A Knight's Tale is a 2001 American romantic adventure film written, directed, and produced by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer, and James Purefoy as Sir Thomas Colville/Edward, the Black Prince.

The film follows the story of William Thatcher, a peasant masquerading as a knight, along with his companions in the world of medieval jousting. William poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, winning accolades and acquiring friendships with such historical figures as Edward, the Black Prince of Wales and Geoffrey Chaucer.

The film takes its title from Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" in his Canterbury Tales, though the plot is not especially similar. Garnering $117,487,473 with a budget of $41 million, it becomes successful at the worldwide box office.

Plot[link]

Set in late Medieval Europe in the mid-14th century, the story begins with the protagonists and squires, William (Heath Ledger), Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk), discovering their master, Sir Ector (Nick Brimble), dead of bowel problems in the middle of a jousting tournament. He was ahead "three lances to none" and merely had to finish the final round to win the tournament and be awarded the money that was to buy food for them all. While Wat and Roland resign themselves to destitution now that they no longer have Sir Ector's employment and protection, William Thatcher takes the armour, and more importantly the helmet, from Sir Ector's body and poses as the noble to finish the match. William's inexperience is evident, as he receives a lance blow to the face mask, but regardless wins the tournament (and the money) due to Ector's previous lead. This gives William the idea that, with proper training, he and his companions could make a living in jousting. For a month, William trains with the help of Roland and Wat to improve his balance and aim. After many tries Will is able to joust properly and is therefore ready to compete.

Along the way to his first tournament in Rouen, William and his friends come upon Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), trudging down a road with no clothes or money. William persuades the writer to fake his patents of nobility, as it is illegal for peasants to joust, and joins the jousting circuit under the assumed name of "Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein" from Gelderland. Chaucer is then discovered to have a gambling problem, which William saves him from by paying his debts with his tournament winnings, and therefore gains Geoffrey's true loyalty (and services as a herald at the tournaments). Helped by Chaucer, Wat and Roland, he begins to win match after match. When his armour—still the same suit taken from Sir Ector—becomes loose and damaged, he gains an addition to his fellowship, Kate the blacksmith (Laura Fraser), who makes him revolutionary new armour and decides to travel with them. He faces a Sir Thomas Colville (James Purefoy) in one of his matches and deals him a crippling blow, but rather than finish him off William instead agrees to a draw in order to preserve Colville's honor. William meets and falls in love with a noble lady, Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon), who has already been noticed by the powerful Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell), the film's antagonist. A rivalry begins between the two of them for the affection of Jocelyn and the accolades of the tournaments, and Adhemar defeats William in his first tournament.

In the following tournament, they are both assigned to tilt against Sir Thomas Collville but Adhemar withdraws at the last minute after learning his true identity is that of Edward, the Black Prince (who assumed another identity hoping he will get a rare chance to compete if his opponents do not know his identity as the Prince of Wales), not willing to take the risk of harming English royalty. When William's turn comes, however, his competitiveness overcomes the pressure to withdraw, and he jousts with Edward (to Edward's surprise and pleasure) and wins the tournament, along with Edward's respect (because of the respect William has shown him in turn on two separate occasions, which the Prince considers an honorable and knightly quality). Following this, Will's companions, Wat, Roland, Kate, and Geoff, gamble all of their share of the money that William will win the French tournament in Paris. Simultaneously, Jocelyn tells William that he must lose the tournament to prove his love to her. After he openly accepts defeat after defeat, she changes her mind; he must now win to prove his love. He does win the tournament. After this, Jocelyn joins him in bed.

The group travels to London for the World Championship, and an important flashback to William's childhood is shown. His father, wanting the best for his son, reluctantly gave him over for squire services to Sir Ector, so that someday, he could realize his dream of becoming a knight and "change his stars" to live a better life than his father. Returning to the present, and to London for the first time since childhood, William, assuming that his father has long since died, visits his old neighborhood. He talks to a young local girl, (Alice Connor), who informs him that his father is still alive and well, albeit blind. William visits his father, initially presenting himself as Ulrich; and tells him that he has a message from William: that he has changed his stars after all. His father, overcome with joyous emotion, realizes it is actually his son, and they embrace and spend hours together.

Although everything appears well, Adhemar has returned from fighting in the Battle of Poitiers and discovers William's humble origins from a young girl outside Thatcher's home. He alerts the authorities. William's friends, including Jocelyn beg him to flee. Jocelyn promises to give up her privileged life and run away with him, but he refuses to run; and is arrested. Adhemar visits him in prison and gloats that he will marry Jocelyn, while beating the defenseless William. When William is moved to the stocks, his companions all stand with him to defend him from the crowd, which grows increasingly hostile until Prince Edward emerges from the mob. Silencing the crowd, and privately noting that William's friends' willingness to stand by him reflects the honour that he has earned, Edward orders William to be released, declaring that his historians have discovered that William is descended from an "ancient royal line" and that he is entitled to a knighthood after all; repaying William for the respect William had previously shown him (as it is the Prince's verdict, none are allowed to argue). He knights William. The newly dubbed "Sir William" goes on to resume his place in the tournament and compete against Adhemar.

