Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
show name	Blue Peter
format	Children's, entertainment
runtime	25 mins
location
creator	John Hunter Blair
presenter	Helen Skelton Barney Harwood(List of presenters)
country	United Kingdom
network	BBC One (1958–present)BBC Two (1964–present)CBBC Channel (2002–present)
first aired
last aired	present ()
status	Ongoing
num episodes	4,578 (as of 14 December 2010) }}

''Blue Peter'' is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC Channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time. The show uses a studio for the main format of the presenting; there is also a garden, often referred to as 'The Blue Peter Garden', that is used during the summer months or used when they are showing any outside activities. The current presenters are Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood.

On 29 March 2011, Blue Peter became the first programme in the UK to broadcast an entire show in 360 degrees on the web. Viewers were able to watch the programme via their TVs and simultaneously interact with the television studio in front and behind the cameras on the website. Viewers were also challenged to play a game where they had to find particular crew members and staff dressed up in distinctive costumes.

History

''Blue Peter'' was first aired on 16 October 1958. It had been commissioned to producer John Hunter Blair by Owen Reed, the head of children's programmes at the BBC, as there were no programmes in existence that catered for children aged between five and eight. Reed got his inspiration after watching ''Children's Television Club'', the brainchild of former radio producer, Trevor Hill, who created it as a successor to his programme ''Out of School'', broadcast on BBC Radio's ''Children's Hour''; Hill networked the programme from BBC Manchester and launched it aboard the ''Royal Iris'' paddle steamer on Merseyside with presenter Judith Chalmers welcoming everyone aboard at the bottom of the gangplank.

It was subsequently televised about once a month (see Hill's autobiography ''Over the Airwaves'', Book Guild 2005). Hill relates how Reed came to stay with him and his wife, Margaret Potter, in Cheshire, and was so taken with the "Blue Peter" flag on the side of the ship and the programme in general, that he asked to rename it and take it to London to be broadcast on a weekly basis (see Reed's obituary). The "Blue Peter" is used as a maritime signal, indicating that the vessel flying it is about to leave, and Reed chose the name to represent 'a voyage of adventure' on which the programme would set out. Hunter Blair also pointed out that blue was a child's favourite colour, and Peter was the common name of a child's friend.

The first two presenters were Christopher Trace, an actor, and Leila Williams, winner of Miss Great Britain in 1957. The initial format mostly involved the two presenters demonstrating different activities, with Trace concentrating on traditional 'boys' toys' such as model aeroplanes and trains, and Williams concentrating on dolls and traditional female tasks such as cookery. They were supported on occasion by Tony Hart, an artist who later designed the ship logo, who told stories about an elephant called Packi (or Packie). It was broadcast every Monday for fifteen minutes on BBC TV (which later became BBC One). he was replaced the following September by Clive Parkhurst. He did not get along with Leila Williams, who recalled he could not find anything for me to do', and in October, Williams did not appear for six editions, and was eventually fired, leaving Christopher Trace on his own or with one-off presenters. Parkhurst was replaced by John Furness, and Anita West joined Trace on 7 May 1962. She featured on just 16 editions, making her the shortest serving presenter, and was replaced by Valerie Singleton, who presented regularly until 1972, and on special assignments until 1981. a production assistant, would temporarily produce the show until Baxter arrived, at which point he would become her assistant. This suggestion was turned down, and a more experienced producer, Leonard Chase, was appointed, with Barnes as his assistant. Baxter eventually joined ''Blue Peter'' at the end of October 1962.

During this period, many iconic features of ''Blue Peter'' were introduced. The first appeal took place in December 1962, taking place of the previous practice of reviewing toys that children would ask for themselves. ''Blue Peter'''s first pet, a brown and white mongrel dog named Petra was introduced on 17 December 1962. Features such as 'makes' (normally involving creating something such as an advent crown, out of household junk) and cooking became regular instalments on ''Blue Peter'' and continue to be used today. The Blue Peter badge was introduced in 1963, along with the programme's new logo designed by Tony Hart.

The next year, from 28 September 1964, ''Blue Peter'' began to be broadcast twice weekly, with Baxter becoming the editor, and Barnes and Rosemary Gill (an assistant producer who had joined as a temporary producer while Baxter was doing jury service) becoming the programme's producers. The first ''Blue Peter'' book, an annual in all but name, was published this year, and have been produced nearly every year since. A third presenter, John Noakes, was introduced at the end of 1965 and became the longest serving presenter. A complete contrast to Trace, Noakes set the scene for 'daredevil' presenters that has continued through the generations of presenters. Trace left ''Blue Peter'' in July 1967, and was replaced by Peter Purves in November. The trio of Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves lasted five years, and according to Richard Marson were 'the most famous presenting team in the show's history'. In 1965, the first 'Summer Expedition' (a filming trip abroad) was held in Norway, and have been every year since then (expect 1986) all over the world.

The first colour edition of ''Blue Peter'' aired on 14 September 1970, with the last black and white edition on 24 June 1974. A regular feature of the 1970s were the Special Assignments, which were essentially reports on interesting topics, filmed on location. Singleton took this role, and in effect became the programme's 'roving reporter'. ''Blue Peter'' also offered breaking news on occasion, such as the 1971 eruption of Mount Etna, as well as unique items such as the first appearance of Uri Geller on British television. In May 1976, presenter Lesley Judd interviewed Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, after he had agreed to bring his daughter's diaries to Britain.

In 1974, the Blue Peter garden was officially opened in a green space outside the television centre restaurant block. By this time, ''Blue Peter'' had become an established children's programme, with regular features which have since become traditions. Its theme music was updated by Mike Oldfield in 1979, and at the end of the decade a new presenting team were brought in, consisting of Simon Groom, Tina Heath and Christopher Wenner. They were overshadowed by the success of the previous two decades, and failed to make an impact. Heath decided to leave after a year when she discovered she was pregnant, but agreed to have a live scan of her baby, something which had never been done on television before. ''Blue Peter'' was praised for this by the National Childbirth Trust who told the BBC that in 'five minutes, ''Blue Peter'' had done more to educate children about birth than they'd achieved in ten years of sending out leaflets'. Wenner was unpopular with viewers, so left along with Heath on 23 June 1980.

Sarah Greene and Peter Duncan both joined in 1980, and a new producer, Lewis Bronze, joined in 1982. The 1980s saw the ''Blue Peter'' studio become more colourful and bright, with the presenters gradually wearing more fashionable outfits, in contrast to the more formal appearance of previous decades. Several videos of ''Blue Peter'' were released from 1982, the first being ''Blue Peter Makes'', and an omnibus comprising the two weekly editions appeared in 1986 on Sunday mornings. On 27 June 1988, Baxter took part in her final show, after nearly 26 years of involvement, and Bronze took her place as editor. Around this time, ''Blue Peter'' became distinctively environmentally aware, and introduced a green badge in November 1988 for achievements related to the environment.

In the 1990s, a new version of the theme tune was written, and due to falling ratings, BBC1 controller Alan Yentob suggested airing a third edition of ''Blue Peter'' each week. This meant that it was pre-recorded; Joe Godwin, the director, suggested that the Friday edition should be a lighter version of ''Blue Peter'', which would concentrate on music, celebrities and games. A fourth presenter, Katy Hill, was introduced in 1995, but unlike earlier decades, there was little stability in the lineup, with resignations and new additions made almost every year of the decade. The 1990s also saw many more live broadcasts on location, with many shot entirely away from the studio. ''Blue Peter'' was also one of the first television series to launch a website. There were also two changes of editors: Oliver Macfarlane replaced Bronze in the mid-1990s, and moved on in 1999 a few months after after ''Blue Peter'' celebrated its 40th anniversary. In October 1998, Richard Bacon was sacked, following reports in the ''News of the World'' that he had taken cocaine. Steve Hocking then replaced Macfarlane as editor, in what was believed to be a difficult period for the programme.

The 2000s started off when two time capsules that had been buried on ''Blue Peter'' were opened up. The former presenters were invited back to assist, and the rest of the programme looked at life in the 1970s when the first capsule was buried. With Hill's departure and replacement by Liz Barker in 2000, the new team of Konnie Huq, Simon Thomas, Matt Baker and herself made the programme strong and consistent for the next five years, which had been somewhat lacking in the 1990s. The Friday edition, as in the previous decade, featured games and competitions, but additionally there was a drama series, ''The Quest'', which featured cameos from many former presenters.

Basil Brush also made several appearances on Fridays. It was at this time that the new controller of BBC One, Nigel Packard, asked for ''Blue Peter'' to be broadcast all year round. This was achieved by having two editions per week instead of three during the summer months, and using pre-recorded material. The early 2000s also introduced Christmas productions, which the presenters took part in. In 2003, Richard Marson became the new editor, and one of his first tasks was changing the outout of ''Blue Peter'' on the digital CBBC Channel, which for the first year of the channel's launch consisted of repeated editions, plus spin-off series ''Blue Peter Unleashed'' and ''Blue Peter Flies the World''. This new arrangement involved a complex schedule of live programmes and pre-recorded material, being broadcast on BBC One and the CBBC Channel. Marson also introduced a new set, graphics and music, In February 2008 the BBC One programme was moved from 5:00 pm to 4:35 pm to accommodate ''The Weakest Link'', and as a result, ''Blue Peter''s ratings dropped to as low as 100,000 viewers in the age 6–12 bracket but are now steadily improving.

Over 4000 editions have been produced since 1958, and almost every episode from 1964 onwards still exists in the BBC archives. This is extremely unusual for programmes of that era, and is a testament to the foresight and initiative of editor Biddy Baxter, as she personally ensured that telerecordings and, from 1970, video copies were kept of the episodes.

Many items from ''Blue Peter'' history have passed into television legend, especially moments when things have gone wrong, such as the much-repeated clip of Lulu the elephant (from a 1969 edition) who defecated on the studio floor, trod on the foot of presenter John Noakes and then proceeded to attempt an exit, dragging her keeper along the ground behind her. Other well-remembered and much-repeated items include the Girl Guides' campfire that got out of hand on the 1970 Christmas edition, John Noakes's report on the cleaning of Nelson's Column, and Simon Groom referring to a previous item on door-knockers with the words 'what a beautiful pair of knockers'.

Writing in the BBC's in-house magazine, ''Ariel'', in 2009, BBC Children's Controller Richard Deverell announced plans to re-invent the show to be more like the BBC's motoring programme ''Top Gear''. Deverell hopes that by adding "danger and excitement", ''Blue Peter'' will achieve the same "playground buzz" among children as ''Top Gear''.

The last edition of ''Blue Peter'' to come out of BBCtv's White City Studios in London, was broadcast on 28 June 2011, before a move to the BBC's new facilities in Salford, Manchester. The new series starts on 8 September 2011, after the usual summer break.

