Zooropa'', and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, and the soundtracks to the musical ''Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of ''A Clockwork Orange''. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital, Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans. When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band. The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change). U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, ''Boy'', was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay. During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved. Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983. The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989. The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996. In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999), before marrying on 22 June 2002.

He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film ''It Might Get Loud''.

The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California. The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location." The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.

Music style

Guitar playing

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.

On 1987's ''The Joshua Tree'', The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique. His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument. He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that." The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the ''Achtung Baby'' era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, ''Under a Blood Red Sky'' and ''Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky'' are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, ''U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle'' and ''Elevation 2001: Live from Boston''). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Other technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, for instance in "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug". He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday). He also does a solo version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary DVD "From the Sky Down".

Other instruments

He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song.

Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna.

The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film ''Captive'' (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of ''The Batman''. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye''. The Edge, along with fellow bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled ''Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge'' was released digitally. The music video was released on July 28, 2011.

Musical equipment

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar.

Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.

Philanthropy

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.

See also

List of people on stamps of Ireland

Timeline of U2

References

;Footnotes

;Bibliography

External links

U2.com, official U2 site

Music Rising

The Edge – Album Credits

A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay

The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'

Food Bank For New York City public service announcement

Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound

Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish rock guitarists Category:Irish people of Welsh descent Category:People from County Dublin Category:People from Dalkey Category:Lead guitarists Category:Slide guitarists Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Golden Globe Award winning musicians Category:Backing vocalists Category:U2 members Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Pseudonymous musicians

bg:Дейв "Едж" Евънс ca:The Edge cs:The Edge da:The Edge de:The Edge et:The Edge es:The Edge eu:The Edge fr:The Edge ga:The Edge gl:The Edge hr:The Edge is:The Edge it:The Edge he:דה אדג' ka:ეჯი (მუსიკოსი) lv:The Edge lt:The Edge hu:The Edge nl:The Edge (U2) ja:ジ・エッジ no:The Edge pl:The Edge pt:The Edge ro:The Edge ru:Эдж sq:The Edge simple:The Edge sl:David Howell Evans fi:The Edge (muusikko) sv:The Edge tr:The Edge uk:Едж zh:The Edge

name	Terry Jones
birth date	February 01, 1942
birth place	Colwyn Bay, North Wales, United Kingdom
spouse	Alison Telfer
known for	Monty Python and history documentaries.
occupation	Actor,comedian, film director, presenter, poet, writer, historian,
website	terry-jones.net
children	}}

Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team.

Early life

Jones was born in Colwyn Bay, Wales. The family home was named "Bodchwil". Jones' father was stationed with the RAF in India and Jones met him for the first time, on Colwyn Bay railway station, when he returned. When Jones was four and a half the family moved to Surrey.

Jones was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Guildford (now an independent school), where he was head boy in the academic year 1960–1; he read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, but "strayed into History". He graduated with a 2:1. While there, he performed comedy with Michael Palin, among others, in The Oxford Revue.

Career history

Before Python

The first recorded instance of Terry Jones and Michael Palin working together professionally occurred when Jones was on a writing course. Sarah Miles pulled out, so Terry employed Michael. He also wrote for Roy Hudd about this time. Jones appeared in ''Twice a Fortnight'' with Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie and Jonathan Lynn, as well as a television series ''The Complete and Utter History of Britain'' (1969). He also appeared in ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' (1967–69) with Palin, Eric Idle and David Jason (Jones speaks about this series during an interview which appears on both the DVDs for ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' and the ''At Last the 1948 Show''). He wrote for ''The Frost Report'' and several other of David Frost's programmes on British television. Along with Palin, he also wrote lyrics for Barry Booth's 1968 album Diversions.

One of Jones's early concerns was devising a fresh format for the Python TV shows, and it was largely Jones who developed the stream-of-consciousness style which abandoned punchlines and encouraged the fluid movement of one sketch into another – allowing the team's conceptual humour the space to “breathe”. Jones also objected to TV directors’ use of sped-up film, over-emphatic music and static camera style, and he took a keen interest in the direction of the shows. He later directed the Python films ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (with Terry Gilliam), ''The Life of Brian'', and ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''. As director he gained fuller control of the projects, devising a visual style that allowed the performers 'space'; for instance, the use of wide shots for long exchanges of dialogue, and more economical use of music. As demonstrated in many of his sketches with Palin, Jones was also interested in making comedy that was visually impressive, feeling that interesting settings augmented, rather than detracted from, the humour. His methods encouraged many future television comedians to break away from conventional studio-bound shooting styles, as demonstrated into the 21st century by shows such as ''Green Wing'', ''Little Britain'' and ''The League of Gentlemen''.