With Jocelyn and William's father in attendance, Adhemar cheats with an illegal lance with a sharp point on the tip, which stabs into William's shoulder during the first round. William, unable to grip his lance or breathe properly due to his injury, has his armour removed and his lance strapped to his arm while Chaucer buys time by providing the introduction he 'forgot' earlier, and competes in the final round wearing only ordinary clothing. The two adversaries charge for the final bout, with William's life in the balance. He shouts his finally accepted true name, "WILLIAM," and knocks Adhemar from his horse, winning the tournament. Chaucer remarks that he should write this whole story down, a reference to "The Knight's Tale" of the Canterbury Tales. Jocelyn runs out ecstatically to meet William and they embrace in a long kiss.

Cast[link]

• Heath Ledger as William Thatcher/Sir Ulrich/Sir William (late in the film), a determined peasant who proves that he is not only a fantastic jouster, but is also more knightly in his acts and countenance than many of the high-born nobles
• Rufus Sewell as Count Adhemar, the main antagonist- a cowardly, petty knight who is not above cheating his way to victory
• Shannyn Sossamon as Jocelyn, a high-born lady who expects more from her life than what a woman could expect in those days
• Bérénice Bejo as Christiana, Jocelyn's loyal friend and lady-in-waiting
• Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer, an extremely well spoken herald & writer
• Laura Fraser as Kate, a hard-working widowed blacksmith wanting to be recognized for her talent, and not defined by her gender
• Mark Addy as Roland, a chubby squire and solid friend of Thatcher. He finds amusement in the interactions between Chaucer and Wat
• Alan Tudyk as Wat, a red-haired squire and loyal friend of Thatchers', with a fiery temper
• James Purefoy as Sir Thomas Colville (Edward, the Black Prince)
• Leagh Conwell as Young William Thatcher
• Christopher Cazenove as John Thatcher
• Steven O'Donnell as Simon the Summoner
• Nick Brimble as Sir Ector, the knight who had William, Roland, and Wat as squires
• Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Old Bishop
• David Schneider as Relic Seller
• Alice Connor as Lone Girl
• Berwick Kaler as Man in Stocks

Production[link]

The entire film was shot in Prague, Czech Republic.

The film includes a great deal of jousting footage. The initial scene of the two knights jousting is actually footage of Heath Ledger's stunt double in an accident. During filming of a later scene in the movie, the lance of the stunt double's opponent moved off target and hit him in the head. The double fell to the ground unconscious. In another incident, Heath Ledger knocked out one of director Brian Helgeland's front teeth with a broomstick when the two were demonstrating a jousting move. It took several months for Helgeland's mouth to heal enough to repair the damage.

Plenty of effort was expended creating lances that would convincingly explode upon impact without injuring the stunt riders. The body of each lance was scored so it would break easily, and the tips were made of balsa wood. Each was also hollowed out, with the holes filled with balsa splinters and uncooked linguine.^[1] Jousting armour was made by Rod Vass and his company Armordillo Ltd. using a unique sprayed Polyurethane system that they invented for the film Gladiator. On screen it is almost impossible to distinguish between the polyurethane stunt armour and steel armour, much of which was also made by Armordillo. Heath Ledger's armour was originally made in steel along with 3 x Polyurethane stunt replicas.

Use of anachronisms[link]

In the film's actor/director DVD commentary, Brian Helgeland, co-commentating with Paul Bettany, states that the film was intended to have occurred sometime in the 1370s during a six-month period in which Chaucer had apparently gone missing and show what he might have done during this time, which Helgeland says later on in the commentary inspired Chaucer to write his Canterbury Tales. (The first Canterbury tale is The Knight's Tale. Chaucer also threatens two men he meets in the film with undying humiliation through fiction; these characters seem to have inspired the vitriolic descriptions of the Tales' Pardoner and Summoner.)

Helgeland also jokes in the commentary that he chose 1970s music and hairstyles for the movie because "the seventies are always the same", regardless of century. More seriously, Helgeland justifies his use of music by speculating that even during the 1370s, persons in the main characters' age group would've enjoyed newer, more contemporary music than something that had been around since their great grandparents were young, and opted to use music that would affect the audience the same way late 14th century music would've affected the youth of the 1370s. Thus, Helgeland attempted to stylize the movie in such a way as to bring the Middle Ages to the audience, rather than force the audience into the Middle Ages.

To this end, many intentional anachronisms are used within the story itself. Jocelyn's appearance combines medieval and modern styles, and the armor Kate makes for William is engraved with a symbol resembling the Nike logo. In the first jousting scene, when "We Will Rock You" is playing, the crowd provides the rhythmic thump-thump-clap as a modern-day crowd that recognizes the song would, the audience performs the wave, and a teenage girl is shown in the stands performing a distinctly twentieth-century dance. At a banquet, Count Adhemar tries to trip up the unsophisticated "Sir Ulrich" by urging him to show the other guests a dance from his own country; William, who's only spent a couple of hours learning to dance that day before the banquet, improvises with Jocelyn and comes up with something suited to a rock video (the featured song in this scene was "Golden Years" by David Bowie).

Language is also borrowed from the present day. An extended metaphor involving hunting during William's first conversation with Jocelyn leads to his calling her a "foxy lady." The first time Chaucer introduces William at a competition, he ends with a comedy-club "Thank you, I'll be here all week" in response to the crowd's wild cheers. When Jocelyn defends herself during an argument with William by saying, "Better a silly girl with a flower than a silly boy with a horse and a stick," an offended Wat calls after her, "It's called a lance... hellooo?" In one shot the London Eye is shown.