Presenters

Christopher Trace and Leila Williams were the first presenters of ''Blue Peter'' in October 1958, and since then, there have been 33 other presenters. The current presenting team comprises Helen Skelton, and Barney Harwood (who replaced Joel Defries in January 2011). Andy Akinwolere is the latest presenter to leave Blue Peter, his replacement is still yet to be announced.

Other contributors

Other people who have played roles on the show include the zoologist George Cansdale, who was the programme's first on-screen veterinarian, and Percy Thrower who was the show's gardening expert from 21 March 1974 to 23 November 1987 and was presented with a Gold Blue Peter badge shortly before his death in 1988. He was followed from 1988–91 by Chris Crowder and from 1991–2000 by Clare Bradley. The current incumbent, Chris Collins took over in 2004.

Another contributor, though rarely seen on screen, was Margaret Parnell, who created almost all of the show's "makes" from 1963 until her retirement in 2001. Her role is now filled by Gillian Shearing, though Parnell's name still appears in the credits from time to time when a classic "make" is re-used.

Pets

The ''Blue Peter'' pets are the animals who regularly appear on the programme. These include dogs, cats, parrots and tortoises. Among the most recent ''Blue Peter'' Pets are: a dog, a red setter-dachshund called Barney; two cats, one called Socks and one called Cookie; and one tortoise called Shelley. Mabel retired on 30 March 2010 after 14 years on the show. The latest pet to join is 2 year old Barney, a red setter-dachshund, who made his TV debut on Tuesday 22 September 2009. Lucy, a golden retreiver, passed away aged 13 in late March 2011.

Blue Peter Garden

The presenters also maintain the famous ''Blue Peter'' Garden, adjacent to Television Centre, which was designed by Percy Thrower. Its features include an Italian sunken garden with a pond, which contains goldfish, a vegetable patch, greenhouse and viewing platform. The 2000 ''Blue Peter'' time capsule, which is due to be dug up in 2029, is buried there. George the Tortoise was interred in the garden following his death in 2004, and there is also a bust of Petra, sculptures of Mabel and the ''Blue Peter'' ship, and a plaque in honour of Percy Thrower. The garden is also available to other programmes for outside broadcasts, and is often used for the links between children's programmes during the summer months and for BBC One's ''Breakfast'' weather broadcasts.

On 21 November 1983, the garden was vandalised, leading to an on-air appeal for viewers to come forward with information — which now often appears on clip shows. A rumour circulated in the early 1990s that the vandalism had been carried out by a gang including the footballers Dennis Wise and Les Ferdinand when they were teenagers. Both men have denied direct involvement in the actual vandalism, although Ferdinand did later appear to confess to "helping a few people over the wall." Later still, however, Ferdinand claimed that his admission of involvement had merely been a joke, and that he had not been involved at all.

The vandalism incident was referenced in an episode of ''Ashes to Ashes'', series 3 episode 4, where Gene Hunt chased a criminal over a wall and arrested him. Chris Skelton threw a container of oil over the wall which landed in the fish pond.

The BBC is considering selling Television Centre, and will be moving its entire CBBC operations to MediaCityUK at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester. English Heritage have proposed to make the rotunda of BBC Television Centre and the ''Blue Peter'' garden Grade II listed buildings.

Badge

Children (and adults) who appear on the show or achieve something notable may be awarded the coveted ''Blue Peter'' badge. The ''Blue Peter'' badge allows holders free entry into a number of visitor attractions across the UK. In March 2006, this privilege was temporarily suspended after a number of badges were discovered for sale on the auction site eBay. This suspension was lifted in June 2006, when a new "Blue Peter Badge Card" was introduced to combat the problem, which is issued to each badge winner to prove that they are the rightful owners.

The presenters almost always wear their badge; the only exception being when their apparel is incompatible (for example, a life jacket), in which case a sticker with the ship emblem is normally used instead. In addition, large prints or stickers of the ship are attached to vehicles driven by the presenters during filming assignments.

In addition to the standard "blue" badge, several variations of the badge exist, for various achievements, including:

Silver badges, for viewers or participants who have already won a blue badge

Green badges, for contributions with a conservation, nature or environmental theme

Gold badges, the most rarely awarded, for exceptional achievement

Competition winners orange badges, for competition winners (replacing the previous circular "competition winner's badge")

Purple badges, awarded for completing a review of the show by completing the form on the Blue Peter website

50th anniversary badge, awarded for sending a picture, poem or letter on the subject of the programme's 50th birthday

Factbyte factory badge, Awarded to people who complete up to V.I.P. level 7 on the Factbyte factory online game in 2009.

Annual events

The programme also marks annual events, including Chinese New Year, St David's Day, Shrove Tuesday, Mothering Sunday, Guy Fawkes Night and Christmas. The latter, in particular, is a special occasion with a traditional format repeated year on year.

Mothering Sunday

Usually shows the viewers how to make their own Mother's Day card. Sometimes, a similar show will be done around Father's Day.

Guy Fawkes Night

Usually shows the presenters telling viewers about the firework code and tips for a safe bonfire and fireworks night.

Christmas

The traditional Christmas programme opened with the signature tune being replaced with a brass band arrangement of the carol "Good King Wenceslas" juxtaposed with shots of viewers' home-made Christmas cards. The programme's Christmas manger figures are featured, reminding viewers of the Nativity story, a last-minute Christmas make, either a song and dance or filming assignment and the grand finale; the Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band and children from various schools, assisted by members of the BBC Symphony Chorus, marching "up the hill" and into the studio from the cold outside (lanterns in hand!) singing a Christmas carol (alternating years between either "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" or "O! Come All Ye Faithful") around the ''Blue Peter'' Christmas tree. Much of the script has been repeated year after year for this special programme. However, for the 2007 Christmas programme, none of these traditions were featured, ending a format repeated annually since the 1960s. For the 2008 series, some of the items from the traditional format returned with a make, presents for the presenters and pets and a brief look at the programmes nativity crib. Some years there will be a Christmas play, either spoofing hit movies like Grease, popular songs or a Pantomime. In 2010 the Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band and BBC Symphony Chorus returned for the grand finale with "O! Come All Ye Faithful".

Appeals

An enduring feature of the programme is the annual charity appeal, which asks viewers to collect items that can be recycled or sold to raise money for the chosen cause. This is always a charity project in the UK in odd-numbered years, and abroad in even-numbered. The appeal is usually launched in late November and runs through to February or March of the following year. Until 1979, only waste products were ever collected, such as stamps, linens, coins, scrap metal etc. In 1979, one of the most popular forms of raising appeal money was introduced; encouraging viewers to hold "Blue Peter Bring And Buy Sales" at which buyers are also encouraged to bring their own bric-a-brac or produce to sell. The Great Bring And Buy Sale was used every few years or so as a means of adding variety to the collecting theme during other years.

Between 2001 and 2003 a series of "Bring And Buy Appeals" led many viewers and the media to voice their concern that the traditional method of collecting scrap items to recycle was being abandoned in favour of the "easier revenue" generated by the sales. This led to an on-air explanation by presenter Konnie Huq during the 2003 Get Together Appeal that this particular appeal required the sort of funding that only Bring And Buy Sales could raise. The 2004 and 2005 appeals saw a return to the collecting theme: the first being to collect old clothes that Oxfam could sell in its stores to raise funds for a family-searching service in third world countries ravaged by war, and the second being the collection of old mobile telephones and coins that could be recycled to raise money for ChildLine. Continuing the return to collecting unwanted items, ''Blue Peter'' launched its Shoe Biz Appeal campaign in 2006. In partnership with UNICEF, its aim was to collect unwanted pairs of shoes or other footwear in order to raise money for children orphaned by AIDS and HIV in Malawi. The 2007 appeal was the "Disc Drive" – working with Barnardo's to sell unwanted CDs and DVDs.

During appeals, the sum of money or objects collected is presented on the ''totaliser'' – a display that lights to show the amount collected. With some appeals, a second totaliser has often been introduced immediately after the original target has been met, with the aim of providing an incentive to keep on donating.

The 2007 Disc Drive Appeal was, controversially, handled in a different editorial style, and it was not featured in each programme since its launch as in previous years. Also the ''totaliser'', before part of the studio set, was relegated to an on-screen animation/graphic.

The 2008 appeal was called ''Mission Nutrition'', an attempt to provide children in the UK, Bangladesh and South Africa with better food. As part of this appeal, the Blue Peter presenters held the world's biggest bring and buy sale on 18 February 2009, which was attended by several celebrities as well as regular people. Since the 2008 appeal there has been a return to regular features on the Appeal's progress in each edition, and the reistatement of a physical studio set Totaliser.

The 2009 Appeal has been revealed as "Send a Smile Appeal" which is symbolic as being the first Appeal in the history of the programme to blend a collecting theme with the Blue Peter "make" methodology. Children are encouraged to collect unwanted T-shirts to be donated to Operation Smile, a charity providing free reconstructive surgery to children in the developing world, where they will be used as surgical gowns for their operations. Appeal contributors are encouraged to customise their gowns in a variety of creative ways, as well as following instructions given on the programme for how to include eyelets and ties to the backs of the gowns.

As part of the 50th year a BBC estimate was that since the first appeal started ''Blue Peter'' has raised over £100 million (inflation adjusted figure to 2008 value) by appeals.

Book awards

''Blue Peter'' promotes the ''Blue Peter'' Book Awards, a series of literary prizes for children's literature awarded annually, and inaugurated in 2000.

Books

In 1964, the first ''Blue Peter'' book was published. Although an annual in all but name, the books are rarely referred to as such. Each book (published in time for Christmas) features highlights from the previous twelve months of ''Blue Peter'' features, and chronicles major guests who visit the studio, the Summer expedition, the annual appeal, and the pets. The style of the books' contents has changed very little over the years, with the only noticeable difference between a 1960s book and the current formula being the increase in colour photography and digital artwork; otherwise, the principle is the same. There was, in 1986 and 1990, and between 1992 and 1997, a break in the publication of the books. Since Pedigree took over the books in 2004, there has been an increase in quality. The books are now bigger than before, with a greater number of pages. The ''Blue Peter'' editor and members of the production team write the book, and choose its content, though the book is written from the presenters' point of view. As for the 'book or annual' debate, it is interesting to note that, as of Book 34 in 2004, the cover makes reference to it as "Annual XXXX" and the spine marking it as "Book XX". This is probably because ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy'' books were renamed as annuals in 2003, leaving ''Blue Peter'' the only one still using the name book on its annuals.

A collectors' market has developed, with "Book One" being especially rare and commanding triple figures on online auction websites. Books from the late 1960s and 1970s are more common, and often turn up for less than a pound in second hand bookshops or charity stores. Books from the 1980s and 1990s tend to be more expensive and rarer, as people realised the value of keeping hold of them.

In the early 1970s a set of ''Blue Peter'' mini books were produced, covering specific topics that had been featured in the TV series. A set of these were buried in 1971 in the time capsule for the year 2000. The spin-off series ''Blue Peter Special Assignment'' also had books.

