Coordinates	51°11′″N21°50′″N
name	BBC Two
logosize	200px
logofile	BBC Two.svg
logocaption	BBC Two logo
launch	20 April 1964 based in London
headquarters	BBC Television Centre, London
broadcast area	Nationalwide based in London
picture format	576i (PAL)16:9 SDTV
share	6.6%
share as of	July 2011
share source	BARB
owner	BBC
country	United Kingdom
former names	BBC2 (20 April 1964–3 October 1997)
sister names	BBC OneBBC ThreeBBC FourBBC NewsBBC ParliamentBBC HD
web
terr serv 1	Analogue
terr chan 1	''Normally tuned to 2 (To be phased out nationwide by 2012)''
terr serv 2	Freeview
terr chan 2	Channel 2
sat serv 1	Freesat
sat chan 1	Channel 102Channels 968–971 (regional variations)
sat serv 2	Sky
sat chan 2	Channel 102Channels 989–992 (regional variations)
sat serv 3	Sky (IRL)
sat chan 3	Channel 142
sat serv 4	Astra 2D
sat chan 4	10773H 22000 5/6
cable serv 1	Virgin Media
cable chan 1	Channel 102
cable serv 2	UPC (Republic of Ireland)
cable chan 2	Channel 109
cable serv 3	Ziggo (Netherlands)
cable chan 3	Channel 51
cable serv 4	UPC (Netherlands)
cable chan 4	Channel 51
cable serv 5	Numericable (Belgium)
cable serv 6	Naxoo (Switzerland)
cable chan 6	Channel 214
cable serv 7	Cablecom (Switzerland)
cable chan 7	Channel 156
adsl serv 1	TalkTalk TV
adsl chan 1	Channel 2
adsl serv 2	Belgacom TV(Brussels)
adsl chan 2	Channel 68
adsl serv 3	Belgacom TV(Flanders)
adsl chan 3	Channel 24
adsl serv 4	Belgacom TV(Wallonia)
adsl chan 4	Channel 214
adsl serv 5	Bluewin TV(Switzerland)
online serv 1	BBC Online
online chan 1	Watch live (UK only)
online serv 2	TVCatchup
online chan 2	Watch live(UK only)
online serv 3	BBC iPlayer
online chan 3	Watch live (UK only)

BBC Two is the second television channel of the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is commercial-free and yet remains a comparatively well funded public service network, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most current public service networks worldwide. It was the second British television station to be launched by the BBC (starting on 20 April 1964 based in London), and Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour, from 1 July 1967, envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming. This tendency has continued to date, though most special-interest programmes of a kind previously broadcast on BBC Two (e.g. BBC Proms concerts) now tend to appear on BBC Four instead.

History

As a result of its criticisms of the populism of ITV, the 1962 Pilkington Report recommended that Britain's third television channel should be awarded to the BBC.

Prior to its launch, BBC2 was promoted on the ''BBC Television Service'' channel soon to be renamed BBC1; the animated adverts featured the campaign mascots "Hullabaloo" (a mother kangaroo) and "Custard" (her joey). Prior to its formal launch (and for several years afterwards) the channel broadcast 'Trade Test Transmissions', short films made externally by companies such as Shell and BP, which served to enable engineers to test reception, but became cult viewing.

The channel was scheduled to begin at 19:20 on 20 April 1964 and show an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show ''The Alberts'', a performance from Soviet comedian Arkady Raikin, and a production of Cole Porter's ''Kiss Me, Kate'', culminating with a fireworks display.

However, at around 18:45 a huge power failure, originating from a fire at Battersea Power Station, caused Television Centre, and indeed much of west London, to lose all power. BBC1 was able to continue broadcasting via its facilities at Alexandra Palace, but all attempts to show the scheduled programmes on the new channel failed. Associated-Rediffusion, the London ITV franchise-holder, offered to transmit on the BBC's behalf, but their gesture was rejected.