Music[link]

The film, which notionally took place during the Middle Ages, is notable for its deliberate use of classic rock songs in its soundtrack. The ten that were credited in the movie are listed in order of appearance:^[2]

• "We Will Rock You" – Queen
• "Low Rider" – War
• "Takin' Care of Business" – Bachman–Turner Overdrive
• "Golden Years" – David Bowie
• "Further on Up the Road" – Eric Clapton
• "Get Ready" – Rare Earth
• "I Want to Take You Higher" – Sly and the Family Stone
• "The Boys Are Back in Town" – Thin Lizzy
• "You Shook Me All Night Long" – AC/DC
• "We Are the Champions" – Robbie Williams & Queen

Reception[link]

Initially the reception for this film was mixed, with complaints about the anachronisms (the classic rock music in a movie that takes place during the Middle Ages), the many jousting scenes and the thin plot. However, notable film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of a possible 4 and commented that "Some will say the movie breaks tradition by telling a medieval story with a soundtrack of classic rock. They might as well argue it breaks the rules by setting a 1970s rock opera in the Middle Ages. To them I advise: Who cares?" and that in this film the director "pointed out that an orchestral score would be equally anachronistic, since orchestras hadn't been invented in the 1400s."^[3] The aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes rated the movie as being 59% fresh along with 80% approval from the audience. ^[4]

Newsweek revealed in June 2001 that print ads for at least four movies released by Columbia Pictures, including A Knight's Tale and The Animal (2001), contained glowing comments from a film reviewer who did not exist. The fake critic, David Manning, was created by a Columbia employee who worked in the advertising department. "Manning" was misrepresented as a reviewer for a newspaper in a small Connecticut town.

See also[link]

• List of historical drama films

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: A Knight's Tale

• A Knight's Tale at the Internet Movie Database
• A Knight's Tale at AllRovi
• A Knight's Tale at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Knight's Tale at Box Office Mojo

Amr Abdol-Basset Abdol-Azeez Diab (Arabic: عمرو عبد الباسط عبد العزيز دياب‎; born 11 October 1961)^[1] is an Egyptian singer and composer of geel music; the contemporary face of Egyptian el-geel pop music, according to World Music. Diab is the best-selling Arab recording artist of all time, according to Let's Go Egypt. He was awarded the World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist four times: 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2009.He is currently one of the top singers in the Arab world, and considered a living legend by many of his fans in the Arab world.

Amr Diab is known as the Father of Mediterranean Music.^[2][3][4] He has created his own style which is often termed "Mediterranean Music" or "Mediterranean Sound", a blend of Western and Egyptian rhythms.^[5]

In The Mediterranean in Music, David Cooper and Kevin Dawe referred to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music".^[6]

According to author Michael Frishkopf, Amr Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially in his international hit, "Nour El Ain".^[5]

In his analysis of The Very Best of Amr Diab album, Victor W. Valdivia of Allmusic said: "His music melded traditional Arabic sounds and textures with Western rhythms and instruments. The mesh was dubbed Mediterranean music, and The Very Best of Amr Diab displays Diab's superb skill in creating it."^[7]

According to the BBC, Diab "has ruled the Arab music world, especially Egypt and the Middle East, since the mid '80s, continually breaking sales records".^[8]

Musical career[link]

In 1983, Diab released his first studio album, Ya Tareeq. Diab released three more albums between 1984 and 1987. 1988's "Mayaal" garnered huge success all around the Middle East. It was produced, arranged and remixed by German musicians, Frank Von Dem Bottlenberg and Jörg Evers, with various releases. More success followed in the following years including the albums Shawakkna, Matkhafesh, and We Yloumouni.

Amr Diab quickly developed fame for his new style of "Pan-Mediterranean" Arabic music, fusing touches of flamenco and raï with western pop with traditional Arabic rhythms. B1992, he became the first Arabic artist to start making high-tech music videos.^[5]

"Habibi" from Diab's 1996 album, Nour El Ain became a hit worldwide, and was remixed by many of the world's top DJs at the time.^{[citation needed]} A special CD named Habibi: The Remix Album was released later with all of these remixes. Since then, Diab has remained at the top of the Arabic music scene, expanding reach to all parts of the Mediterranean with his 1999 release, Amarain, that featured duets with Algeria's king of rai Khaled in a song called "Qalbi" and Greece's Angela Dimitriou in "Ana Bahibak Aktar" and "Eleos". "Tamally Maak" from Diab's 2000 album became a huge success. Leily Nahari, Diab's first album with Rotana Records, was released in 2004. Diab's album El Leila De was released in the summer of 2007 and topped the Arabic music charts for 22 weeks. Diab received a World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist for the album. In 2008, Diab renewed his contract with Rotana for five more years.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, Diab released a new album Wayah.

Influences and contributions[link]

Diab revolutionized Egyptian show business in several respects,^{[citation needed]} and some of his biographers have referred to him as rebellious, because he challenged everything in Middle Eastern show business, from hairstyle and appearance to music style, presentation, and the financial scale of his projects.

Diab’s blending of Western rhythms with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music styles created a new music style, referred to as Mediterranean music. His song “Tamalli Ma’ak”/“Always With You,” wherein he introduced classical guitar, is a good example of the genre.