Airtime

''Blue Peter'' first aired once a week on Mondays, for a duration of 15 minutes. From 28 September 1964 until 1995 it was shown twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, extending its duration to 25 minutes. Between 1995 and 2000, it was broadcast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday on BBC One, and from 2000, it was aired at 17:00, due to Newsround moving to a later slot. In 2002, repeats of ''Blue Peter'' were shown on the newly-launched CBBC Channel along with spin-off shows ''Blue Peter Unleashed'' and ''Blue Peter Flies the World'', and from 2003 a new arrangement involved new material being shown daily, on both BBC One and the CBBC channel. From 2006 the show's output began to be reduced, first by dropping the Friday edition, then by running the programme from Monday to Wednesday then Tuesday to Thursday. In May 2007, it was announced another day would be dropped, leaving Tuesday and Wednesday the only days on which ''Blue Peter'' was broadcast on BBC One, although repeats and spin-offs continued to be broadcast on the CBBC channel. The BBC claims that the purpose of returning to two shows a week is to increase the quality of the programme's content rather than simply a means of reducing production costs. The schedule was changed again in February 2008 when ''Blue Peter'' was moved to the 4:35 pm slot on BBC One, due to ''The Weakest Link'' moving from BBC Two replacing ''Neighbours'' which was bought by Five. However, this most recent timing change has led to a decrease in viewing figures, with fewer than 100,000 viewers, down from around 335,000 in 2003. The BBC Trust recommended the BBC to produce plans, detailing how they intend to increase viewership, by mid-2009.

Content

''Blue Peter'' content is very wide-ranging. Most programmes are broadcast live, but usually include at least one filmed report. There will also often be a demonstration of an activity in the studio, and/or a music or dance performance. The programme is made at BBC Television Centre, and often came from Studio 1, which is the second largest TV studio in Britain and amongst the largest in Europe. This enabled ''Blue Peter'' to include large-scale demonstrations and performances within the live programme. From the September 2007 series, the programme was broadcast from a small fixed set in Studio 2, However from 2009, the series began to use the larger studios once more. The show is also famous for its "makes", which are demonstrations of how to construct a useful object or prepare food. These have given rise to the oft-used phrase "Here's one I made earlier", as presenters bring out a perfect and completed version of the object they are making — a phrase credited to Christopher Trace. Trace also used the line "And now for something completely different", which was later taken up by ''Monty Python''. Time is also often given over to reading letters and showing pictures sent in by viewers.

Signature tune and motif

The signature tune has always been a hornpipe, originally using variations of ''Barnacle Bill''. The original opening titles showed a Blue Peter flag being lowered on a ship. In 1979 it was updated by Mike Oldfield, and again in the 1990s. From the 2008 series onwards it became a rendition of the similar ''Sailors Hornpipe''. However, from 14 October 2008, the tune has become a blend of both tunes. The programme's motif is a stylised sailing ship designed by Tony Hart. Hart's original design was never successfully used in a totally uniform fashion, with several different reproductions used in studio, on badges, the ''Blue Peter'' books and on-screen graphics. This was until the show's redesign in 1999, when the ship's rigging and hull detail was removed, and in 2000, the flags were subtly reshaped. For the 2008 series there has been a return to the original flag design on the ship, although some of the mast detail on the bow and stern has been removed.

Signature tune

The ''Blue Peter'' opening theme called "Barnacle Bill" from 1958 to 2008 was composed by Ashworth Hope (1880–1962), who was a successful solicitor as well as a composer.

The following is a list of all the musicians who have recorded a version of the ''Blue Peter'' signature tune, "Barnacle Bill" :

Sidney Torch & The New Century Orchestra: October 1958 to January 1979

Mike Oldfield: January 1979 to June 1989 (see "Blue Peter" (Mike Oldfield single))

Simon Brint: September 1989 to September 1992

Simon Brint: September 1992 to September 1994

The Yes/No People: September 1994 to August 1999

David Arnold and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra: September 1999 to June 2004

Nial Brown: September 2004 to December 2006

Murray Gold & Blue Peter Music Makers: Unused except for Incidental music

Dave Cooke: January 2007 to June 2007

Dave Cooke & Blue Peter Music Makers September 2007 to June 2008

Dobs Vye: September 2008

The debut of a new version of the famous theme tune "Barnacle Bill" is accompanied with an introduction by the presenters at the time explaining the reasons behind the new rendition. Mike Oldfield appeared on the programme around 1979, and his version of the theme tune was so popular with viewers that the producers decided to record it for use as a permanent theme.

Despite a new rendition of the theme music being introduced in 2004, a new version was arranged by Murray Gold and recorded in 2006, as part of a viewers' competition, with prize winners taking part in the final orchestral recording. Viewers were told that this new version of the theme would be used when the series returned from its summer break in September 2006; however, for unknown reasons, this was not the case, save for excerpts being used as incidental music. Instead, when the September 2006 series began, a slightly shortened version of the 2004 arrangement was used, with the opening bars removed. Between January and June 2007, Dave Cooke re-arranged the theme tune, although it was confirmed that Murray Gold's new arrangement would be used from the new series in September 2007, to coincide with the programme's 50th anniversary celebrations. However, the version that airs bears little resemblance to either the original Murray Gold/Music Makers recording or any previous recording of the theme.

Nearly as famous as the opening music is the closing theme, called "Drum and Fife" by W. Burns which has been re-arranged in line with the various versions of the opening signature tune. However, during the period 1999–2004, a shorter version of the opening tune was used to close the programme. The editor at the time, Steve Hocking, said that he was happy for the same tune to be used at the beginning and end of each broadcast, but in recent years the traditional finale tune has returned, with Nial Brown rearranging the closing tune from 2004 to 2006, and Dave Cooke doing so as of January 2007. From September 2007 to June 2008 the closing theme was slightly extended and rearranged, once again by Dave Cooke.

For the start of the September 2008 series "Barnacle Bill" was dropped as the signature tune after nearly fifty years of use and replaced by an arrangement of the very similar traditional dance tune "Sailors Hornpipe". On 14 October (the same week as the 50th anniversary) the opening arrangement of the tune was reworked to include elements of "Barnacle Bill" once again. The closing theme for 2008 is the same as opening signature tune.

Opening titles

1958–1989: The earliest episodes featured stock footage of a sailing ship under the opening credits.

By the late 1960s, Blue Peter's opening sequence featured extracts of that edition's filmed inserts or an event in the studio where speech was absent accompanied by the signature tune and superimposed presenter credits. The theme music would either play out in full, or fade out appropriately depending on the programme's content.

1989–1997: From 1989, a 2D animation of the ''Blue Peter'' ship had been developed and used alongside the 1985-introduced word-logo and was used as a method of displaying both the ship and ''Blue Peter'' name to precede any film or episode footage as before. From 1992 a 3D animation was used and further replaced by another graphical sequence in 1994. Once again, these animations preceded any film, studio or episode footage. Occasionally, from the 1994 series onwards, the 3D animation of the ''Blue Peter'' ship would be followed by a preview of certain items on the day's programme with a "coming up" caption and a presenter commentary. Again, the theme music would either play in full or fade out at an appropriate time.

1997–1999: From 1997, a more generic title sequence was used with the 1994 ship and title animation remaining, but was followed by clips of different action shots from a variety of the past years’ filming assignments intermixed with specially filmed "posing" footage of the presenters. The traditional format of episode-specific film or studio setting scenes were still used, occasionally on their own, or mixed into the generic footage to varying degrees depending on the day's edition. The theme music tended to play out in full, and on days when a totally generic version of the titles were used, the opening was often ''followed'' by a "coming up" sequence narrated by the presenters.

1999–2004: By 1999, a new "bubble ship" symbol and titles sequence had been developed to be used alongside the traditional ship emblem. These bubble ships were seen floating around the presenters who were displayed in specially posed shots, and appeared to be floating above a graphical ocean on their own blue coloured ships, and in 2003 when the presenters shots were updated, they appeared to be waving, smiling and blowing the bubble ships. This footage was also mixed in with episode-specific film, introductory studio setting or more predominantly from the 2003 series onwards a preview of many items on the day's programme with a return to a "coming up" caption and presenter commentary.

2004–2006: In 2004, a similar approach was adopted with each presenter posing with "ship's rigging" in their hands, appearing as though they were hoisting the sails of the ''Blue Peter'' ship. This sequence, designed by BBC Broadcast (now Red Bee Media) saw a return to the sole use of the original ''Blue Peter'' ship logo and also featured the ''Blue Peter'' pets in their own poses. Predominantly these titles would precede a “coming up” sequence or occasionally clips of the edition’s filming assignment. The original version used from 2004–2005 opened with the ship logo and featured silhouettes of unidentified children also hoisting sails along with the presenters. This was discarded in 2005 for the last year of the sequence's run and opened with the ship and ''Blue Peter'' name for the first time in six years – allowing more flexibility for when the titles would merge into that day's edition without being completed in full, as in the 1950–1990s era – before flowing into the rest of the titles (minus children) as before.

2006–2008: From September 2006 a new title sequence was introduced, opening with the traditional ''Blue Peter'' ship logo, followed by the presenters surrounded by "fact file boxes" displaying statistics and information about them and also pictures of the pets and snippets of previous assignment films. This also marked the end of the traditional format of the presenter credits being credited in order of seniority (although this is likely to be down to the stylistic dictation of the titles in their "girl boy girl boy" arrangement – the only irregularity being Gethin Jones appearing before Zöe Salmon who debuted on the show five months before him). As in previous years, this new graphical sequence precedes a “coming up” sequence or, alternatively, footage of that edition’s filming assignment. From September 2007 the posed portion of the same opening titles followed a "coming up" clip of that day's programme and used a new theme tune to accompany it.

Following Konnie Huq's departure in January 2008, the order of the opening sequence was rejigged slightly, with a filmed aerial pan of a cliff-face taken from a helicopter, featuring a lighthouse and large-scale impression of the ''Blue Peter'' ship on a grass lawn adjacent to it. The "chopper" sound of the helicopter's propellers imitates the traditional drum roll of the ''Blue Peter'' theme tune. The sequence then merges into a summary of what's coming up on the programme, with a quick cut at the end to the remaining three presenter poses, now having reverted to appearance order, i.e. Zöe > Gethin > Andy, before ending with the 2006–2008 logo board, minus Konnie's silhouette.

2008–2009: The current ''Blue Peter'' titles see a return to the original format without posing presenters. Instead, a fast moving graphical approach is taken where the main colour is light blue. The logo board with the new look word logo appears at the end and graphically 'flows' away to reveal the day's programme. 2008 sees a new word mark for the first time since 1999 and some of the detail has been altered on the ship logo – for example, a return to the original flag design. Small changes have also featured in the studio where the mezzanine wall is now red, the big screen has a new frame and the seating has been re-jigged slightly.

2009–present: In the same style to the 2008 titles however the presenters are now featured in the titles with the coming up bit before the titles begin.