Of Jones's contributions as a performer, his parodic, screechy-voiced depictions of "pepperpots" (middle-aged women, such as the waitress in the "Spam" sketch) are among the most memorable. His humour, in collaboration with Palin, tends to be conceptual in nature; a typical Palin/Jones sketch draws its humour from the absurdity of the scenario. For example, in the “Summarise Proust Competition”, Jones plays a cheesy game show host who gives contestants 15 seconds to condense Marcel Proust's lengthy work ''À la recherche du temps perdu''; in the "Mouse Organ" sketch, he uses mallets to bash mice that have been trained to squeak at a select pitch, to play the tune "Bells of St. Mary". In both cases, the laughs originate in the madness of the idea itself. Jones was also notable for his gifts as a Chaplinesque physical comedian: For instance, his performance in the "Undressing in Public" sketch is totally silent, except for an organ rendition of the Colonel Bogey March, which segues into an unplanned striptease. He was often cast as the straight man, or as a nerdy or put-upon character, often with ambitions or dreams beyond his abilities, in contrast to the authority figures often played by John Cleese or Graham Chapman.

Directorial work

Jones co-directed ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' with Terry Gilliam, and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies, ''Life of Brian'' and ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''. (The latter featured one of his most famous characters, the grotesquely obese Mr. Creosote.) As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a visual style that complemented the humour. His later films include ''Erik the Viking'' (1989) and ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1996). In 2008, Jones wrote and directed an opera titled ''Evil Machines''. In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, entitled ''The Doctor's Tale''.

On the commentary track of the 2004 "2 Disc Special Edition" DVD for the film ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'', Terry Jones stated that to his knowledge Ireland had banned only four movies, three of which he had directed: ''The Meaning of Life'', ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' and ''Personal Services''.

Animation

He was the creator and co-producer of the animated television program ''Blazing Dragons'', which ran for two seasons. Set in a fantasy medieval setting, the series' protagonists are dragons who are beset by evil humans, reversing a common story convention. When the series was broadcast on US television, several episodes were censored due to minor cursing and the implied sexuality of an overtly effeminate character named "Sir Blaze". It was turned into a game for the Sega Saturn in 1994, which starred Jones's voice.

As an author

He co-wrote ''Ripping Yarns'' with Palin, and wrote the screenplay for ''Labyrinth'' (1986), although his draft went through several rewrites and several other writers before being filmed; much of the finished film wasn't written by Jones at all. He has also written numerous works for children, including ''Fantastic Stories'', ''The Beast with a Thousand Teeth'', and a collection of Comic Verse called ''The Curse of the Vampire's Socks''.

He has written books and presented television documentaries on medieval and ancient history and the history of numeral systems. His series often challenge popular views of history: for example, ''Terry Jones' Medieval Lives'' (2004) (for which he received a 2004 Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming") argues that the Middle Ages was a more sophisticated period than is popularly thought, and ''Terry Jones' Barbarians'' (2006) presents the cultural achievements of peoples conquered by the Roman Empire in a more positive light than Roman historians typically have, while criticizing the Romans as the true "barbarians" who exploited and destroyed higher civilizations.

He has written numerous editorials for ''The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Observer'' condemning the Iraq war. Many of these editorials were published in a paperback collection titled ''Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror''.

''Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary'' (1980) offers an alternative take on the historical view of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Knight's Tale'' as being a paragon of Christian virtue. Jones asserts that, after closer examination of historical rather than literary context, the Knight is actually a typical mercenary and a potentially cold-blooded killer.

He is also a member of the UK Poetry Society and his poems have appeared in ''Poetry Review''.

Working with musicians

Jones has performed with The Carnival Band and appears on their 2007 CD ''Ringing the changes'' (Park Records PRKCD98).

In January 2008, the Teatro São Luiz, in Lisbon, Portugal, premiered ''Evil Machines'' – a musical play, written by Jones (based on his book) and with original music by Portuguese composer Luis Tinoco. Jones was invited by the Teatro São Luiz to write and direct the play, after a very successful run of ''Contos Fantásticos'', a short play based on Jones' ''Fantastic Stories'', also with music by Luis Tinoco.