The world's perspective[link]

Diab is one of the most popular and acclaimed Arab pop singers of the modern age.^{[citation needed]} In 1997 he won three awards at the Annual Arabic Festival; one for Best Video, for Best Song, and for Best Artist of the Year. The following year Diab received a Triple Platinum Award for the sales of Nour El Ain and also received a World Music Award in Monaco.

Albums[link]

[edit] Nour El Ain

In 1996, Nour El Ain (Light of The Eye – Sight) was released, becoming a tremendous success not only in the Middle East but throughout the entire world. The song was composed by Nasser el-Mizdawi, lyrics were written by Ahmed Sheta and it was arranged by Hameed Elshaery. The title track, and its English version "Habibi", was an international phenomenon, becoming a massive crossover hit in countries such as Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka (performed by Sangeeth Wickremasinghe) and Malaysia (Malay version sung by Datuk Sharifah Aini). The song was remade with Malayalam lyrics, a south Indian language, in the Malayalam movie Chandralekha. In a style reminiscent of the Aldo (musician) Franco-Arabic style, the song was remixed by several top European arrangers and has become a big pull on the dance floors of Europe. The video clip, also produced by Alam El Phan for the song "Nour El Ain", was one of the most lavish and expensive productions in the field of Egyptian song, and set a new standard for his contemporaries to aspire to. This album sold 3 million copies. In 1997, Amr Diab won three Awards at the Annual Arabic Festival (for Best Video, Best Song and Artist of the Year). In the following year, he received a Triple Platinum Award for the sales of Nour El Ain, and received a World Music Award in Monaco on 6 May 1998, under the patronage of H.S.H. Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and attended by Gloria Estefan, Céline Dion, Mariah Carey, The Backstreet Boys, Steven Seagal and others. This award was the first of its kind for an Egyptian artist, emphasizing that his appeal is not just confined to the Middle East unlike the majority of his contemporaries.

[edit] Awedooni

His follow-up studio album entitled Awedooni (they made me used to...) was released in July 1998, and as with Nour El Ain (the light of the eye) it was produced with Hamid El Shaery and recorded in Cairo, Egypt. The first video from the album, the title track "Awedooni" (they made me used to...), was shot by the river Nile in Egypt and directed by Tareq Al Aryan. Like its predecessor, this album was a huge success for Amr and reinforced his popularity in the Arab world and abroad.

[edit] Amarain "Two Moons" in English

Diab released his July 1999 new studio album Amarain (two moons), which is hailed as the best work of his career to date.^{[citation needed]} Amr is working on eagerly anticipated duets with the France-based international Rai superstar, Khaled of "Didi" fame, and with the Greek singer, Angela Dimitrou, whose crossover smash "Marguerites" was a huge hit across the Middle East in 1998. The title track "Amarain" was the first video to be broadcast.

[edit] Tamally Ma'ak

In July 2000, Diab revolutionized Arab music when he issued Tamally Ma'ak (I'm Always With You). The song was composed by Sherif Tag, a modern Egyptian Composer. He introduced the Spanish guitar in his song "Tamally Ma'ak" and in other songs. The clip of this song was made in the Czech Republic with much success. The album contained songs like "El Allem Alla" (Only God Knows), "Ba'terf" (I Confess) which were composed by Amr Mostafa the best middle-eastern composer, "Sa'ban Alaea" (It Makes Me Feel Sorry) and "We Heya Amla Eih" (And How Is She?). The song "Tamally Ma'ak" was even copied in the hit Bollywood song "Kaho Na Kaho" from the film Murder and also "I'm Calling U" by the group, Outlandish.

[edit] Aktar Wahed

Aktar Wahed was released on 1 August 2001. The album's name is short for one of the songs, "Aktar Wahed Beyhebbak" (One loves you the most). It contains 10 tracks and received the World Music Award for the best-selling album in the Middle East for 2001.

[edit] Allem Albi

In February 2003, Diab released Allem Alby (Teach My Heart). The album's release date was arranged to be with the debut broadcast of Alam El Phan's (Allem Alby's production company, owned by Mohsen Gaber) music channel "Mazzika".

The album was a great success, with the release of the video "Ana Ayesh" (I'm Alive) which was directed by Stuart Gosling. The video was intensely broadcast on Mazzika. The album contains other songs, like the R&B-influenced hit, "Allem Albi". Others that tend to be more distinctively Arabic-sounding are songs like "Kolohom" (All of Them), "Law Ash'any" (If You Adore Me), and "Alli El Wadaa'" (Goodbye To Me).

[edit] Leily Nahary

In late summer 2004, Diab's first album with Rotana was released, titled Leily Nahary (My Nights, My Days). The album's cover was from the promotional photo shoot of Pepsi. The video "Leily Nahari" directed by Cameron Casey provided aid to give Diab his space in the record-exclusive music channels. It was criticized because of its similarity to his previously unreleased video for "El Alem Allah" from the album Tamally Ma'ak. This album sold over 1.5 million copies.

[edit] Kammel Kalamak

Diab's album Kammel Kalamak, released on 14 December 2005, was the follow-up to Leily Nahary. The album cost a reported $4 million to record, and was Rotana's biggest album of 2005. The love ballad "We Malo" was released as the single of the album, Kammel Kalamak. The music video was shot in London and was released on a late notice after the release of the album. Rumors surfaced in late 2005 and early 2006 stated that Amr is considering terminating his contract with Rotana due to the poor promotion of his latest album, Kammel Kalamak.