General notes: The opening titles of every programme feature the list of the presenters in order of their first appearance on ''Blue Peter'', regardless of whether they actually appear in the edition in question (since 1995 and the introduction of the fourth presenter it is unusual to have all four presenters in the studio at the same time, save for special programmes). The only time this rule is not adopted is when the programme is a special pre-recorded assignment – for example a visit to a foreign country by two of the presenters, in which case the usual practice is just to credit the presenters appearing. Until 2004, the presenters were always credited by their full names. Since September 2004, the opening titles have only featured their first names, perhaps in a move to make the presenters appear more accessible to the audience.

Closing credits

1958–1992: The ''Blue Peter'' closing credits were put on screen over the final moments of the programme to the sound of the closing theme tune. Alternatively, once the programme had officially ended (i.e. the presenters had said their 'goodbyes') the camera would focus on shots of the pets or aspects of the studio as a calmer backdrop against which to flash up the credits. The sequence would always end with the ''Blue Peter'' ship filling the screen (originally a rather crude flat image, latterly a more graphically interesting incarnation) and BBC copyright blurb. Before 1989 the "Editor" credit (for almost all this period it was Biddy Baxter) would also flash up over the final moments of the programme, but since Lewis Bronze's promotion the editor credit was saved for the final ship frame.

1992–2003: Once again during this period the credits maintained the practice of appearing during the final seconds of the programme's presentation or once the script had finished. The major difference being that the text was now scrolled along the bottom third of the screen from right to left, usually overlaid on a graphical bar themed around the style of the opening titles of the time. The exception to this rule was when the programme was on permanent Outside Broadcast for the whole show. During these occasions the same "theme" of credits would be used – ''i.e.'' same graphics and background etc. but the typeface would almost always change to a completely different font and colour, regardless of the regular typeface used at the time. Also, the credits would flash up on screen one by one, as opposed to scrolling. It is unknown why these anomalies occurred, but it is likely to be related to the reduced technical abilities whilst transmitting a live O.B. The final frame of the credits was always the ''Blue Peter'' ship as displayed in the opening titles of the time and the editor's credit, along with BBC branding.

2004–2007: This period saw a sequence which showed flashed up credits along the bottom third of the screen, whilst a photo of a recent ''Blue Peter'' badge winner, with or without the project that won them their badge, was shown above. One of the presenters' voices was also heard introducing the winner and explaining what they did to win their badge. Occasionally on certain programmes, for example the launch of an appeal, special guests in the studio or when out on location, the credits ran as pre-2004 over the closing moments of the programme with the music fading in. Again, the credits end with the ''Blue Peter'' ship, editor and BBC credit.

2004, 2007–2008: Early in 2004, the producers experimented with flashing up the credits over a background of "on the next ''Blue Peter''" type footage. This was discarded later in 2004 when the new arrangement of signature tune and titles were introduced and a revised format was adopted that remained in use until 2007. September 2007 saw a return to the "coming up next time" sequence of footage, with credits text overlaid on a graphical bar at the bottom section of the screen. The same ship and editor credit is used as the final frame.

2008–present: There are no closing crew credits; instead, the programme ends with a five second caption of ''Blue Peter'' and the ''CBBC'' logo.

General notes: The exceptions to the above are during the Christmas programme, when the credits still scroll from right to left, often with Christmassy themed drawings separating each crew member. Until 2006, and again in 2010, the Christmas programme ends on a view of the children carol singers in the studio in the background, the Nativity scene in the foreground, studio lights dimmed, a star of Bethlehem glowing on the cyclorama and a sparkling silver ''Blue Peter'' ship overlaid on the screen.

When a "make" was featured in the programme, the creator of the item (invariably the retired Margaret Parnell or Gillian Shearing) was credited first (until credits were discontinued in 2008). An example of this would be "''Dolls House make by Margaret Parnell''".

Controversy

Presenters sacked

In October 1998, Richard Bacon became the first presenter to have his contact terminated in mid-run, after he admitted to taking cocaine, following reports in a tabloid newspaper. Lorraine Heggessey, then the Head of BBC Children's programmes, apologised on air.

However, before Bacon, three past presenters left the programme after not getting their contracts renewed, each for differing reasons; these were Leila Williams (in 1962), Christopher Wenner (in 1980) and Michael Sundin (in 1985).

Fake phone competition winner

It was revealed by the BBC that a phone-in competition supporting the UNICEF "Shoe Biz Appeal", held on 27 November 2006, was rigged. The person who appeared to be calling in the competition was actually a ''Blue Peter'' Team Player who was visiting that day. The visitor pretended to be a caller from an outside line who had won the phone-in and the chance to select a prize. The competition was rigged due to a technical error with receiving the calls.

Former editor Biddy Baxter, described as still being influential with the programme today, described the problem as an issue with a member of the production team on the studio floor and the Editor being oblivious to the situation in the studio gallery. She also went on to say that the programme would not feature premium rate telephone competitions in the future.

It was announced on 16 May 2007 that ''Blue Peter'' editor and unofficial historian, Richard Marson, stood down from his job, although any link to the controversy of March 2007 remains in doubt.

In July 2007, ''Blue Peter'' was given a £50,000 fine, by the Office of Communications (OFCOM) as a result of rigging the competition.

Political partiality

In August 2007 while the programme was off air for its annual Summer Expedition, long-time presenter Konnie Huq was involved in a press conference to promote the health benefits of cycling along with Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. The Conservative Party accused the BBC of political bias as a result of one of its employees appearing at what was construed as a pro-Labour Party event. The BBC claimed to have turned down the offer for Huq to appear, but this was unknown to both her and her agent.

On 24 November 1988, Frank Ruse, a left-wing Labour councillor for Liverpool City Council, accompanied Liverpool's Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra to London for an appearance on ''Blue Peter''. He was given a ''Blue Peter'' badge and wore it proudly to his council meetings. However, he received a BBC headed letter requesting for the return of the badge. The letter (which was later discovered to be a forgery) stated that ''Blue Peter'' had been approached by Neil Kinnock's office (Labour leader at the time) who were alarmed that a councillor with hard-left views had been given a ''Blue Peter'' badge. On receiving the ''Blue Peter'' badge from Frank Ruse, the BBC wrote back to him stating that they had sent no such letter (therefore proving it was a hoax) and an angry Mr Ruse started a local and national enquiry to find out who sent the hoax letter.

"Socks"

Blue Peter hit the headlines again with new breaches of trust in September 2007; an online vote on the BBC's ''Blue Peter'' official website took place to choose the name of the new ''Blue Peter'' kitten in January – the reported story was that instead of calling the cat Cookie, the name chosen by a majority of votes, the staff over-ruled the decision and called the kitten Socks due to problems with the voting system, and a large surge in the former name. As a result of bad media coverage the original cat, Socks, was joined by another kitten named Cookie to reflect the decision of those who participated in the online vote. The BBC broadcast an apology on 25 September 2007 at the start of the new series.

Child actors

On 9 November 2007 the BBC admitted that two viewers chosen to meet comedian and actor Jon Culshaw in a competition were in fact child actors. An interview with a BBC spokesman stated:

Blue Peter organised a light-hearted item in which children got to meet Jon Culshaw and ask him questions which he would answer with an impersonation. Of the six children who appeared, four had contacted the programme through the website and two were invited to join them from a drama group. The children were all asked to prepare their own questions. None of the children were paid, the item in question was not a competition and no prizes were offered or awarded. It would have been preferable not to have given viewers the impression that all the children in the item had contacted the programme through the website.

Tributes, honours and awards

In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, ''Blue Peter'' was placed 6th.

In 2008 ''Blue Peter'' was nominated for BAFTA Children's Kids Vote Award.

Asteroid 16197 Bluepeter is named in its honour. The asteroid was discovered on 7 January 2000, the day that the ''Blue Peter'' time capsules from 1971 and 1984 were unearthed.

See also

BBC

CBBC

CBBC Channel

''Go With Noakes''

''Duncan Dares''

Notes

References

External links

''Blue Peter 360 degree TV show

''Heres one we made earlier... 50 Years of Blue Peter'', Exhibition looking at 50 Years of Blue Peter

List of ''Blue Peter'' presenters on BBC website - no longer updated since September 2005.

Category:1958 in British television Category:1958 television series debuts Category:1950s British television series Category:1960s British television series Category:1970s British television series Category:1980s British television series Category:1990s British television series Category:2000s British television series Category:2010s British television series Category:BBC children's television programmes

no:Blue Peter pl:Blue Peter pt:Blue Peter sh:Blue Peter

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Mike Oldfield
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Gordon Oldfield
birth date	May 15, 1953
birth place	Reading, Berkshire, England
instrument	Guitar, keyboards, Percussion, vocals, Bass guitar, drums, piano, organ, glockenspiel, mandolin, banjo, tubular bells, Chapman stick
genre	Ambient, Celtic fusion, classical, Synthpop, experimental, minimalist, Honky-Tonk, Neoclassical, new age, Neofolk, pop, progressive rock, rock and roll, world
occupation	Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Game designer
years active	1967–present
label	Virgin (1972–1991)Warner Bros. (1992–2003)Mercury (2005–present)
associated acts	Maggie Reilly, Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, David Bedford, Anita Hegerland, Pekka Pohjola
website	www.mikeoldfieldofficial.com }}

Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953, Reading, Berkshire) is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature. He is best known for his hit 1973 album ''Tubular Bells'', which launched Virgin Records, and for his 1983 hit single "Moonlight Shadow". He is also well known for his hit rendition of the Christmas piece, "In Dulci Jubilo".

Biography

Oldfield's parents are Raymond Oldfield, a general practitioner, and his wife Maureen Liston, a nurse. His sister Sally and brother Terry are successful musicians in their own right and have appeared on several of his albums. Mike Oldfield was born in the Battle Hospital, Reading, Berkshire, and he attended St Joseph's Convent School, Highlands Junior School in Tilehurst, St Edward's Preparatory School, and Presentation College in Reading. When he was 13 he moved with his parents to Harold Wood in northeast London, where he attended Hornchurch Grammar School. He only stayed there long enough to take one GCE examination, in English, as he had already begun his music career.

Early career

Oldfield's career began fairly early, playing acoustic guitar in local folk clubs. At this time, he already had two fifteen-minute instrumental pieces in which he would "go through all sorts of moods", a precursor to his landmark 1970s compositions. In his early teens, Oldfield was involved in a 'beat group' playing Shadows-style music (he has often cited Hank Marvin as a major influence, and would later cover The Shadows' song "Wonderful Land"). In 1967 he and his sister Sally formed the folk duo The Sallyangie and were signed to Transatlantic Records after exposure in the local folk scene. An album, ''Children of the Sun'', was issued in 1968. After Sallyangie disbanded, he formed another duo with his brother Terry, called Barefoot, which took him back to rock music.