As performer

Apart from a cameo in Terry Gilliam's ''Jabberwocky'' and a memorable minor role as a drunken vicar in BBC sitcom ''The Young Ones'', Jones has rarely appeared in work outside of his own projects. Since January 2009, however, he has provided narration for ''The Legend of Dick and Dom'', a CBBC fantasy series set in the Middle Ages.

Personal life

Jones married Alison Telfer in 1970, and they have two children together, Sally (born in 1974) who worked alongside receptionist Lee Jackson at the Royal Academy of Art, and Bill (born in 1976). The marriage broke down after he admitted to falling in love with 26-year-old student Anna Söderström.

On 21 October 2006, it was reported in ''The Daily Mirror'' that Jones had been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Another article dated three days later, also by ''The Mirror'', indicated that the exploratory surgery performed on Jones had good results. It was reported in the British media on 27 April 2009 that Jones was due to become a father for the third time in the autumn of 2009, by way of Söderström. But he remained married to Telfer. Jones's daughter Siri was born in early September 2009.

Selected bibliography

Fiction

''Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic'' (1997), ISBN 0-330-35446-9 – a novel based on the computer game of the same name by Douglas Adams. (Jones claims to have written the entire book while in the nude.)

;Illustrated by Michael Foreman

''Fairy Tales'' (1981), ISBN 0-907516-03-3

''The Saga of Erik the Viking'' (1983), ISBN 0-907516-23-8 – Children's Book Award 1984

''Nicobobinus'' (1985), ISBN 1-85145-000-9

''The Curse of the Vampire's Socks and Other Doggerel'' (1988), ISBN 1-85145-233-8 – poetry

''Fantastic Stories'' (1992), ISBN 1-85145-957-X

''The Beast with a Thousand Teeth'' (1993), ISBN 1-85793-070-3

''A Fish of the World'' (1993), ISBN 1-85793-075-4

''The Sea Tiger'' (1994), ISBN 1-85793-085-1

''The Fly-by-Night'' (1994), ISBN 1-85793-090-8

''The Knight and the Squire'' (1997), ISBN 1-86205-044-9

''The Lady and the Squire'' (2000), ISBN 1-86205-417-7 – nominated for a Whitbread Award

''Bedtime Stories'' (2002), ISBN 1-86205-276-X – with Nanette Newman

;Illustrated by Brian Froud

''Goblins of the Labyrinth'' (1986), ISBN 1-85145-058-0

*''The Goblin Companion: A Field Guide to Goblins'' (1996), ISBN 1-85793-795-3 – an abridged re-release, in a smaller format, with the colour plates missing

''Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book'' (1994), ISBN 1-85793-336-2

''Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells: Quentin Cottington's Journal of Faery Research'' (1996), ISBN 0-684-83206-2

''Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Journal'' (1998), ISBN 1-86205-024-4

''Lady Cottington's Fairy Album'' (2002), ISBN 1-86205-559-9

;Illustrated by Martin Honeysett & Lolly Honeysett

''Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls'' with Michael Palin (1974) ISBN 0-413-32740-X

Non-fiction

''Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary'' (1980), ISBN 0-297-77566-9; rev. ed. (1994), ISBN 0-413-69140-3

''Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery'' (2003), ISBN 0-413-75910-5 – with Robert Yeager, Terry Dolan, Alan Fletcher and Juliette Dor

''Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror'' (2005), ISBN 1-56025-653-2

;With Alan Ereira

''Crusades'' (1994), ISBN 0-563-37007-6

''Terry Jones' Medieval Lives'' (2004), ISBN 0-563-48793-3

''Terry Jones' Barbarians'' (2006), ISBN 0-563-49318-6

Screenplays

''And Now for Something Completely Different'' (1972) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin

''Secrets'' (1973) – for TV, with Michael Palin

''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin

''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin

''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin

''Labyrinth'' (1986)

''Erik the Viking'' (1989) – includes a notice in the credits specifically disclaiming any link with Jones's earlier novel ("although he hopes it will help the sales")

''The Wind in the Willows'' (1996)

Documentary series

''Crusades'' (1995)

''Ancient Inventions'' – directed by Phil Grabsky & Daniel Percival (1998)

''The Surprising History of Egypt'' (USA, 2002) a.k.a. ''The Hidden History of Egypt'' (UK, 2003) – directed by Phil Grabsky

''The Surprising History of Rome'' (USA, 2002) a.k.a. ''The Hidden History of Rome'' (UK, 2003) – directed by Phil Grabsky

''The Surprising History of Sex and Love'' (2002) – directed by Alan Ereira & Phil Grabsky

''Terry Jones' Medieval Lives'' (2004)

''The Story of 1'' (2005)

''Terry Jones' Barbarians'' (2006)

''Terry Jones' Great Map Mystery'' (2008)

Political articles

Jones has published a number of articles on political and social commentary, principally in newspapers ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'', and ''The Observer''. Many of these articles criticized the war on terror, belittling it as "declaring war on an abstract noun" and comparing it to attempting to "annihilate mockery".