[edit] El Leila De (Tonight)

The album El Leila De was originally set to be released after Ramadan 2006. However, it was pushed back several times due to Diab's repeated changes in the musical producers he was dealing with. Diab attributes the changes to the producer's lack of new and strong styles. In early 2006, Music Arranger Fahd was supposed to work on this album; however, later that year Tarek Madkour joined Amr Diab, and they started together to work on it. On 25 March 2007, Madkour's official website announced that Amr Diab and Madkour had decided jointly to skip the collaboration on the album due to the lack of time and conflicting working schedules. Fahd and a new producer called Hasan Al Shafei are elected to produce the music in the album, which is supposed to hit the markets in July 2007. The title of the album was changed from Khaleek Ma'aya to El Leila De. After the release Amr, shot a new Pepsi advertisement in Europe. On 21 June 2007, two of the biggest sites (AmrDiabWorld.com & AmrDiab.info) for Amr Diab announced that the album, now entitled El Lilady, would hit the market on 7 July 2007. The album would contain 10 tracks; AL Shafei and Fahd shared the production Al Shaei 7 songs & Fahd 3 Songs. Before releasing his album, Diab traveled to Portugal to shoot the new Pepsi ad choosing "Inta El Ghaly" song from his upcoming album El Leila De as the ad music. Amr then traveled to the USA to film the music video for his upcoming album.

The album master copy was given to Rotana, Amr Diab's CD production company, on the last week of June to meet the 7 July 2007 release date he had planned earlier. Rotana, however, has delayed the release of the new CD for a couple of days for unknown reasons. The album has also been leaked. The album was officially released on 11 July 2007. The album has already become a huge hit in Egypt and all over the Middle East. The album sold over 1,000,000 copies in only 5 days of release. The video clip has been slated for a 27 July release. The song that Diab chose to film was "N'eoul Eih", which is in the new style of House Music mixed with oriental Arabic music. The video clip was filmed in Santa Monica and Malibu, and also near Hollywood.

On 27 July, Rotana News announced that El Leila De had sold over 5 million copies in less than two weeks in the Middle East, which gives the album a good chance to surpass Kammel Kalamak's 3 million copies only. On 30 October 2007, the management of the World Music Awards announced that Amr Diab was to receive an award for best selling artist in the Middle East for this album. Amr Diab received the award in the festival that was held in Monaco, Monte-Carlo, on 4 November 2007.

[edit] Wayah (With Her) (2009)

The world music award of for the best-selling album in the Middle East 2009 Wayah (With Her) was released for sale on the internet on 27 June; however, the album was leaked online and was downloaded illegally amid complaints of slow download speed on the official site. Diab's fans initiated a massive boycott of the sites with the illegal copies^[9] and by 3 July 2009 Wayah had sold more than 1.5 million copies in the first week.^[10] Later on Amr Diab's administration announced that the album has become the highest-selling album in Diab's career. This album sold 3 million copies.^[11]

On 18 October 2009 Amr Diab won four 2009 African Music Awards in the following categories: best artist, best album, best vocalist and best song for "Wayah" and Amr Diab has been nominated by the Big Apple Music Awards^[12]

[edit] Aslaha Betefre' (2010)

Amr Diab has released a mini album for the first time in his career history, produced by Rotana, in July 2010. The mini album contains 1 song with 3 arrangements (Original song + Club Mix + Karaoke).

[edit] Banadeek Ta'ala (2011)

In May 2011, it was announced that Amr Diab's new album (at the time titled Heya Hayati) was slated for an Eid Al Fitr release. Due to the unstable political situation in Egypt, the album was pushed back and delayed until further notice. In late August 2011, Amr Diab's official website announced the new album's final title, "Banadeek Ta'ala" and Rotana slated the album for a 28 September release. The album contains 12 songs that include: Banadeek Ta'ala, Heya Hayaty, Aloomak Leh, Aref Habibi, Maly Enaya, Yaret Sennek, and Tagreba o Addet. The album is arranged by Adel Hakki and is produced by Rotana.

Music videos[link]

Diab is one of the first singers to popularise music videos in the Arab World, and the first Egyptian singer to appear in music videos.^[5] With the exception of his very early releases, all of his albums have had at least one song shot as a music video. Diab has collaborated with a variety of music video directors in the Middle East, including Tarek El-Erian and Sherif Sabri.

The most anticipated video clip of 2007, N'eoul Eih, was released on 14 August that year on Rotana TV. It was broadcast minutes later on Egyptian television on "El Beit Betak". The video was a great success.

6 August 2009 witnessed the release of Amr Diab's latest video clip for his smash hit Wayah. Working alongside Cameron Casey and [Leily Nahari] for a second time, Amr Diab presented a fresh video clip which was filmed mostly on Green Screen and in Amr Diab's personal villa in Cairo, Egypt. The biggest surprise was the appearance of Amr Diab's children alongside his niece, who represented the younger generation of children who are still inspired by the music of Amr Diab.

Diab also filmed "Ba2dem Alby" which was released on Valentine's Day.

[edit] El Helm/The Dream

The Dream or El Helm is a biographical TV production produced by Amr Afefy that gives viewers the story of Amr Diab's life. The show consists of 12 episodes and began airing on 24 December 2008. El Helm is narrated by actor Ezzat Abou Ouf and includes interviews with Diab and people he worked with throughout the span of his career. The show, which aired on Rotana TV, saw great success and was preceded by one of the biggest advertising campaigns in the history of Middle Eastern music.