However, at 22:00 BBC2 had no choice but to concede defeat and postpone programming until the following morning. As the BBC's news centre at Alexandra Palace was unaffected, they did in fact broadcast brief bulletins on BBC2 that evening, beginning with an announcement by the newsreader Gerald Priestland at around 19:25. There was believed to be no recording ever made of this bulletin, but one was discovered in early 2003.

By 11:00 on 21 April, power had been restored to the studios and programming began, thus making ''Play School'' the first programme to be shown officially on the channel. The launch schedule, postponed from the night before, was then successfully shown that evening, albeit with minor changes. In reference to the power cut, the transmission opened with a shot of a lit candle which was then sarcastically blown out by presenter Denis Tuohy.

To establish the new channel's identity and draw viewers to it, the BBC decided that a widely promoted, lavish series would be essential in its earliest days. The production chosen was ''The Forsyte Saga'', a no-expense-spared adaptation of the novels by John Galsworthy, featuring well-established actors Kenneth More and Eric Porter. Critically for the future of the fledgling channel, the BBC's gamble was hugely successful, with an average of six million viewers tuning in per episode of a total of only 9 million able to receive the channel at the time, and BBC2 was safely established with the public.

Unlike the other channels available at that time (BBC1 and ITV), BBC2 was broadcast only on the 625 line UHF system, so was not available to viewers with 405-line VHF sets. This created a market for dual standard receivers which could switch between the two systems. The early technical problems, which included being unable to transmit US-made videotapes due to a lack of system conversion from the US NTSC system, were resolved by a committee headed by James Redmond.

BBC1 and ITV later joined BBC2 on 625-line UHF but continued to simulcast on 405-line VHF until 1985. On 1 July 1967, BBC2 became the first channel in Europe to begin regular broadcasts in colour, using the PAL system. The thirteen part series ''Civilisation'' was created as a celebration of two millennia of western art and culture to showpiece the new colour technology. BBC1 and ITV simultaneously introduced PAL colour on UHF on 15 November 1969, although they both had broadcast some programmes in colour "unofficially" since at least late 1968.

As the switch to digital-only terrestrial transmission progresses, BBC Two is (in each region in turn) the first analogue TV channel to be replaced with the BBC multiplex, four weeks ahead of the other four channels. This is required for those relay transmitters that have no current Freeview giving viewers time to purchase the equipment, unless they have already selected a satellite or cable service.

Controllers

1964–1965: Michael Peacock

1965–1969: David Attenborough

1969–1974: Robin Scott

1974–1978: Aubrey Singer

1978–1982: Brian Wenham

1982–1987: Graeme MacDonald

1987–1992: Alan Yentob

1992–1996: Michael Jackson

1996–1999: Mark Thompson

1999–2004: Jane Root

2004–2008: Roly Keating

2008–present: Janice Hadlow

Jane Root, who was appointed in 1999 and was the first woman to be appointed controller of a BBC television channel, departed in May 2004 to become the executive vice president and general manager of the US-based Discovery Channel. BBC Two was channel of the year in 2007.

Present and past programmes

Nowadays, new BBC programmes often appear on BBC Two, especially if those behind them have not proven themselves elsewhere. A successful BBC Two programme has often been moved to BBC One, in the manner of ''Have I Got News for You'' and ''Torchwood'' (which was actually moved up to BBC Two from BBC Three). Over its first thirty or so years the channel developed a reputation for screening highly praised and prestigious drama series, amongst these ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' (1982) or 1996's, critically acclaimed ''Our Friends in the North'' ; its "highbrow" profile compared to rivals is also in part attributable to a long history of demanding documentaries of all types, beginning with ''Civilisation'' and ''The Ascent of Man''. Like the early Channel 4, BBC2 also established for itself a reputation as a champion of independent and international cinema, under the name ''Screen 2''.