Collaborations

!	Monty Python and the Holy Grail>Monty Python andthe Holy Grail''	Monty Python's Life of Brian>Monty Python'sLife of Brian''	Monty Python's The Meaning of Life>Monty Python's TheMeaning of Life''	Erik the Viking>Erik theViking''	The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)>The Wind inthe Willows''
Graham Chapman
John Cleese
Carol Cleveland
Terry Gilliam
Eric Idle
Neil Innes
Terry Jones
Charles McKeown
Michael Palin

Miscellany

An asteroid, 9622 Terryjones, is named in his honour. When asked during a webchat if this were the greatest honour he has received, Jones replied, "I didn't realise it was an honour to have a barren lump of rock named after one."

References

;Notes

;Further reading

External links

Terry Jones.net – Semi-official fan site

Totally Terry

Terry Jones on twitter

10 July 2006 webchat transcript at Douglas Adams Continuum

Terry Jones at the BBC Guide to Comedy

Terry Jones at the Comedy Zone

MP3 audio interview with Jones from The Sound of Young America public radio program and podcast

Interview with Terry Jones by Jeff Fleischer in ''Mother Jones.'' He talks about his politics columns.

Text interview with Jones from Wisconsin Public Television. Jones talks about Monty Python's legacy and his more current work.

Category:1942 births Category:British comedy writers Category:British television writers Category:Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Category:Living people Category:Monty Python members Category:Old Guildfordians Category:People from Colwyn Bay Category:Welsh actors Category:Welsh comedians Category:Welsh film actors Category:Welsh film directors Category:Welsh screenwriters Category:Welsh television actors

an:Terry Jones bg:Тери Джоунс cs:Terry Jones cy:Terry Jones da:Terry Jones de:Terry Jones (Komiker) es:Terry Jones eu:Terry Jones fr:Terry Jones hr:Terry Jones it:Terry Jones he:טרי ג'ונס hu:Terry Jones mk:Тери Џонс nl:Terry Jones ja:テリー・ジョーンズ no:Terry Jones pl:Terry Jones pt:Terry Jones ro:Terry Jones ru:Джонс, Терри simple:Terry Jones sh:Terry Jones fi:Terry Jones sv:Terry Jones

name	Tokio Hotel
background	group_or_band
origin	Magdeburg, Germany
years active	2001–present
genre	Alternative rock, electronic rock, pop rock, teen pop emo, pop punk (early)
label	Universal Music GermanyCherrytree, Interscope (US)
website	www.tokiohotel.com
current members	Bill KaulitzTom Kaulitz Georg ListingGustav Schäfer
past members	}}

Tokio Hotel is a pop rock band from Germany, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bassist Georg Listing. The quartet have scored four number one singles and have released three number one albums in their native country, selling nearly 5 million CDs and DVDs there. After recording an unreleased demo-CD under the name "Devilish" and having their contract with Sony BMG Germany terminated, the band released their first German-language album, ''Schrei'', as Tokio Hotel on Universal Music Germany in 2005. ''Schrei'' sold more than half a million copies worldwide and spawned four top five singles in both Germany and Austria. In 2007, the band released their second German album ''Zimmer 483'' and their first English album ''Scream'' which have combined album sales of over one million copies worldwide and helped win the band their first MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct. The former, ''Zimmer 483'', spawned three top five singles in Germany while the latter, ''Scream'', spawned two singles that reached the top twenty in new territories such as France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. In September 2008, they won in the US their first MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Best New Artist. In October 2008, they won four awards including Best International Artist and Song of the year at Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica (MTV Video Music Awards Latin America) held in Mexico. Tokio Hotel became the first German band ever to win an award at the MTV VMAs and also at the MTV Latin America Awards. They also picked up the Headliner award at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 held in Liverpool on November 6, 2008 and the Award for Best Group on November 5, 2009 at the MTV Europe Music Award (EMA) held in Berlin. They won an Award for Best World Stage Performance on November 7, 2010 at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid. In July 2011, they became the first German band to win an MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ).