Film career[link]

Diab's fame in the music industry has led him to experiment with other forms of media, such as film. Amr played himself in his first film, El Afareet, which was released in 1989. The film also starred Madiha Kamel. His second film Ice Cream in Gleam (Ays Krim fi Glym), the 1992 movie in which Diab starred, was chosen as one of the best five Egyptian musical films by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. The film was also featured in the UCLA Film and Television Archive's new program "Music on the Nile: Fifty Years of Egyptian Musical Films" at James Bridges Theater, UCLA, 6, 8 and 10 April. David Chute of the Los Angeles Weekly termed the film "observant" and "a big leap".^[13] His third movie was released in 1993, and was named Deahk We La'ab (Laughter and Fun). The film premiered in the Egyptian Film Festival in 1993. Amr played alongside international Egyptian movie star Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) and Yousra in the movie. Overall, Diab did not experience the same level of success in film that he had with his music career. Since 1993, Diab has focused on his singing career.

Egyptian uprising[link]

A few days after former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Amr Diab composed and sang a memorial song, "Masr A'let",^[14] and released it in conjunction with a music video showing pictures of the martyrs who died in the uprising. He also initiated a charity campaign "Masry Begad" ("Real Egyptian"), a social national program aimed at serving and rebuilding Egyptian society. His online radio station Diab FM often presents talks and discussions about what Diab FM team can offer to the community as well as applying it practically by being present in different sites across Egypt with a new humanitarian project each week.^[15]

Endorsements[link]

Amr Diab has taken part in an internationally known Pepsi commercial featuring four other pop musicians: Beyoncé Knowles, Pink, Jennifer Lopez, and Britney Spears. In the US version, Enrique Iglesias takes the role of Caesar. But in the pan Arab version, the three American singers were retained but the male figure was replaced with Diab. This was not the first Pepsi commercial Diab has done; he also filmed commercials featuring his songs "Ana Aktar Wahed" (I'm the most), "Allem Alby" (teach my heart) and "Khad Alby Ma'aa" (She took my heart with her). Diab also appeared in a commercial alongside Jennifer Lopez, singing The Troggs hit "Wild Thing". In 2009 Pepsi decided not to renew his contract. In 2010 he was the star of "Hayat" bottled water campaign.

Local record labels[link]

Diab's earliest albums were released by Delta Sound. In 1996 Diab moved to Alam Al Phan where he released his greatest hits. In between 2003 and 2004, and after a long successful career with Alam El Phan, Diab officially announced the termination of his contract with Mohsen Gaber (owner of Alam El Phan) and move to the company that owned by Prince El Waleed Ebn Talal, Rotana Records and the owner of part of media huge muscel [Fox].

International record labels[link]

Over 18 international companies have produced studio albums, compilations and exclusive music for Amr Diab across the globe.

• Ariola - Germany
• Hot Records - Germany
• EMI Music - Greece
• EMI Music - Arabia
• EMI Music - Turkey
• EMI Music - Canada [Hemisphere]
• EMI Music - Europe
• EMI Music - International
• World Music Network - USA
• George V Records - France
• Putumayo World Music - USA
• Wagram Music - France
• Virgin - International
• Nascent - UK
• Milano 2000 - Italy
• Reverb Music - UK
• Toast Records - Italy
• Warner Bros. - France

Collaboration with international musicians[link]

Various international musicians have collaborated with Amr Diab:

• Stuart Crichton (The founder of Progressive House)
• Frank Von Dem Bottlenberg - Germany
• Jorg Evers - Germany
• Shazz (Didier Delesalle) - France
• Klubbheads (Koen Groeneveld and Addy van der Zwan) - Dutch
• Phunk Phorce (Leon and Matthew Roberts) - UK
• Rhythm Masters (Robert Bruce Chetcuti and Steve McGuinness) - UK
• Pete Beachill - UK
• Simon Gardner - UK
• Andy Greenwood - UK
• Kevan Gallagher - UK
• Jon Bishop - UK
• Juan Cerro - Spain
• Angela Dimitriou - Greece

Amr Diab in movies[link]

Amr Diab's songs have appeared in several films, including:

• "Wala Ala Baloh" in Divine Intervention (2002)^[16]
• "Awedouni" in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)^[17]
• "El Alem Alah" and "Nour El Ain" in O Clone (2001)^[18]
• "Nafs El Makan" in Double Whammy (2001)^[19]
• "Tamally Ma'ak" and "Nour El Ain" in the French movie, Coco (2009)
• "Nour El Ain" in Malcolm in the Middle TV series (Season 4, Episode 4, Episode name: Stupid Girl), released on 9 January 2000 (USA)^[20]

"Wala Ala Baloh" in The Dictator 2012

Further reading[link]

• Mediterranean Mosaic by Goffredo Plastino
• Egypt by Virginia Maxwell, Mary Fitzpatrick, Siona Jenkins, Anthony Sattin
• World Music by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo, Orla Duane, Vanessa Dowell
• Teens in Egypt by Barbara A. Somervill
• Syria & Lebanon by Terry Carter, Lara Dunston, Andrew Humphreys, Damien Simonis
• World Music by Richard Nidel
• The Mediterranean in Music by David Cooper, Kevin Dawe
• The Middle East by Library Information and Research Service
• Let's Go Egypt by Let's Go, Inc., Joey Shabot, Dave Newman, Elizabeth Ogburn, Charlotte Houghteling