The channel has sometimes been judged in more recent years increasingly to have moved away from this original role and to have moved closer to the mainstream. The perception of its greater minority interest nevertheless persists in today's multi-channel world, so that a programme moved from BBC Two to BBC One will often attract a much larger audience, even though no other change has been made. Since 2004 there have been some signs of an attempt to return closer to parts of BBC Two's earlier output with the arts strand ''The Culture Show'' and intermittent night-time repeats of programming from BBC Four. Its most popular programme at the moment is ''Top Gear''.

During the evenings, alternative programmes are broadcast on BBC Two Northern Ireland, BBC Two Scotland and BBC Two Wales. Until December 2008, BBC Wales broadcast a special, digital-only channel, BBC 2W, which contained more opt-outs than analogue-only BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Northern Ireland's offering includes local news and weather updates, whilst BBC Scotland broadcasts variations from the main network on BBC Two Scotland, such as ''Newsnight Scotland'', and Gaelic-language programmes under the banner BBC Two Alba.

Programming

Public service, educational and community programming

An important part of BBC2's founding mission was not only to provide minority interest entertainment but also to fulfil the public service functions of educational and community broadcasting.

Following a long and important association with the Open University, which has always co-produced programming with the channel, BBC2 had also carried BBC Schools programmes from 1983 (til 2010) from BBC1. In 2010 primary school programmes were moved from daytime to BBC Learning Zone. In recent years the Open University programming has been broadcast under the wider category of the BBC Learning Zone, in its long-standing slot late at night and during the early hours. However, in 2004 the Open University announced it was to end the late-night programmes in favour of more primetime co-productions, modelled on ''Coast''.

As a result of the channel's commitment to community broadcasting and amongst other programming the channel produced the symbolic ''Open Space'' series, a strand developed in the early 1970s in which members of the public would be allotted half an hour of television time, and given a level of editorial and technical training in order to produce for themselves a film on an issue most important to them. BBC2's Community Programme Unit kept this aspect of the channel's tradition alive into the 1990s in the form of ''Video Diaries'' and later ''Video Nation''. The Community Programmes Unit was disbanded in 2004.

On-screen identity

As well as programmes, BBC Two has also proved memorable for its numerous idents — various short films shown in between programme junctions that serve as the channel identity. Since it began in 1964, the figure '2' has almost always featured, using revolving, mechanical models and computer-aided technology, including the world's first computer-generated ident in 1979.

At Easter 1986 the computer-generated '2' was replaced by the word 'TWO' in red, green and blue on a white background. However, a survey carried out by the BBC in 1990 found that this ident gave the channel a 'worthy but dull' image. Then-controller Alan Yentob saw a major change of identity was necessary.

Branding agency Lambie-Nairn were commissioned, and in February 1991, the new custom '2' — and the signature colour, viridian — were unveiled on BBC Two, in idents that would successfully change public perception, and become world famous. The '2' always appeared in the same shape, in various forms; the earliest idents of 1991 featured solely inanimate '2' figures of different material in each, but also made use of camera angle tricks and properties such as refraction to achieve various effects. In later years it was given character, taking the form of a remote-controlled car, a rubber duck, a Dalek and a toy dog among many others. The expansive set of idents from 1991 to 2001 — lasting over a decade — are generally regarded as the best idents ever produced for a television channel; they ended in November 2001. The BBC corporate logo was updated within the idents in October 1997, though the idents moved away from the original viridian colour scheme in these latter years.

The subsequent presentation style, again created by Lambie-Nairn, was introduced on 19 November 2001 kept the same figure '2' — though it was now always shown white on a yellow background, and completely computer generated. Occasionally, to promote certain programmes on the channel the ident moved away from the standard style. For example, in a trail for the second series of ''The Catherine Tate Show'', the character of Lauren Cooper was shown arguing with a '2' in the guise of a dog. This canine identity for the '2' was part of the BBC's ''Pedigree Comedy'' branding for comedy programmes in the Thursday night slot, and featured in 3 ident versions for use ahead of the programmes.