In 1970 he joined The Whole World - backing group to vocalist Kevin Ayers, formerly of the Soft Machine - playing bass guitar and occasionally lead guitar. The band also included keyboardist and composer David Bedford, who quickly befriended Oldfield, and encouraged him in his composition of an early version of ''Tubular Bells''. Bedford would later arrange and conduct an orchestral version of that album. Oldfield is featured on two Ayers albums, ''Whatevershebringswesing'' and ''Shooting at the Moon''.

Having recorded a demo version of ''Tubular Bells'', Oldfield attempted to persuade record labels to take the project on. In 1972 he met the young Richard Branson who was setting up his own record label, Virgin Records, and after playing the demo to engineers Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth, he began recording the 1973 version of the album.

Virgin years (1973–1991)

''Tubular Bells'' became Oldfield's most famous work. The instrumental composition was recorded in 1972 and launched on 25 May 1973 as the inaugural album of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label. The album was groundbreaking, as Oldfield played more than twenty different instruments in the multi-layered recording made in Branson's Manor studios, and its style moved through many diverse musical genres. Its 2,630,000 UK sales put it at No.34 on the list of the best selling albums in the UK. In the US, it received attention with the opening theme appearing in the soundtrack to ''The Exorcist''. The title track subsequently became a Top 10 hit single in the US as well and is today considered to be a forerunner of the New Age movement. In 1974, Oldfield played guitar on the critically acclaimed album ''Rock Bottom'' by Robert Wyatt. In the autumn of 1974, the follow-up LP, ''Hergest Ridge'', was No.1 in the UK for three weeks before being dethroned by ''Tubular Bells''. Although ''Hergest Ridge'' was released over a year after ''Tubular Bells'', it reached No.1 first. ''Tubular Bells'' spent 11 weeks (10 of them consecutive) at No.2 before its one week at the top. In 1979, Oldfield's music was used as the musical score for ''The Space Movie'', a Virgin movie that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

Like ''Tubular Bells'', ''Hergest Ridge'' is a two-movement instrumental piece, this time evoking scenes from Oldfield's Herefordshire country retreat. It was followed in 1975 by the pioneering world music piece ''Ommadawn'', and 1978's ''Incantations'' which introduced more diverse choral performances from Sally Oldfield, Maddy Prior, and the Queen's College Girls Choir. In 1975 Oldfield recorded a version of the Christmas piece "In Dulci Jubilo" which charted at number four in the UK. Oldfield's 1976 rendition of "Portsmouth" remains his highest charting single on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number three.

In 1976 Oldfield and his sister Sally joined his friend and band member Pekka Pohjola to play on his album ''Mathematician's Air Display'', which was released in 1977. The album was recorded and edited at Oldfield's Througham Slad Manor in Gloucestershire by Oldfield and Paul Lindsay.

Around the time of ''Incantations'', Oldfield underwent a controversial self-assertiveness therapy course known as Exegesis. Possibly as a result, the formerly reclusive musician staged a major European tour to promote the album, chronicled in his live album ''Exposed'', much of which was recorded at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham, the first-ever concert there.

In 1975, Oldfield received a Grammy award for Best Instrumental Composition in "Tubular Bells – Theme from ''The Exorcist''". In 1979, he recorded a version of the signature tune of the popular British Children's Television programme, ''Blue Peter'', which was used by the show for 10 years.

The early 1980s saw Oldfield make a transition to mainstream pop music, beginning with the inclusion of shorter instrumental tracks and contemporary cover versions on ''Platinum'' and ''QE2'' (the latter named after the ocean liner). Soon afterwards he turned to songwriting, with a string of collaborations featuring various lead vocalists alongside his characteristic searing guitar solos. The best known of these is "Moonlight Shadow", his 1983 hit with Maggie Reilly. The most successful Oldfield composition on the US pop charts during this period was actually a cover version — Hall & Oates's remake of Oldfield's "Family Man" for their 1982 album ''H₂O''. Released as the album's third single, it hit the Top 10 during the spring of 1983 and was a hugely popular MTV music video.

Oldfield later turned to film and video, writing the score for Roland Joffé's acclaimed film ''The Killing Fields'' and producing substantial video footage for his album ''Islands''. ''Islands'' continued what Oldfield had been doing on the past couple of albums, with an instrumental piece on one side and rock/pop singles on the other. Of these, "Islands", sung by Bonnie Tyler and "Magic Touch", with vocals by Max Bacon (in the U.S. version) and Glasgow vocalist Southside Jimmy (in other versions), were the major hits. In the U.S., the Virgin America airline promoted the song "Magic Touch" to a large extent, making it a success, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard album rock charts. During the 1980s, Oldfield's then-wife, Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland, contributed vocals to many songs including "Pictures in the Dark".

''Earth Moving'' was released in July 1989, and was a moderate success. The album was the first to exclusively feature rock/pop songs, several of which were released: "Innocent" and "Holy" in Europe, and "Hostage" in the USA for album rock stations. This was, however, a time of much friction with his record label. Virgin Records reportedly insisted that any future instrumental album should be billed as ''Tubular Bells 2''. Oldfield's rebellious response was ''Amarok'', an hour-long work featuring rapidly changing themes (supposedly devised to make cutting a single from the album impossible), unpredictable bursts of noise, and a very cleverly hidden Morse code insult directed at Richard Branson. Although regarded by many fans as his greatest work, it was not a commercial success. His parting shot from the Virgin label was ''Heaven's Open'', which continued the veiled attacks on Branson but was notable for being the first time Oldfield had contributed all the lead vocals himself. It was the only album he released under the name 'Michael Oldfield'.

Warner years (1992–2003)

The very first thing Oldfield did when arriving at his new label, Warner Bros., was to write and release ''Tubular Bells II'', the sequel to his first record on Virgin, as his final insult to his former label. It was premiered at a live concert at Edinburgh Castle. He then continued to embrace new musical styles, with ''The Songs of Distant Earth'' (based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name) exhibiting a softer "New Age" sound. In 1994 he also had an asteroid named after him, 5656 Oldfield.

In 1995 Oldfield further continued to embrace new musical styles by producing a Celtic-themed album, ''Voyager''. In 1992 Oldfield met Luar na Lubre, a Galician Celtic-folk band (from A Coruña, Spain). The band's popularity grew after Oldfield covered their song "O son do ar" ("The sound of the air") on his ''Voyager'' album.

In 1998 he produced the third ''Tubular Bells'' album (also premiered at a concert, this time in Horse Guards Parade, London), drawing from the dance music scene at his then new home on the island of Ibiza. This album was still inspired by themes from ''Tubular Bells'', but differed in lacking a clear two-part layout.

During 1999 Oldfield released two albums. The first, ''Guitars'', used guitars as the source for all the sounds on the album, including percussion. The second, ''The Millennium Bell'', consisted of pastiches of a number of styles of music that represented various historical periods over the past millennium. The work was performed live in Berlin for the city's millennium celebrations in 1999–2000.

He added to his repertoire the MusicVR project, combining his music with a virtual reality-based computer game. His first work on this project is ''Tr3s Lunas'' launched in 2002, a virtual game where the player can interact with a world full of new music. This project appeared as a double CD, one with the music, and the other with the game.

In 2003 he released ''Tubular Bells 2003'', a re-recording of the original ''Tubular Bells'', on CD, and DVD-Audio. This was done to "fix" many "imperfections" in the original due to the recording technologies of the early 1970s and limitations in time that he could spend in the recording studio. It celebrated the 30th anniversary of ''Tubular Bells'', Oldfield's 50th birthday and his marriage to Fanny in the same year. At around the same time Virgin released an SACD version containing both the original stereo album and the 1975 quadraphonic mix by Phil Newell. In the 2003 version, the original voice of the 'Master of Ceremonies' (Viv Stanshall) was replaced by the voice of John Cleese, Stanshall having died in the interim.

Mercury years (since 2004)

On 12 April 2004 Oldfield launched his next virtual reality project, ''Maestro'', which contains music from the ''Tubular Bells 2003'' album and also some new chillout melodies. The games have since been made available free of charge on Tubular.net. A double album, ''Light + Shade'', was released on Mercury Records in 2005, with whom Mike had recently signed a three-album deal. The two discs contain music of contrasting moods, one relaxed (''Light'') and the other more edgy and moody (''Shade''). Oldfield headlined the German Night of the Proms tour, consisting of 18 concerts in December 2006.

His autobiography ''Changeling'' was published in May 2007 by Virgin Books. In March 2008 Oldfield released his first classical album, ''Music of the Spheres''; Karl Jenkins assisted with the orchestration. In the first week of release the album topped the UK Classical chart and reached number 9 on the main UK Album Chart. A single, "Spheres", featuring a demo version of pieces from the album was released digitally. The album was nominated for a Classical Brit Award, the NS&I; Best Album of 2009.

In 2008 Oldfield contributed an exclusive song ("Song for Survival") to a charity album called ''Songs for Survival'', in support of the Survival International. Oldfield's daughter, Molly, played a large part in the project.

In 2008 when Oldfield's original 35-year deal with Virgin Records ended, the rights to ''Tubular Bells'' and his other Virgin releases were returned to him, and then they were transferred to Mercury Records. Mercury issued a press release on 15 April 2009, noting that Oldfield's Virgin albums would be re-released, starting 8 June 2009. These releases include special features from the archives. On 6 June 2009, an International Bell Ringing day took place, to promote the reissue of his first album, ''Tubular Bells''. The next two albums were reissued in June 2010 along with the launch of a new official web site. ''Incantations'' was reissued in July 2011.

In March 2010 ''Music Week'' reported that publishing company Stage Three Music (now a part of BMG) had acquired a 50% stake in the songs of Oldfield's entire recorded output in a seven-figure deal. In 2010 lyricist Don Black said in an interview with ''Music Week'' that he had been working with Oldfield. In early 2011 Mike Oldfield was in a studio with German producer Torsten Stenzel, collaborating on a chill-out track for a forthcoming album by Torsten Stenzel's York project.

Personal life

Oldfield and his siblings were raised Roman Catholic, the faith of their Irish mother. In the late 1970s, Oldfield briefly married Diana D'Aubigny (the sister of the Exegesis group leader), but this lasted just a few weeks.

Mike Oldfield has seven children. In the early 1980s, he had three children with Sally Cooper (Molly, Dougal and Luke). In the late 1980s, he had two children (Greta and Noah) with Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland. In the 2000s, he married Fanny Vandekerckhove (born 1977), whom he met during his time in Ibiza; they have two sons together (Jake and Eugene).

Oldfield is a motorcycle fan and has five bikes. These include a BMW R1200GS, a Suzuki GSX-R750, a Suzuki GSX-R1000, and a Yamaha R1. He also says that some of his inspiration for composing comes from riding them. Throughout his life Oldfield has also had a passion for aircraft and building model aircraft. Since 1980 he has also been a licensed pilot and has flown fixed wing aircraft, the first of which was a Beechcraft Sierra and helicopters including the Agusta Bell 47G which featured on the sleeve of his cover version of the ABBA song "Arrival" as a parody of their album artwork. He is also interested in cars and has owned a Ferrari and a Bentley which was a gift from Richard Branson as an incentive for him to give his first live performance of ''Tubular Bells''. He has endorsed the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the Mercedes UK magazine. Oldfield also considers himself to be a Trekkie (fan of the popular science fiction television series ''Star Trek''). He also noted in an interview in 2008 that he had two boats.