Official Albums

• 1983: Ya Tareeq (يا طريق - O Road)
• 1985: Ghanny Men Albak (غنّي من قلبك - Sing From Your Heart)
• 1986: Hala Hala (هلا هلا - Welcome, Welcome)
• 1987: Khalseen (خالصين - We're Even)
• 1988: Mayyal (ميّال - In Love)
• 1989: Shawaana (شوقنا - Missing You)
• 1990: Matkhafeesh (متخافيش - Don't Worry)
• 1991: Habiby (حبيبي - My Love)
• 1992: Ayamna (أيامنا - Our Days)
• 1992: Ice Cream Fi Gleam (أيس كريم في جليم - Ice Cream In Gleam)
• 1993: Ya Omrena (يا عمرنا - Our Life)
• 1994: W Ylomoony (و يلوموني - And They Blame Me
• 1994: Zekrayat (ذكريات - Memories)
• 1995: Ragaeen (راجعين - We'll Be Back)
• 1996: Nour El-Ain (نور العين - Light Of The Eye)
• 1998: Awedoony (عوّدوني - They Got Me Used To)
• 1999: Amarein (قمرين - Two Moons)
• 2000: Tamally Maak (تملي معاك - Always With You)
• 2001: Aktar Wahed (أكتر واحد - The Most One)
• 2003: Allem Alby (علم قلبي - Teach My Heart)
• 2004: Leily Nahary (ليلي نهاري - My Night, My Day)
• 2005: Kammel Kalamak (كمّل كلامك - Keep Talking)
• 2007: El Leila De (الليلا دي - This Night)
• 2009: Wayah (ويّاه - With Her)
• 2010: Aslaha Btefre' (اصلها بتفرق - Because She Makes A Difference)
• 2011: Banadeek Ta'ala (بناديك تعالى - I'm calling you come )

Unofficial Albums

• 1984* Forsan Asia ( Asia Knights - فرسان آسيا )
• 1986 Menin Ageeb Nas (Where Can I Get People - منين أجيب ناس ) - ( Yanabee' El Nahr TV Series - مسلسل ينابيع النهار )
• 1986* Ya Helwa ( Sweetie - يا حلوة )
• 1987 Assef ( Sorry - آسف ) - ( Assef la yogad hal akhar TV Series - مسلسل آسف لا يوجد حل آخر )
• 1999 The best of Amr diab ( أحلى ما غنى عمرو دياب )
• 2002 Rewind
• 2004 Amr Diab Greatest Hits (1986–1995)
• 2005 Amr Diab Greatest Hits (1996–2003)
• 2005 Mateftekrish ( Don't Even Think - ماتفتكريش )
• 2009 Henyet El Donya ( Tenderness of Life - حنية الدنيا )

(*/ unconfirmed Date)

Concerts[link]

Amr Diab held so many concerts in the Arab World and around the world. Every year, one of his main concerts is held by the Mediterranean at the exclusive Egyptian resort city, Marina El Alamein. In addition, he holds an annual spring concert (The Carnival) at the American University in Cairo. In 2011, he held six concerts in the USA and 1 concert in Toronto, Canada.

References[link]

1. ^ "Bio". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0229018/bio. 
2. ^ Lesswing, Bryan (October 2009). "Sounds of the Middle East, Minnesota provide options for listeners". The DePauw. http://www.thedepauw.com/features/sounds-of-the-middle-east-minnesota-provide-options-for-listeners-1.1993168. Retrieved 20 December 2009. 
3. ^ Crane, Kelly (April 2010). "Egyptian superstar Amr Diab is set to rock Dubai". Gulf News. http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/egyptian-superstar-amr-diab-is-set-to-rock-dubai-1.615728. Retrieved 24 April 2010. 
4. ^ Matt, Ross (January 2011). "Q&A: Amr Diab". Rolling Stone Middle East. http://www.rollingstoneme.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Frishkopf, Michael (2003). "Some Meanings of the Spanish Tinge in Contemporary Egyptian Music". In Plastino, Goffredo. Mediterranean mosaic: popular music and global sounds. Routledge. pp. 145–148. ISBN 978-0-415-93656-9. http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/Some%20Meanings%20of%20the%20Spanish%20Tinge.pdf. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
6. ^ Cooper, David; Kevin Dawe (2005). The Mediterranean in music: Critical perspectives, common concerns, cultural differences. Scarecrow Press. p. 117. ISBN 0-8108-5407-4. 
7. ^ Valdivia, Victor W.. "The Very Best of Amr Diab". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r565771. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
8. ^ JJC (August 2005). "Ghana's Tic Tac, Nigeria's Ayetoro and Egypt's Amr Diab". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/africabeyond/africaonyourstreet/hosts/jjc/17911.shtml. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
9. ^ "Amr Diab's album sweeping cassette market". Musicananet. 30 June 2009. http://www.musicananet.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=831:2009-06-30-21-53-47&catid=55:2009-02-18-21-10-52&Itemid=93. Retrieved 2 July 2009. ^{[dead link]} (Arabic)
10. ^ "Amr Diab sales exceed one million and a half". Musicananet. 3 July 2009. http://www.musicananet.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=851:2009-07-03-20-27-58&catid=55:2009-02-18-21-10-52&Itemid=93. Retrieved 2 July 2009. ^{[dead link]} (Arabic)
11. ^ Salman (20 April 2010). "Amr Diab in Dubai". DubaiMoves. http://www.dubaimoves.com/9944/amr-diab-in-dubai. 
12. ^ Khaled Taha (25 October 2009). "Amr Diab wins four African Music Awards" (in Arabic). ART. http://artonline.tv/Entertainment/newsdetails.aspx?newsID=17963. Retrieved 28 October 2009. 
13. ^ Chute, David; Irene G. Behnan (8 April 1999). "All Singing! All Belly-Dancing". Los Angeles Weekly. http://www.laweekly.com/1999-04-08/film-tv/all-singing-all-belly-dancing/2. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
14. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsxyHbWY71s
15. ^ http://diabfm.com/masry-begad
16. ^ "Soundtracks for Yadon ilaheyya". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274428/soundtrack. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
17. ^ "Soundtracks for The Dancer Upstairs". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118926/soundtrack. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
18. ^ "Soundtracks for O Clone". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289800/soundtrack. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
19. ^ "Amr Diab Filmography". Yahoo! Movies. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1809493507. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
20. ^ "Malcolm in the Middle, Season 4, Episode 4 notes". CNET Network: TV.com. http://www.tv.com/malcolm-in-the-middle/stupid-girl/episode/187386/trivia.html. Retrieved 12 October 2009. 