Withdrawn idents from years past have also made a return to BBC Two for special events. The "Garden" ident (in which a '2' grows out of flowers) returned for the 2001 Chelsea Flower Show after having been retired in 1997, and remained in occasional use until the November 2001 rebrand. For the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Christmas 2000 ident was used again (renamed "Frosty"), and remained in use until the February 2007 refresh. For the 2006 Chelsea Flower Show, "Predator" (where a '2' butterfly is eaten by a Venus fly-trap shaped '2') was used again (as "Venus Fly Trap"), and also remained in occasional use until the February 2007 rebrand. In each case, the branding was updated to match the then-current style.

The latest style of presentation was introduced on 18 February 2007, designed by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and produced by Red Bee Media. The figure 2 — which has been altered from Lambie-Nairn's original '2' design for the first time in 16 years — became a 'window on the world'. The first ident broadcast from this set was "Cappuccino Scoop". Additionally, the plum coloured box previously used for the BBC Two logo was changed to a teal colour, along with a font change from Gill Sans to Avenir across the channel.

On 18 March 2007 the ident "Tagging Football" was used to introduce ''Match of the Day 2''. This ident is shot from the viewpoint of a man carrying a pink template with a 2 shaped cut-out hole, through which everything is seen; it is held up close to the camera. The man runs across a pitch, and hastily sprays the side of a football with a crude, bright pink '2' using the template and a can of spray paint. The camerawork is jittery, though likely intended to convey the frantic pace. Despite being different in style from the other current sequences, it is one of the idents issued as part of the initial set from AMV & Red Bee, and there are other versions of the same concept yet to air.

Regional variations

BBC Two also has regional variations in both the nations, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the English Regions were also used on analogue however no longer exist on digital, making these opt outs rarely used. The Nations versions of BBC Two share the same idents, but with the nation name in the BBC Two box. BBC Two Scotland shows a lot of specifically Scottish programming on the channel, as well as its sister channel BBC One Scotland, and the schedules are often mixed around to match. BBC Two Northern Ireland and BBC Two Wales both have the option to opt out, however they generally stick to the network schedule, only opting out a couple of times each week. In England, on analogue, each of the English regions has the option to opt out of the network programming and replace it with local programming, however this is usually only done in exceptional circumstances, as all regular regional programming has been transferred to BBC One, the English regions are not available on digital. There is no specific BBC Two England, this role is fulfilled by the network BBC Two.

BBC Two and BBC Four

Since the launch of the digital-only BBC Four, the BBC has been accused in particular of shifting its more highbrow output to the new channel, which a minority (7.5% in the final quarter of 2010) of viewers do not receive. The perceived strategy has been to allow BBC Two to show more popular programmes and to secure higher ratings. Many commentators have judged there to be a strong resemblance between the new Four and the earlier, more ambitious, BBC Two. Output from BBC Four (documentaries rather than foreign films) is repeated on BBC Two in a 'BBC Four on Two' branded area, although this is often in a late night broadcast slot after ''Newsnight''. The slot was discontinued following the rebrand in 2007. To compensate, popular and flagship programmes from BBC Four are now rerun on BBC Two following their original run on the channel.

See also

BBC Two 'The 2s' idents

References

External links

BBC Nations Category:BBC television channels in the United Kingdom Category:Television channels in the United Kingdom Category:Television channels and stations established in 1964 Category:Peabody Award winners Category:1964 establishments in the United Kingdom

ca:BBC Two cy:BBC Two da:BBC Two de:BBC Two es:BBC Two fr:BBC Two gd:BBC a dhà gl:BBC Two ko:BBC Two hi:बीबीसी टू id:BBC Two it:BBC Two ms:BBC Two nl:BBC Two ja:BBC Two no:BBC Two nn:BBC Two pl:BBC Two pt:BBC Two simple:BBC Two sh:BBC Two fi:BBC Two sv:BBC Two zh:英國廣播公司第二台

This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers

Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor

Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)

Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat

Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia

John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve

John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre

Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor

Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i

Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India

Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia

Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales

Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand

Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan

Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)

Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)

Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom

Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus

Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)

Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya

Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque

Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia

Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia

Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily

Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar

Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar

Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.

Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India

Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)

Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev

Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders

Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent

Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre

Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire

Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king

Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia

Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks

Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)

Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty

Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie

Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire

Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor

Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia

Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia

Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire

Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor

Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus

Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy

William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon

William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)

Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures

Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East

Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia

Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian

Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt

Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader

Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)

Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)

Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine

Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)

Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)

Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit

Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)

Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other

Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies

Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Notes

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

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Coordinates	51°11′″N21°50′″N
name	Arnold Bennett
birth date	1867
birth place	Hanley, Staffordshire, England
death date	1931
death place	Chiltern Court, London
death cause	Typhoid
occupation	Novelist
residence	}}

Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English novelist.

Early life

Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the family were able to move to a larger house between Hanley and Burslem. Bennett was educated locally in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Arnold was employed by his father—his duties included rent collecting. He was unhappy working for his father for little financial reward, and the theme of parental miserliness is important in his novels. In his spare time he was able to do a little journalism, but his breakthrough as a writer was to come after he had moved from the Potteries. At the age of twenty-one, he left his father's practice and went to London as a solicitor's clerk.

Career

Journalism and nonfiction

Bennett won a literary competition in ''Tit-Bits'' magazine in 1889 and was encouraged to take up journalism full time. In 1894, he became assistant editor of the periodical ''Woman''. He noticed that the material offered by a syndicate to the magazine was not very good, so he wrote a serial which was bought by the syndicate for 75 pounds. He then wrote another. This became ''The Grand Babylon Hotel''. Just over four years later, his first novel, ''A Man from the North'', was published to critical acclaim and he became editor of the magazine.

From 1900 he devoted himself full time to writing, giving up the editorship. He continued to write journalism despite the success of his career as a novelist. In 1926, at the suggestion of Lord Beaverbrook, he began writing an influential weekly article on books for the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper.

As well as the novels, much of Bennett's non-fiction work has stood the test of time. One of his most popular non-fiction works, which is still read to this day, is the self-help book "How to Live on 24 Hours a Day". His diaries have yet to be published in full, but extracts from them are often quoted in the British press.

Move to France

In 1903, he moved to Paris, where other great artists from around the world had converged on Montmartre and Montparnasse. Bennett spent the next eight years writing novels and plays. Bennett believed that ordinary people had the potential to be the subject of interesting books. In this respect, an influence which Bennett himself acknowledged was the French writer Maupassant whose "Une Vie" inspired "The Old Wives' Tale." Maupassant is also one of the writers on whom Richard Larch, the protagonist of Bennett's first (and obviously semi-autobiographical) novel, ''A Man from the North'', tries in vain to model his own writing.

In 1908 ''The Old Wives' Tale'' was published and was an immediate success throughout the English-speaking world. After a visit to America in 1911, where he had been publicized and acclaimed as no other visiting writer since Dickens, he returned to England where ''Old Wives' Tale'' was reappraised and hailed as a masterpiece.

Public service

During the First World War he became Director of Propaganda for France at the Ministry of Information. (At that time the word propaganda did not have the negative implications it acquired later in the twentieth century). His appointment was made directly on the recommendation of Lord Beaverbrook, who also recommended him as Deputy Minister of that Department at the end of the war. He refused a knighthood in 1918.

Osbert Sitwell, in a letter to James Agate, notes that Bennett was not, despite current views, "the typical businessman, with his mean and narrow outlook." Sitwell cited a letter from Bennett to a friend of Agate, who remains anonymous, in ''Ego 5'':

I find I am richer this year than last; so I enclose a cheque for 500 pounds for you to distribute among young writers and artists and musicians who may need the money. You will know, better than I do, who they are. But I must make one condition, that you do not reveal that the money has come from me, or tell anyone about it.

Final years

He separated from his French wife in 1922 and fell in love with the actress Dorothy Cheston, with whom he stayed for the rest of his life. He won the 1923 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel ''Riceyman Steps''.