History

Founding

Tokio Hotel by vocalist Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, who are identical twin brothers, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist Georg Listing. The four met in 2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg-Club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew each other from music school, watched from the audience while Bill and Tom Kaulitz played on the stage. Under the name Devilish, the band soon began playing in talent shows and small concerts. After Bill Kaulitz's participation in a children's Star Search in 2003 at age thirteen (which he lost in the quarter-final), he was discovered by music producer Peter Hoffmann. Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel: "Tokio", the German spelling of the Japanese city Tokyo, due to a love of the city, and "Hotel" due to their constant touring and living in hotels. In 2006, a third and fourth single, "Rette mich" ("Rescue Me") and "Der letzte Tag" ("The Final Day"), were released; both reached #1 as well. "Der letzte Tag" contained a B-side called "Wir schließen uns ein", which was also accompanied by a music video.

''Zimmer 483''

The first single off their second album ''Zimmer 483'' (''Room 483''), called "Übers Ende der Welt" (later re-released in English under the name "Ready, Set, Go!"), was released on January 26, 2007 and quickly reached #1 in Germany and Austria, and #2 in France. ''Zimmer 483'' was released in Germany on February 23, 2007, along with a deluxe edition of the album containing a DVD. The album's second single, "Spring nicht" ("Don't Jump") was released on April 7. The tour accompanying the release of the album, The Zimmer 483 Tour, was scheduled to start in March 2007, but was delayed by two weeks because the band members wished to have a different stage design. A third single, "An deiner Seite (Ich bin da)" ("By Your Side"), was released on November 16. The single contains the B-side "1000 Meere" ("1000 Oceans"), for which a music video was also produced. On April 28, 2008 Tokio Hotel released their single "Heilig" but no music video for the single was released, because of the tight schedule they had.

''Scream''

Tokio Hotel's first English language album, ''Scream'', was released on June 4, 2007 throughout Europe. In Germany, the album was released as ''Room 483'' in order to emphasize the continuity with their last German album ''Zimmer 483''. ''Scream'' contains English versions of a selection of songs from their German-language albums ''Scream'' and ''Zimmer 483''. "Monsoon", the English-language version of "Durch den Monsun", was the first single from the album. "Ready, Set, Go!" (the translation of "Übers Ende der Welt") was released as the album's second single and "Don't Jump" (the translation of "Spring nicht") as the third single. A video for "Scream", the English-language version of their 2005 hit "Schrei", was also recorded, and was released to the iTunes Store in early March 2008.

Tokio Hotel gave their first concert in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2007. "Ready, Set, Go!" was released in the UK as the band's first single on August 27, 2007. The song reached #77 in the UK Singles Chart.

Tokio Hotel won an MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct on November 1, 2007 and were also nominated for Best Band. They performed "Monsoon" at the event.

Tokio Hotel released their first US single, simply called "Tokio Hotel", in late 2007. The single contains the tracks "Scream" and "Ready, Set, Go!", and was available exclusively at Hot Topic stores. Their second US single, "Scream America", was released on December 11, 2007. The single contains the track "Scream" and a remix of "Ready, Set, Go!" by AFI's Jade Puget. In February 2008, the band toured North America for five dates starting in Canada and finishing up in New York. After appearing and performing live on MuchMusic, while touring in Canada, "Ready, Set, Go!" entered the MuchOnDemand Daily 10, a countdown of videos chosen by viewers. It remained there for over a week, then returned to the top of the MOD Daily 10 chart on April 8. "Scream" was released in Canada on March 25 and in the US on May. 6

1000 Hotels Tour

The "1000 Hotels" European Tour began on March 3, 2008 in Brussels and continued to locations including The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Scandinavia, and was scheduled to finish on April 9; during the concert in Marseille, France on March 14, Bill started to experience vocal problems. He let the audience sing more frequently than normal and instead of the original 21 songs that were on the set list, they only played 16 songs. Bill apologized, in German, for his bad singing and explained that he was sick. Two days later, the band canceled Lisbon, Portugal concert minutes before it was supposed to commence. The rest of the "1000 Hotels" Tour and a scheduled North American Tour were cancelled following an announcement in Bild by the band's manager that Bill Kaulitz had to undergo surgery to remove a cyst on his vocal cords.

Bill Kaulitz had been putting strain on his voice after playing 43 concerts in the 1000 Hotels tour without vacation. He had to undergo Larynx surgery on March 30 to remove a cyst that had formed on his vocal cords. The cyst was the result of a throat infection that went untreated. Following his surgery, Bill was unable to speak for twelve days, and had four weeks of vocal rehabilitation. If Bill had continued singing the rest of the tour, his voice would have eventually been permanently damaged. Tokio Hotel started performing again in May 2008 and after that they embarked on a 2nd part of their 1000 Hotels European Tour adding many Open Air concerts and wrapping up the tour on July 13 in Werchter, Belgium.