In November 2006, musician Noel Gallagher won a Spanish court case against Oldfield. Gallagher had bought an Ibiza villa for £2.5 million from Oldfield in 1999, but quickly discovered that part of the cliff-top property was falling into the sea. According to ''The Sun'', the resulting court case awarded Gallagher a six-figure sum in compensation. Suspicion abounds in the music industry that the law-suit was initiated because of embarrassment that Gallagher brought on himself by not having a proper survey done on the property before buying it. This included making an immediate and noisy complaint about someone's yacht tied up at the villa's jetty before it was pointed out that the yacht came with the villa and was, in fact, his.

In 2007 Oldfield caused a minor stir in the British press by criticizing Britain for being too controlling and protective, specifically concentrating on the smoking ban which England and Wales had introduced that year. Oldfield then moved from his Gloucestershire home to Palma de Mallorca, Spain. He has lived outside the UK in the past, including living in Los Angeles and Ibiza in the 1990s, and Switzerland in the mid-1980s, for tax reasons. He also currently has a home in Monaco. In 2009 he decided to move to the Bahamas, and put his home in Mallorca up for sale; the asking price was around €3.5 million, but has since been lowered, and as of August 2011 is still listed as available for sale by a major international real estate agency.

Instruments

Oldfield is a multi-instrumentalist; however he considers himself to be predominantly a guitarist.

Guitars

Over the years Oldfield has used a various selection of guitars, some of the most noted being:

A 1963 (also quoted as 1961 and 1962) salmon pink (fiesta red) Fender Stratocaster serial no.L08044 – used by Oldfield from 1984 (''Discovery'' album) until 2006 (Night of the Proms, rehearsals in Antwerp) – Sold for £30,000 at Chandler Guitars.

A 1989 amber PRS Artist Custom 24 – used by Oldfield from the late 1980s to the present day.

A 1966 blonde Fender Telecaster serial no. 180728 – the only electric guitar used on ''Tubular Bells'' and also previously owned by Marc Bolan – went up for auction at Bonhams in June 2007, with the money going to the SANE charity.

Various Gibson Les Paul and SGs – used by Oldfield extensively in the 1970s and 80s.

Oldfield used a modified Roland GP8 effects processor in conjunction with his PRS Artist to get many of his heavily overdriven guitar sounds from the ''Earth Moving'' album onwards. Oldfield has also been using Guitar synthesizers since the mid-1980s, using a 1980s Roland GR-300/G-808 type system, then a 1990s Roland GK2 equipped red PRS Custom 24 (sold in 2006) with a Roland VG8, and most recently a Line 6 Variax.

Oldfield has an unusual playing style, using both fingers and fingernails and several ways of creating vibrato: a "very fast side-to-side vibrato" or "violinist's vibrato". Oldfield has also stated that his playing style originates from his musical roots playing folk music and the bass guitar.

Recording

Oldfield has self-recorded and produced many of his albums, and played the majority of the instruments that feature on them, largely at his home studios. In the 1990s and 2000s he has been mainly using DAWs such as Apple Logic, Avid Pro Tools and Steinberg Nuendo as recording suites. For composing classical music Oldfield has been quoted as using the software notation program, Sibelius, combined with Apple Macintoshes. He also used the FL Studio DAW on his 2005 double album ''Light + Shade''. Among the mixing consoles Oldfield has owned are an AMS Neve Capricorn 33238, a Harrison Series X, and a Euphonix System 5-MC.

Keyboards

Over the years Oldfield has owned and used a vast number of synthesizers and other keyboard instruments. In the 1980s he composed the score for the film ''The Killing Fields'' on a Fairlight CMI. Some examples of keyboard and synthesized instruments which Oldfield has made use of includes Sequential Circuits Prophets (notably on ''Platinum''), Roland JV-1080/JV-2080 units (in the 1990s), a Korg M1 (as seen in the "Innocent" video), a Clavia Nord Lead, and Steinway pianos among an almost endless list of others. In recent years Oldfield has also made use of software synthesis, such as Native Instruments products, notably on his ''Light + Shade'' album.

Discography

Oldfield has had more than 30 charting albums and 25 charting singles on the British charts, and many more around the world.

Main albums

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''Tubular Bells'' (1973)

''Hergest Ridge'' (1974)

''The Orchestral Tubular Bells'' (1975)

''Ommadawn'' (1975)

''Incantations'' (1978)

''Exposed'' (1979)

''Platinum'' (1979)

''QE2'' (1980)

''Five Miles Out'' (1982)

''Crises'' (1983)

''Discovery'' (1984)

''The Killing Fields'' (1984)

''Islands'' (1987)

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''Earth Moving'' (1989)

''Amarok'' (1990)

''Heaven's Open'' (1991)

''Tubular Bells II'' (1992)

''The Songs of Distant Earth'' (1994)

''Voyager'' (1996)

''Tubular Bells III'' (1998)

''Guitars'' (1999)

''The Millennium Bell'' (1999)

''Tr3s Lunas'' (2002)

''Tubular Bells 2003'' (2003)

''Light + Shade'' (2005)

''Music of the Spheres'' (2008)

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Quotation

''NME'' - April 1979

See also

Sally Oldfield

Terry Oldfield

Kevin Ayers

Maggie Reilly

Rick Fenn

Maddy Prior

Anita Hegerland

New Age music

Electronic music

Virgin Records

Bibliography

References

External links

; Official sites MikeOldfieldOfficial.com – The official Mike Oldfield website

* Mike Oldfield official Universal store

MikeOldfield.org – The official Mike Oldfield information service

; Fan-based sites

Tubular.net – The largest and most well-established Mike Oldfield website, for news and information.

; Other sites

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:English songwriters Category:English guitarists Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English buskers Category:English New Age musicians Category:English composers Category:British people of Irish descent Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:English Roman Catholics Category:Warner Bros. Records artists Category:FL Studio users Category:People educated at Presentation College, Reading Category:People educated at The Highlands School, Reading

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Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Miley Cyrus
background	solo_singer
full name	Miley Ray Cyrus
birth name	Destiny Hope Cyrus
birth date	November 23, 1992
birth place
genre	Pop, pop rock, country pop, dance
occupation	Actress, author, entrepreneur, fashion designer, singer-songwriter, musician, dancer
instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano
years active	2001–present
label	Walt Disney, Hollywood
associated acts	Hannah Montana, Disney's Friends for Change, Billy Ray Cyrus
url	100pxSignature of Miley Cyrus.
notable instruments	}}

Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom ''Hannah Montana''. Cyrus recorded music for the soundtracks, ''Hannah Montana'' (2006) and ''Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus'' (2007), released by Walt Disney Records. With the success of the ''Hannah Montana'' franchise she established herself as a teen idol. In 2007, Cyrus signed to Hollywood Records to pursue a solo career. She embarked upon the Best of Both Worlds Tour the same year, in which she performed as both herself and in character as Hannah Montana. The tour was eventually turned into a high-grossing concert film entitled ''Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert'' (2008). In July 2008, Cyrus released her first solo album, ''Breakout'' (2008), which was commercially successful.

She began her foray into film by providing the voice of "Penny" in the animated film ''Bolt'' (2008). Cyrus earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for her performance of ''Bolt''s theme song, "I Thought I Lost You". She also reprised her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' (2009). The ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' soundtrack introduced her to new audiences within country and adult contemporary markets.

She began to cultivate an adult image in 2009 with the release of ''The Time of Our Lives'' (2009), an extended play which presented a more mainstream pop sound, and by filming ''The Last Song'' (2010), a coming-of-age drama film. The former included Cyrus's best-selling single, "Party in the U.S.A." (2009). A studio album titled ''Can't Be Tamed'' was released in 2010 and presents a new dance-pop sound. The music video and lyrics of the album's lead single, "Can't Be Tamed", portrays a more sexualized image for the entertainer. Cyrus ranked number thirteen on ''Forbes'' 2010 Celebrity 100. In April 2011, Cyrus was named the 64th hottest woman in the world on ''Maxim'''s Hot 100. In May 2011, Cyrus was also named the 89th sexiest woman in the world on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the world.

Early life

Cyrus was born on November 23, 1992 in Nashville, Tennessee to Letitia Jean "Tish" (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Her parents named her Destiny Hope because they believed that she would accomplish great things with her life. They gave her the nickname "Smiley", which was later shortened to "Miley", because she smiled so often as a baby. Cyrus suffers from a mild heart condition causing tachycardia which, though not dangerous, is often bothersome.

Against the wishes of her father's record company, Cyrus's parents secretly married a year after Cyrus's birth on December 28, 1993. Tish had two children from a previous relationship: Trace and Brandi. Billy Ray adopted Trace and Brandi when they were young. She has a half-brother, Christopher Cody, Billy Ray's son from a brief relationship, born the same year as Miley; he grew up with his mother in South Carolina. Tish and Billy Ray had two more children, Braison and Noah. Cyrus's godmother is entertainer Dolly Parton. Cyrus was very close to her paternal grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus. Cyrus has paid her grandfather several tributes since his death in 2006, including eventually changing her middle name to "Ray". According to Cyrus's father, "A lot of people say Miley changed her name to Miley Ray because of Billy Ray, but that's not true. She did that in honor of my dad, because the two of them just loved each other to pieces."

Cyrus grew up on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee, approximately an hour away from Nashville, and attended Heritage Elementary School. She was raised Christian and was baptized in a Southern Baptist church prior to moving to Hollywood in 2005. She attended church regularly while growing up and wore a purity ring. Several of Cyrus's siblings also eventually entered the entertainment business: Trace became a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic pop band Metro Station, Noah became an actress, and Brandi became a guitarist.

Career

2001–05: Career beginnings

In 2001, when Cyrus was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada while her father filmed the television series ''Doc''. Cyrus said watching her father film the show inspired her to pursue acting. After Billy Ray took her to see a 2001 Mirvish production of ''Mamma Mia!'' at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Cyrus grabbed his arm and told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress." She began taking singing and acting classes at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto. In her first role, Cyrus played a girl named Kylie on ''Doc''. In 2003, Cyrus was credited under her birth name for her role as "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's ''Big Fish''.