He died of typhoid at his home in Baker Street, London, on 27 March 1931, after returning from a visit to France. His ashes are buried in Burslem cemetery. Their daughter, Virginia Eldin, lived in France and was president of the Arnold Bennett Society.

References to the potteries in his works

In 1902, ''Anna of the Five Towns'', the first of a succession of stories which detailed life in the Potteries, appeared. His most famous works are the ''Clayhanger'' trilogy and ''The Old Wives' Tale''. These books draw on his experience of life in the Potteries, as did most of his best work. In his novels the Potteries are referred to as "the Five Towns"; Bennett felt that the name was more euphonious than "the Six Towns" so Fenton was omitted. The real towns and their Bennett counterparts are:

The Six Towns of Stoke-on-Trent	! Bennett's Five Towns
Tunstall, Staffordshire	Tunstall	Turnhill
Burslem	Bursley
	Hanbridge
Stoke-upon-Trent	Stoke	Knype
Fenton, Staffordshire	Fenton	The 'forgotten town'
Longton, Staffordshire	Longton	Longshaw

All but one of these are mild disguises; "Knype" may possibly be taken from the nearby village of Knypersley near Biddulph, and Knypersley Hall. Neighbouring Oldcastle, where Edwin Clayhanger went to school, is Newcastle under Lyme. Axe, towards which Tertius Ingpen lived, is Leek.

Several of his books set in the Potteries have been made into films (for example ''The Card'' starring Alec Guinness) and television mini-series (such as "Anna of the Five Towns" and "Clayhanger").

Criticism

Critically, Bennett has not always had an easy ride. His output was prodigious and, by his own admission, based on maximizing his income rather than from creative necessity.

As Bennett put it:

Am I to sit still and see other fellows pocketing two guineas apiece for stories which I can do better myself? Not me. If anyone imagines my sole aim is art for art’s sake, they are cruelly deceived.

Contemporary critics—Virginia Woolf in particular—perceived weaknesses in his work. To her and other Bloomsbury authors, Bennett represented the "old guard" in literary terms. His style was traditional rather than modern, which made him an obvious target for those challenging literary conventions. Max Beerbohm criticized him as a social climber who had forgotten his origins. He drew a mature and well fed Bennett expounding, "All to plan, you see" to a younger tougher version of himself, who replies: "Yes—but MY plan."

For much of the 20th Century, Bennett's work was tainted by this perception; it was not until the 1990s that a more positive view of his work became widely accepted. The noted English critic John Carey was a major influence on his rehabilitation. He praises him in his 1992 book, , declaring Bennett to be his "hero" because his writings "represent a systematic dismemberment of the intellectuals' case against the masses" (p. 152).

Quotations

My mother is far too clever to understand anything she doesn't like.

Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.

List of works

Fiction

''A Man from the North'' - 1898

''The Grand Babylon Hotel'' - 1902

''Anna of the Five Towns'' - 1902

''The Gates of Wrath'' - 1903

''Leonora'' - 1903

''A Great Man'' - 1904

''Teresa of Watling Street'' - 1904

''Sacred and Profane Love'' - 1905 (Revised and republished as ''The Book of Carlotta'' in 1911)

''Tales of the Five Towns'' - 1905 (short story collection)

''Whom God Hath Joined'' - 1906

''Hugo'' - 1906

''The Grim Smile of the Five Towns'' - (short stories 1907)

''The Ghost--a Modern Fantasy'' - 1907

''Buried Alive'' - 1908

''The Old Wives' Tale'' - 1908

''The Card'' - 1910

''Clayhanger'' - 1910

''Helen with a High Hand'' - 1910 (Serial title: ''The Miser's Niece'')

''Hilda Lessways'' - 1911

''Milestones'' - play written with Edward Knoblock

''The Matador of the Five Towns'' - (short stories 1912)

''The Regent'' - 1913 (US Title: ''The Old Adam'')