North American Tours and ''Humanoid''

Tokio Hotel embarked on a second tour of North America in August 2008, which included a performance at the Bamboozled festival in New Jersey. The band's music video for "Ready Set Go!" was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where they also won the award for Best New Artist. They returned to North America again in October 2008 for a month long tour of concerts and record store signings. In December 2008, a behind-the scenes DVD called ''Tokio Hotel TV – Caught on Camera'' was released. It contains footage from Tokio Hotel TV and backstage feature stories of the previous year on disc one entitled "History – The very best of Tokio Hotel TV!". A deluxe edition contains a second disc entitled "Future – The road to the new Album!" which features footage of the band on promotion tours and preparing for their third studio album.

In between the North American tours, the band returned to their record studio in Hamburg to record their third studio album, ''Humanoid'', which, according to their producer David Jost, is currently set for release on October 2 in Germany & October 6, 2009 in the U.S. This is despite earlier statements predicting a March/April 2009 release or a May/June 2009 release. The album was recorded in both German and English with both versions were released simultaneously worldwide. Nevertheless, the video for the single was released on September 3.

On November 2, it was announced on Tom's Blog that the second English single would be "World Behind My Wall" and its German counterpart, "Lass uns laufen", would be the second German single. The music videos for both versions were released on December 14 and December 15.

On June 24, the live music video for their single, "Dark Side of the Sun" was released on the band website.

On July 20, 2010 they released their second live album Humanoid City Live from Milan, Italy On November 22, 2010, their new song "Hurricanes and Suns," premiered on the Greek radio station Mad Radio. It was included in the bonus track on all versions of "Tokio Hotel: Best Of," a compilation album of their most successful songs. As well as the single for the 'Best of' release. The album will also include "Mädchen aus dem All", the first song the band recorded in a studio.

On December 14, 2010 their 'Best of' was released. December 2 was the World Premiere of the video for "Hurricanes and Suns" on their Official Website. On April 28, 2011 they received the "Fan Army FTW" award at the MTV O Music Awards, the networks first online award show. A clip of Bill and Tom thanking their fans was played after the winner was announced.

Asian performances

Tokio Hotel performed their first concert in Asia (excluding their concert in Israel) at the Audi Showcase in Singapore, followed shortly by the TM Connects With Tokio Hotel event in Malaysia, promoting the sales of their album Humanoid. They concluded the series of mini-concerts with Taiwan. They returned to Malaysia a couple of months later to perform at MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2010. They performed in Tokyo on December 15, 2010, after their South American Tour concluded in Distrito Federal, Mexico on December 2, 2010. In February, 2011 Tokio Hotel travelled to Japan to complete a second promo tour. A number of TV appearances and media interviews took place between February 8 and February 11.

On June 24, 2011 Tokio Hotel performed in Japan at “The Next Premium Night Tokio Hotel in Tokyo". The event was presented by Audi A1 and 150 fans were chosen to win tickets to attend the show. The event was the bands first acoustic performance in Japan. On June 25, 2011 the band performed live at the MTV Video Music Aid Japan in Tokyo. The show, which was formerly called the Video Music Awards Japan, was used as a music benefit to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross in order to help those who were affected by the recent earthquake.

Modeling and commercials

On January 19, 2010, lead singer Bill Kaulitz teamed up with twins Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared to walk the runway at a fashion event in Milan. Kaulitz made two appearances, as he opened and closed DSquared's Menswear Autumn/Winter 2010 show to Tokio Hotel song "Screamin".

Car maker Audi hired the two frontmen to star in their new advertising campaign to attract the younger generation. They were featured in an episode of Tokio Hotel TV (on Tokio Hotel's website) and also in a commercial.

On August 4, 2010, Tom Kaulitz got his own Reebok shoe commercial. Reebok signed the 20-year-old Tokio Hotel guitarist and sneaker addict to model shoes for the company. "At home, I created a little room like a little storage room," he said of his sneakers. He also said that he gets 10 new pairs a week. That's 520 sneakers a year.

Band members

Bill Kaulitz

Bill Kaulitz was born on September 1, 1989, in Leipzig ten minutes after his identical twin brother, Tom.