At age 11, Cyrus learned about the casting for what became ''Hannah Montana'', a Disney Channel children's television series about a school girl with a secret double life as a teen pop star. Cyrus sent in a tape auditioning for the show's best friend role, but received a call asking her to audition for the lead, "Chloe Stewart". After sending in a new tape and flying to Hollywood for further auditions, Cyrus was told that she was too young and too small for the part. However, her persistence and ability to sing in addition to act led the show's producers to invite her back for further auditions. Cyrus eventually received the lead, renamed "Miley Stewart" after herself, at the age of twelve. During this time, she also auditioned with Taylor Lautner for the feature film ''The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D'' and it came down to her and another actress, but Cyrus started doing ''Hannah Montana'' instead.

As Cyrus's career took off, Tish Cyrus made several critical decisions regarding her daughter's representation. She signed Cyrus with Mitchell Gossett, director of the youth division at Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty. Gossett, who specializes in creating child stars, had arranged for Cyrus's auditions for Hannah Montana and is credited with "discovering" her. For Cyrus's music career, Tish followed the advice of Dolly Parton, Cyrus's godmother and a singer herself, and signed Cyrus with Jason Morey of Morey Management Group. "Dolly said the Moreys are people you can trust around your daughter," Tish Cyrus recalls, "and she said they have good morals, which is not always the case in this business." According to trade magazine ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Parton's advice was "the best advice [Tish] could [have gotten] on who should rep her daughter." Tish also recruited Billy Ray's business manager to manage her daughter's finances. Tish herself continues to co-manage or produce many of Cyrus's career decisions. For her education, Cyrus enrolled at Options for Youth Charter Schools and studied with a private tutor on the set of her television show.

2006–07: ''Hannah Montana'' and ''Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus''

''Hannah Montana'' became an instant hit and propelled Cyrus to teen idol status, according to ''The Daily Telegraph''. The series premiered on March 26, 2006 to the largest audience ever for a Disney Channel show and soon became one of the highest-rated series on basic cable, elevating Cyrus's wealth and fame along with it. ''Time'' magazine reports that Cyrus's "phenom[enal]" success is due partially to her talent and partially to "Disney learning to use its vast, multimedia holdings" and market Cyrus and ''Hannah Montana'' appropriately. Cyrus eventually became the first artist to have deals in television, film, consumer products, and music within The Walt Disney Company.

Cyrus's first single was "The Best of Both Worlds", the theme song to ''Hannah Montana'', which was released on March 28, 2006. "The Best of Both Worlds" is credited to "Hannah Montana", the pop star Cyrus portrays on the series by the same name. As with other songs credited to Montana, Cyrus typically dressed as the character when performing the song live. Cyrus's first release under her own name was a cover of James Baskett's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", released on April 4, 2006 on the fourth edition of ''DisneyMania''. Dressed as Hannah Montana, Cyrus opened for The Cheetah Girls on twenty dates of their The Party's Just Begun Tour, beginning on September 15, 2006. On October 24 of same year, Walt Disney Records released the first ''Hannah Montana'' soundtrack. Of the nine tracks on the soundtrack performed by Cyrus, eight were credited to "Hannah Montana" and one, a duet with her father titled "I Learned from You", was credited to Cyrus as herself. The album peaked at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

The second season of ''Hannah Montana'' premiered on April 23, 2007, and ran until October 12, 2008. Cyrus signed a four-album deal with Disney-owned Hollywood Records and, on June 26, 2007, released a double-disc album. The first disc was the soundtrack to the second season of ''Hannah Montana'', while the second, titled ''Meet Miley Cyrus'', was Cyrus's debut album credited to her own name. The double-disc album peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was later certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). ''Meet Miley Cyrus'' generated "See You Again", Cyrus's first single to be released under her own name and her first top ten hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In Fall 2007, Cyrus launched her first tour, the Best of Both Worlds Tour, to promote ''Meet Miley Cyrus'' and the ''Hannah Montana'' soundtracks. With the Jonas Brothers, Aly & AJ, and Everlife as her opening acts, Cyrus toured from October 17, 2007 to January 31, 2008 with stops in the U.S. and Canada. Tickets sold out in minutes and were scalped for up to $2,500 and an average of $214, well above their $26–$65 face value. A Ticketmaster official commented, "Hell hath no fury like the parent of a child throwing a tantrum. People who have been in this business for a long time are watching what's happening, and they say there hasn't been a demand of this level or intensity since The Beatles or Elvis."

2008–09: ''Breakout'', transitions and film career launch

After the end of the ''Best of Both Worlds Tour'' in January 2008, Walt Disney Pictures released ''Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert'', a 3D concert film of the tour, on February 1, 2008 for what was expected to be a one-week run. The film earned over $31 million at the box-office and an average of $42,000 per theater, twice the expected total, convincing Disney executives to extend the release for an indefinite run. "We don't want to turn away kids from the theaters who couldn't get into the concerts," said Chuck Viane, Disney's chief of distribution. The film's soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records/Hollywood Records on March 11, 2008 and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.

On July 22, 2008, Cyrus released her second studio album under her own name, entitled ''Breakout''. Cyrus said ''Breakout'' was inspired by "what's been going on in my life in the past year." Cyrus co-wrote eight out of twelve songs on the album. "Songwriting is what I really want to do with my life forever, [...] I just hope this record showcases that, more than anything, I'm a writer." The album debuted at #1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart and its lead single, "7 Things", peaked at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. She hosted the 2008 CMT Music Awards with her father in April and the 2008 Teen Choice Awards by herself in August. Cyrus provided the voice of Penny in the 2008 computer-animated film ''Bolt'', which was released on November 21, 2008 to critical acclaim. Cyrus also co-wrote and recorded the song "I Thought I Lost You" as a duet with John Travolta for the film, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In September 2009, she participated in the charity single "Just Stand Up!" in support of the anti-cancer campaign ''Stand Up to Cancer'' and in the City of Hope Benefit Concert in support of cancer research and training programs. She also became involved in Disney's Friends for Change, an environmentalist group, for which she recorded the charity single "Send It On" along with several other Disney Channel stars.

Cyrus had already begun transitioning to a more grown-up image in late 2008, when her representatives negotiated a deal for novelist Nicholas Sparks to write the screenplay and novel basis for a film that would serve as a star vehicle for Cyrus by introducing her to audiences older than the young fans she had gained through ''Hannah Montana''. Sparks and co-writer Jeff Van Wie developed ''The Last Song''. It was important to Cyrus that she not be type cast as a singer: "I didn't want to be a singer in another film. I don't want to do that anymore. You have no idea how many musicals show up on my door. I want to do something a little more serious." In March 2009, Cyrus published ''Miles to Go'', a memoir co-written by Hilary Liftin chronicling her life through age sixteen. Cyrus starred as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'', released April 10, 2009. Both the film and its soundtrack, which contained twelve songs performed by Cyrus, achieved commercial success. The soundtrack's lead single, "The Climb", became a Top 40 hit in twelve countries and introduced Cyrus to listeners outside her typical teen pop audience. Cyrus had considered ending ''Hannah Montana'' after its third season, which finished production on June 5, 2009, but Disney retained and exercised its option for a fourth season.

Production on ''The Last Song'' lasted from June 15, 2009 to August 18, 2009. In between, Cyrus launched the third ''Hannah Montana'' soundtrack, recorded the extended play ''The Time of Our Lives'', and released the EP's lead single, "Party in the U.S.A." Cyrus said ''The Time of Our Lives'' "is a transitioning album. [...] really to introduce people to what I want my next record to sound like and with time I will be able to do that a little more." "Party in the U.S.A." debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for her best-ever ranking on the chart. ''The Time of Our Lives'' was released in conjunction with a clothing line co-designed by Cyrus and Max Azria for Walmart.

From September 14, 2009 to December 29, 2010, Cyrus toured on her Wonder World Tour to promote ''Breakout'' and ''The Time of Our Lives''. On December 7, 2009, Cyrus performed for Queen Elizabeth II and numerous other members of the British Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, North West England.

2010–present: ''Can't Be Tamed'', focus on film career and fourth studio album

Production on the fourth and final season of ''Hannah Montana'' began on January 18, 2010. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Cyrus appeared on the charity singles "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" and "Everybody Hurts". Her third studio album, ''Can't Be Tamed'', was released on June 21, 2010. The album's first single is the title track, "Can't Be Tamed". The single was released for sale on May 18, 2010 and entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number eight. Cyrus's costumes and dances while promoting ''Can't Be Tamed'' were also considerably more provocative than previous performances, arousing media criticism. After releasing the album, Cyrus intends to take a break from the music industry in order to focus on her film career. She commented, "I've not taken, like, acting lessons or anything, but it doesn't mean I don't need to because I'm sure I do [...] I'm probably going to go book an acting coach." Cyrus has also decided to opt out of college for the same reason, saying "I'm a firm believer that you can go back at any age you want, because my Grandma went back to college at 62 [...] For right now, I really want to focus on my career. I've worked hard to get to where I am now, and I want to enjoy it while it lasts."

Cyrus starred in ''The Last Song'', which was released on March 31, 2010, and received generally poor reviews, as did Cyrus's performance. Nonetheless, the film was commercially successful, grossing more than $88 million at the worldwide box office. According to box-office analyst Exhibitor Relations, the film marked "a successful transition to adult roles for Miley Cyrus." The fourth and final season of ''Hannah Montana'' began airing on Disney Channel on July 11, 2010 and was ended on January 16, 2011. Cyrus filmed two more films, ''LOL: Laughing Out Loud'' and ''So Undercover'' in 2010. In ''LOL'', a remake of a 2008 French teen comedy, Cyrus plays "a daughter who is involved with all the wrong kids, doing drugs, failing school, but [...whose] mother has her on this perfect pedestal" and says "[She] just fell in love with the story." Miley's character loses her virginity, smokes cannabis, gets wasted and kisses two girlfriends on the lips. She will also star in ''So Undercover'', an action comedy film. Cyrus will play the part of "a tough, street-smart private eye hired by the FBI to go undercover in a college sorority." She learned street fighting for the role.

Despite her earlier announcement that she'd be focusing more on acting in the future, in February 2011, Cyrus confirmed she had no films lineup and was going to go on tour. On April 29, 2011, Cyrus embarked on her international Gypsy Heart Tour in South America and ended the tour on July 2, 2011 in Australia. Cyrus hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on March 5, 2011, where she performed in several sketches. She also sang a brief song about her several controversies, such as the bong incident, the photo of her friend and she eating a Twizzler, and the "pole dance" on a hotel pole at the Teen Choice Awards, stating "I'm sorry that I'm not perfect." In March 2011, father Billy Ray Cyrus confirmed on talk show, ''The View'', that Miley had been in talks with producer Dr. Luke on a new album. In July 2011, it was announced that she would record her fourth studio album and she has no plans to sign onto any other film projects. However, it was reported on August 2, 2011 by Contact Music that Cyrus has signed on to star in a comedy in which she plays a woman who broke a promise to God.