External links[link]

• http://www.amrdiab.net/ - Official Website
• http://amrdiabworld.com/ - Official Online Store
• http://DiabFM.com/ - Official Online Radio

Russian Red
Background information
Born	1985
Origin	Madrid, Spain
Genres	Indie, Folk
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Octubre / Sony Music Entertainment
Website	http://www.russianred.es/

Russian Red is the stage name of Lourdes Hernández (Madrid, 1985), a Spanish indie and folk singer-songwriter.^[1]

Known by many as the Spanish Feist,^[2] in reference to the Canadian singer-songwriter who inspires her in many of her attitudes on the microphone, Hernández—who writes and sings all of her compositions in English—states that she sings in that language instinctively because she has always listened to music in English.^[3] Her voice and performing style are also reminiscent of the childlike and simple, poetic approach utilized by California singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom.

History[link]

Russian Red's project began when Hernández met Brian Hunt, a musician with an English father and Spanish mother, with whom she recorded a demo (which included tracks that remain unpublished like "Reason", "The Night of the Paper", and "Sadie") that reached more than 70,000 visits on her MySpace page by 2008.^[4]

The name Russian Red comes from the colour of a lipstick that Hernández herself usually wears. When asked how she chose the name, Hernández stated: "I had a band without a name some time ago. Since then, I was haunted by an obsession: to find the ideal artistic name. One day, I fell in love with this colour that a girl was wearing. I pronounced its name, and now it is my pseudonym."^[5]

Little by little, Hernández has become well known in the Spanish indie arena, performing more than 60 shows during 2007 and taking part in the prestigious Primavera Sound, among other festivals.^[6]

[edit] 2008: I Love Your Glasses

The Spanish producer Fernando Vacas asked Hernández to record an album to be issued by his label Eureka. The album, her first, was called I Love Your Glasses and quickly became a success,^[7] leading El País columnist Alfonso Cardenal to deem Russian Red the "revelation of the year".^[8][9]

[edit] 2011: Fuerteventura

With the release of her first album I Love Your Glasses Russian Red became well-known and popular in Spain. In late 2010, Russian Red signed with Octubre of Sony Music Spain. In May 2011, she released her second album Fuerteventura. At the same time, she toured in Asia including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea. She also published a duet with Elvis Presley of his song "Love Me Tender" in the special Spanish edition of the album Viva Elvis. Fuerteventura was recorded in Glasgow, Scotland with producer Tony Doogan (Belle & Sebastian, David Byrne, Mogwai).

Discography[link]

Albums

• I Love Your Glasses (2008)
• Fuerteventura (2011)

Singles

• "They Don't Believe" (2008)
• "Cigarettes" (2008)
• "Perfect Time" (2008)
• "I Hate You But I Love You" (2011)
• "The Sun, The Trees" (2011)
• "Conquer The World" (2012)
• "Everyday Everynight" (2012)

References[link]

1. ^ malagahoy.es Ha nacido una estrella
2. ^ europapress.es "Cantar en inglés es instintivo", reconoce la intérprete de Russian Red, poco consciente de la notoriedad alcanzada
3. ^ larioja.com «He intentado componer en español, pero no me sale nada»
4. ^ plus.es El álbum de la semana en plus.es
5. ^ lafonoteca.net Biografía de Russian Red en Lafonoteca.net
6. ^ primaverasound.com Ficha de la artista en primaverasound.com
7. ^ lafonoteca.net Biografía de Russian Red en Lafonoteca.net
8. ^ elpais.com Sonorama, el placer de comer en casa Accessed August 2008
9. ^ regiondigital.com Los premios Pop-Eye 2008 se entregarán en septiembre coincidiendo con el V Festival Cáceres Pop Art accessed September 2008

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Russian Red

• Russian Red on Myspace
• Russian Red Official Site