Tom Kaulitz

Tom Kaulitz (born 1 September 1989 in Leipzig, German Democratic Republic) is a German guitarist singer, songwriter and model from Tokio Hotel. He is the twin brother of Bill Kaulitz, and Tom was born 10 minutes before Bill.

Early life

Tom Kaulitz was born 1 September 1989 in Leipzig. His parents, Simone and Jörg Kaulitz, separated when Kaulitz and his brother were seven years old.His mother began dating Gordon Trumper, and married him in August 2009. Tom's guitar playing and his brother's singing showed their natural aptitude for music, and gave an early indication of their possibility of fame. Trumper helped the twins to start their own band. He and Bill began writing music at the age of seven years old. Due to their great desire to create a band, his twin brother Bill entered and became renowned on the reality TV talent show "Star Search." They met Georg Listing (then 14) and Gustav Schäfer (then 13), in the audience of one of their shows. Listing and Schäfer were friends and after the show, having liked what they heard and saw, made an offer to join. The band was promptly re-named "Devilish" due to an article published at the time that referred to their "devilishly great"[citation needed] sound. This continued until 2005 when Jost arranged a meeting between the band and Universal Music Group's Interscope Records and Tokio Hotel was signed. They began working immediately, releasing their debut LP Schrei ("Scream") later that year. Their first single from the album Schrei was "Durch den Monsun" ("Through The Monsoon"), which reached #1 in Germany within a month of its release. He then continued his dream with 3 members of the group.

Stalking incident

More trouble came for Kaulitz when in late 2008/early 2009 several female stalkers pursued the band relentlessly, even following his twin brother Bill Kaulitz to his parents' home in Germany and attacked the twins' mother. The issue seemed to end after Tom allegedly hit one of the stalkers at a gas station in April 2009 and drove off. However, a recent article in Bild stated that the issue had resurfaced and that Tom Kaulitz may stand trial for assault. In late December 2009, the charges against Tom were lifted and he is pressing charges himself — against the girl he allegedly hit — on grounds of stalking.

Personal life

Tom Kaulitz and his identical twin brother, Bill, used to live in Hamburg but have recently moved to Los Angeles in response to an incident involving stalkers and a robbery. They have also stated that it is easier for them to work on their new album, as it is closer to their manager David Jost. They are currently living in Los Angeles but also have a second home in Hamburg. Tom and Bill, have modeled for a PETA.de photoshoot. He models for Reebok for sneakers and shoes. Tom is friends with Nicole Scherzinger. Tom prefers to listen to hip-hop music. His favorite rapper is Samy Deluxe. As of September 2007, Tom uses Gibson guitars and Mesa/Boogie Rectifier Heads with Mesa Boogie Rectifier 4x12 cabinets. Tom currently has his hair in cornrows, which he had done in early 2009. Tom had allegedly been dating Chantelle Paige after the stalker incident, but later it was said that they had been going out to better publicise Tom and his band, as well as Chantelle’s band, Flipsyde. In an interview with her, Chantelle had said : "I think Tom is quite nice, actually he is my dream boy. But my friends have warned me about him".

Georg Listing

Georg (Moritz Hagen) Listing was born on March 31, 1987. His hometown is Halle. He began playing bass when he was thirteen years old, He has said that his playing style was heavily influenced by Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other musical influences include Die Ärzte and Oasis.

Awards

Since the release of the "Durch den Monsun" single in 2005, Tokio Hotel have gone on to win 102 awards in various categories and countries.

;2005

! Category	!Award	! Date
Best Newcomer	Comet Awards (Germany)	October 6
Super Comet	Comet Awards (Germany)	October 6
Best Newcomer	Eins Live Krone	November 24
Best Pop National Act	Bambi Awards	December 1
Best Single	Golden Penguin (Austria)	...2005
Best Pop	Golden Penguin (Austria)	...2005
Rock Band 2005	Golden Penguin (Austria)	...2005

;2006

! Category	! Award	! Date
Album of the year	Golden Penguin (Austria)	February 8
Band of the year	Golden Penguin (Austria)	February 8
Song of the year – ‘Der Letzte Tag’	Golden Penguin (Austria)	February 8
Best Newcomer	Golden Penguin (Austria)	February 8
Ausverkaufte Tourhalle	Sold-out-Award of Königpilsener Arena	March 11
Best Newcomer		March 12
Best Newcomer	Steiger Awards	March 25
Pop National	Radio Regenbogen (Germany)	March 31
SuperBand Rock – Golden Otto	Bravo Otto	May 6
Music Award	Bild OSGAR	May 22
Best Newcomer International	Popcorn Awards (Hungary)	May 26
Best Newcomer	Bravo Otto (Hungary)	June 24
Best International Band	Bravo Otto (Hungary)	June 24
Best Newcomer Band	Popkomm Bavarian Music Lion	September 21
Best German Pop Band	Goldene Stimmgabel	September 24
Best Selling German Artist	World Music Awards	November 15
Best Pop National Act	Bambi Awards	November 30
Best Live Act	Eins Live Krone	December 7
Best Rock band	MTV France