Earnings

In 2008, Cyrus earned $25 million, up from her earnings of $18 million in 2007, and was ranked number 35 on ''Forbes'' magazine's "Celebrity 100" list. ''Parade'' magazine reported she was the richest teenage celebrity and that her franchise would be worth approximately $1 billion by the end of the year. In 2009, ''Forbes'' ranked her #29 on the ''Celebrity 100'' and reported she had earned a total of $25 million. Then Cyrus got ranked number thirteen on ''Forbes'' 2010 Celebrity 100 ranking $48 million. From the $48 million she made between June 2009 to June 2010 made her the no. 4 highest earners under 30 and the youngest on the list. between June 2010 and June 2011, Cyrus earned $54 million.

From working on Hannah Montana, Cyrus got paid $15,000 per episode she did on the hit show, making her the 6th highest paid child star on television behind fellow Disney stars Dylan and Cole Sprouse and Keke Palmer with $20,000 for their shows. Also, she is behind friend and Disney star Selena Gomez that makes $25,000 per episode of her show, Nick star Miranda Cosgrove with $180,000 per episode of her show, and one time co-star Angus T. Jones that got paid $250,000 for each episode of his show. Though she had not got paid as much as other Disney stars,when she was 17 she was named #19 on the "Top 20 World's Richest Female Singers Of All Time" list with over $100 million in 5 years active throughout her career, which made her the youngest female artist on the list. In 2011, she was named #1 on the "Top 10 Richest Teens in Hollywood" with $120 million.

Personal life and image

In an interview, friend and actor Tyler Posey stated that he and Cyrus met on the set of the show Doc, and that they shared their first kiss on the show. He then stated that he and Cyrus dated for two years and then broke up when they were 11.

Cyrus told ''Seventeen'' magazine that she and Nick Jonas had dated for two years and "were in love", but were "fighting a lot" by the end. After the break-up, Cyrus says that she initially "rebell[ed] against everything Nick wanted me to be. And then I was like, I've got to be by myself for now, and just figure out who I really am."

In February 2008, Cyrus and her friend opened a YouTube account and began posting videos of what they called ''The Miley and Mandy Show.'' The show, described as a "YouTube hit," is said to be filmed for fun by Cyrus and Jiroux and to be entirely their work, with Cyrus and Jiroux editing the footage together.

With Cyrus's increased success came increased media attention. In a May 2008 interview with ''The Los Angeles Times'', Francois Navarre, the proprietor of the X17 photo agency, said Cyrus's market value had picked up considerably after the ''Vanity Fair'' photo controversy: "She's started to sell more. [...] It used to be $300, and now it's $2,000 for a picture." Estimates for a picture of the then-15 year old's first kiss ranged from $30,000 to $150,000. Navarre noted that Cyrus rarely behaved against her wholesome image or went out without a parent and stated, "She has people waiting for the moment she starts to be less traditional. [...] It's natural. Any teenager. But it's going to come very fast. [...] As soon as her mom lets her go out by herself. It's going to start to be interesting." ''Time'' magazine included her on the 2008 ''Time'' 100, the magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Her write-up was written by former child star Donny Osmond, who warned, "As an idol to tweens the world over, singer-actress Miley Cyrus, 15, is riding a huge tidal wave at the pinnacle of her career; this is as it should be. I hope she enjoys it. [...] Within three to five years, Miley will have to face adulthood. [...] As she does, she'll want to change her image, and that change will be met with adversity."

Cyrus celebrated her 16th birthday at Disneyland with a charity fundraiser for Youth Service America, a youth volunteer service organization.

At the end of 2009, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked Cyrus the fourth best-selling female artist and the fifth best-selling singer overall.

In June 2009, Cyrus ended her nine-month relationship with model Justin Gaston shortly before flying to Georgia to film ''The Last Song''. While filming later that month, Cyrus began dating her co-star in ''The Last Song'', Australian actor Liam Hemsworth. She later called him her "first serious boyfriend". In August 2010, it was confirmed that her relationship with Hemsworth had ended. Cyrus and Hemsworth were seen together a month later, and were reportedly back together. It was announced in early November that the couple had split again. On March 31, 2011, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth have reportedly rekindled their relationship. On June 20, Cyrus confirmed in a interview on the DirtTv in Australia that she and Hemsworth are still rocking and still are together.

On October 26, 2010, less than a month before Cyrus's eighteenth birthday, her father Billy Ray Cyrus filed for divorce from her mother in Tennessee, citing irreconcilable differences. In a statement made to ''People'' the next day announcing the split, the couple said, "As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family... We are trying to work through some personal matters. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers." However, on March 18, 2011, Cyrus's father announced on ''The View'' that he had dropped the divorce.

Cyrus is the youngest recording artist ever with four #1 albums in less than 3 years.

In June 2011, Cyrus was named by the Rolling Stones magazine a queen of pop, she was named #8 based on album sales selling 2.027 million copies. also, she was named #7 based on digital tracks selling 14.763 million digital copies, #5 based on youtube views with 784,667,358 views, #12 based on radio airplay with 216 airplay's, #11 based on Billboard hot 100 appearances with 164.2 points, and #9 based on social networking with 14.9 million Facebook likes, and 1.4 million Twitter followers. lastly, she was named #6 based off the gross of her tours with 66.5 million dollars in grossing, #14 based off award wins, in this case the Teen Choice Awards did not count and only mainstream-awards counted such as the Grammy Awards and awards like that in the music category, #14 based on album reviews. out of all the rankings for the categories, she was name on the official "Queen of Pop" list at #8 behind Beyonce, Katy Perry, best friend Taylor Swift, her inspiration Britney Spears and many more. She also beat out Carrie Underwood, Nicki Minaj, Adele, Christina Aguilera, and many more.

Controversies

In December 2007, a brief controversy emerged when photos Cyrus had posted on her private MySpace account, depicting her and a female friend sharing a piece of licorice and "almost kissing", were spread across the internet, prompting rumors of lesbianism. Cyrus comments, "For me, I was like, That's two girls—it's not a big deal. But they got spread around. Like someone copied and pasted and said, Omigod, look at this, and blah blah blah."

In April 2008, several provocative images of Cyrus in her underwear and swimsuit were leaked onto the web by a teenager who hacked Cyrus's Gmail account. Cyrus described the images as "silly, inappropriate shots" and stated, "I am going to make mistakes and I am not perfect. I never intended for any of this to happen and I am truly sorry if I have disappointed anyone." On April 25, 2008, the televised entertainment program ''Entertainment Tonight'' reported that Cyrus, then 15, had posed topless for a photoshoot taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz for ''Vanity Fair.'' On April 29, 2008, ''The New York Times'' clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless. Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines." Gary Marsh, president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, was quoted by ''Portfolio'' magazine to have said, “For Miley Cyrus to be a 'good girl' is now a business decision for her. Parents have invested in her a godliness. If she violates that trust, she won't get it back." In response to the Internet circulation of the photo and ensuing media attention, Cyrus released a statement of apology on April 27, 2008: "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about." Leibovitz also released a statement: "I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful."

In May 2008, Gossett, Cyrus's longtime acting agent, left Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty for United Talent Agency, partially with the hope of "giving Cyrus the major-agency backing that would support a widening career", according to ''The Hollywood Reporter''. About a year later in June 2009, Cyrus left both Gossett and UTA, which had recently negotiated her deals for ''The Last Song'' and the fourth season of ''Hannah Montana'', and joined the Creative Artists Agency, which had already represented her for music. Nikki Finke, who broke the news, reported, "Is this fair to UTA? Of course not. But I hear the decision was made by Miley's mother Trish Cyrus".

Cyrus's performance of "Party in the U.S.A." at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards incited a media uproar, with some viewers criticizing Cyrus's provocative outfit and inclusion of a brief pole dance as inappropriate for her age, then sixteen, and for her young fans. Conversely, ''Newsday'' reported that her sexualization "has been coming for some time." Ian Drew, senior editor of ''US Weekly'', said, "She already has this risque image, so it really wasn't much of a stretch. That's how Britney [Spears] took off. She was the good girl gone bad, and it looks to be working for Miley as well." Cyrus was also criticized that year for dating Gaston, five years her senior, and for a photo displaying Cyrus and friends making "slant-eyed" expressions, which the Organization of Chinese Americans claimed was offensive to the Asian community. Cyrus apologized for the photo on her website, defending her actions and saying, "In NO way was I making fun of any ethnicity! I was simply making a goofy face."

Later in 2010, TMZ released a video of Cyrus, then 16, giving Adam Shankman, producer of ''The Last Song'', a lap dance at the film's wrap party. Cyrus's father defended her actions, saying Miley was just "having fun" and that "it's what people her age do". Later that year in December, TMZ released a video of Cyrus, which took place five days after her 18th birthday at her Los Angeles home, in which she is seen smoking from a bong. She claimed she was smoking the psychoactive plant ''salvia divinorum'', although this has not been confirmed by anybody but Cyrus herself. Salvia is legal in the state of California, and Cyrus was of legal age at the time the video was shot. Cyrus's father expressed his sadness regarding the matter on Twitter, saying, "Sorry guys. I had no idea. Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. I'm so sad. There is much beyond my control right now".

Filmography

+ Films	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2003	''Big Fish''	Young Ruthie	Film debut
2007	''High School Musical 2''	Girl at pool	Cameo
2008	''Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert''		3D Concert film
2008		Penny	Voice-over Role
2009	''Hannah Montana: The Movie''		Based on TV series
2010	''''	Veronica "Ronnie" Miller	Film adaption of book
2010	''Sex and the City 2''	Herself	Cameo
2011		Herself	Cameo
2011	''So Undercover''	Molly	Release: October 28, 2011
2011	''LOL: Laughing Out Loud''	Lola	Remake of French film
Late 2012	''Not Afraid''	Katy Harrison	''Filming''

+ Television	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2001–2003		Kylie	Recurring role
2006–2011	''Hannah Montana''		Lead role
2006-2008	''Disney Channel Games''	Herself / Hannah Montana	Contestant, special performer
2006	''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''	Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana	"That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" (Season 2, Episode 20)
2006–2008	''Disney 365''	Herself	In 9 episodes, 2006–2008.
2007	''''	Celebrity Star (voice)	"Frog Prince" (Season 2, Episode 5)
2007–2008	''''	Yata (voice)	Recurring role
2008	''E! True Hollywood Story''	Herself	TV special Documentary
2009	''''	Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana
2011	''Saturday Night Live''	Herself	Host, March 5 episode.
2011		Herself	Back-to-school special.

Discography

Studio albums

''Meet Miley Cyrus'' (2007)

''Breakout'' (2008)

''Can't Be Tamed'' (2010)

Extended plays

''The Time of Our Lives'' (2009)

Tours

Best of Both Worlds Tour (2007–08)

Wonder World Tour (2009)

Gypsy Heart Tour (2011)

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations received by Miley Cyrus

References

Further reading

External links

Miley Cyrus at MTV

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Category:1992 births Category:Actors from Tennessee Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:21st-century actors Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Bubblegum pop Category:Fascination Records artists Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Living people Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:Child rock musicians Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:People from Franklin, Tennessee Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Southern Baptists

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