;2007

! Category	! Award	! Date
Single of the Year – Durch Den Monsun	Golden Penguin
Best Selling German Act – Album Schrei	European Border Breakers Award	January 21
European Border Breakers Award	NRJ Awards	January 21
Rock Award	BZ-Kulturpreis	January 23
Best Video National	ECHO Awards (Germany)	March 25
SuperBand Rock – Golden otto	Bravo Otto	April 28
Best Video	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 3
Best Band	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 3
Supercomet	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 3
Best Band	Jabra Music	July 2007
Digital prize	Festivalbar (Italy)	September 7
Most Successful Group Rock International	Goldene Stimmgabel	September 22
Most Successful Popgroup International	Goldene Stimmgabel Awards	October 3
Best Album	TMF Awards (Belgium)	October 14
Best Video	TMF Awards (Belgium)	October 14
Best New Artist	TMF Awards (Belgium)	October 14
Best Pop	TMF Awards (Belgium)	October 14
Best International Act	MTV Europe Music Awards (Germany)	November 1
Best band of the Year	MTV Italy Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award	December 1

;2008

! Category	! Award	! Date
Band of the Year 2007	Golden Penguin (Austria)	January
Best International Band	Rockbjörnen Award (Sweden)	January 24
Best Music National	Goldene Kamera (Germany)	February 6
Best Music Video	Echo Awards (Germany)	February 15
Best International Artist	Emma Gala Awards (Finland)	March 8
Best International Group	Disney Channel Kids Award (Italy)	March 28
Best Concert	Hitkrant (Netherlands)	May 2008
Best Mood Song – Monsoon	Hitkrant (Netherlands)	May 2008
Song that Satys in your Head – Monsoon	Hitkrant (Netherlands)	May 2008
Superband Rock – Silver Otto	Bravo Otto	May 3
Best Band	MTV TRL Awards (Italy)	May 17
Best Number 1 of the Year with Monsoon	MTV TRL Awards (Italy)	May 17
Best Band	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 23
Best Video – An Deiner Seite	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 23
Best Live Act	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 23
Super Comet	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 23
Best New Artist	MTV VMA Music Awards (USA)	September 7
Fan Choice Best Entrance	MTV VMA Music Awards (USA)	September 7
Best Male Artist International (Bill Kaulitz)	TMF Awards (Belgium)	October 11
Best Video International – Don't Jump	TMF Awards	MTV Europe Music Awards (Germany)	November 5
Best International Rock Band	Telehit Awards (Mexico)	November 12

;2010

! Category	!Award	! Date
Band of the Year	Golden Penguin (Austria)	January 29
Album of the Year	Golden Penguin (Austria)	January 29
Band of the Year	Bravoora Awards (Poland)	February 1
Best International Artist	Emma Gala Awards (Finland)	February 4
Walk of Fame	König-Pilsener Arena (Germany)	February 26
Best International Band	Radio Regenbogen Awards (Germany)	March 19
Favorite Music Star	Kids Choice Awards 2010 (Germany)	April 10
Best Live Act	Comet Awards (Germany)	May 21
Foreign Song of the Year - World Behind My Wall	Rockbjörnen Award (Sweden)	September 1
Concert of the Year	Rockbjörnen Award (Sweden)	September 1
Best World Stage Performance	MTV Europe Music Awards (Spain)	November 7
Best Band National	CMA Awards (Germany)	December 12
Best Single National - World Behind My Wall	CMA Awards (Germany)	December 12

;2011

! Category	!Award	! Date
Band of the Year	Bravoora Awards (Poland)	March
Star of the 20th Anniversary		March
Best Fan Army (Fan Army FTW)	MTV O Music Awards (USA)	April 28
Best Rock Video	MTV Video Music Awards Japan	July 2

References

External links

Official site

Official Youtube channel

Interscope records profile

Tokio Hotel on MTV

Category:German musical groups Category:German rock music groups Category:German pop music groups Category:German-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:People from Leipzig Category:Musical groups established in 2001 Category:Pop rock groups

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