''Paris Nights and other impressions of places and people'' - 1913 (Illustrated, E. A. Rickards; George H. Doran Company, NY)

''The Price of Love'' - 1914

''These Twain'' - 1916

''The Pretty Lady'' - 1918

''The Roll-Call'' - 1918

''Mr Prohack'' - 1922

''Riceyman Steps'' - 1923

''Elsie and the Child'' - 1924

''The Clayhanger Family'' - 1925, the complete trilogy consisting of ''Clayhanger'', ''Hilda Lessways'', and ''These Twain''

''Lord Raingo'' - 1926

''The Woman who Stole Everything and Other Stories'' - 1927

''The Strange Vanguard'' - 1928

''Imperial Palace'' - 1930

''Venus Rising from the Sea'' - 1931

Non-fiction

''Journalism For Women'' - 1898

''Fame and Fiction'' - 1901

''How to Become an Author'' - 1903

''The Reasonable Life'' - 1907

''Literary Taste: How to Form It'' - 1909

''How to Live on 24 Hours a Day'' - 1910

''Mental Efficiency'' - 1911

''Those United States'' - 1912 (Also published as ''Your United States'')

''The Author's Craft'' - 1914

''Self and Self-Management'' - 1918

''The Human Machine'' - 1925

''How to Live'' - 1925, consisting of ''How to Live on 24 Hours a Day'', ''The Human Machine'', ''Mental Efficiency'', and ''Self and Self-Management''

''The Savour of Life'' - 1928

Film

''Piccadilly'' - 1929

Opera

Don Juan de Mañera

For further guidance consult ''Studies in the Sources of Arnold Bennett's Novels'' by Louis Tillier (Didier, Paris 1949), and ''Arnold Bennett and Stoke-on-Trent'' by E. J. D. Warrilow (Etruscan Publications, 1966). Also, ''Arnold Bennett: A Biography'' by Margaret Drabble (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1974).

In gastronomy

Bennett is one of a select number of celebrities to have a dish named after them. While staying at the Savoy Hotel in London, the chefs perfected an omelette incorporating smoked haddock, Parmesan cheese and cream, which pleased the author so much he insisted on it being prepared wherever he travelled. The 'Omelette Arnold Bennett' has remained a Savoy standard dish ever since.

The George Hotel in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, has a restaurant named after Bennett. It is adorned with Arnold Bennett photographs and memorabilia.

Other geographical links

1907/8 Paris: ''Old Wives Tale'' written here.

1908 French Riviera: convalescence after typhoid fever. Married and moved to Fountainbleau.

1914: Camarques, Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex coast: here he had the yacht ''Velsa'' and trips from this 'home in the country' to Frinton-on-Sea gave rise to one of the characters in ''The Price of Love''.

1917 Bennett's bachelor pad is at Thames Yacht Club: a couple of rooms 'furnished to his own taste'

1920 A month trip to Portugal with Frank Swinnerton, as Bennett was at a particularly low ebb.

May–June 1926, Bennett stayed in the village of Amberley, West Sussex where he wrote the last two thirds of ''The Vanguard'' in 44 days, noting 'I have never worked more easily than in the last six weeks. 1928 house rented in Le Touquet for the summer

;London

Strand Palace Hotel London: on London trips, he frequented as it offered a bedside light during his periods of insomnia.

His wife Marguerite's London flat was over a bank on the corner of New Oxford Street and Rathbone Place.

"large flat" George Street, Hanover Square, which subsequently Marguerite came to live in

1921-ish: 75, Cadogan Square; Dorothy moved in here. From here, they moved in 1930 (according to plaque on the building) to Chiltern Court, an "impressive block of flats" at Baker Street Railway Station (where H. G. Wells also lived).

1931 Bennett dies at Chiltern Court on March 26.

Notes

External links

Arnold Bennett's biography by his biographer Frank Swinnerton

The Potteries

Portraits of Arnold Bennett at the National Portrait Gallery (London).

Omelette Arnold Bennett A late supper dish that was created at the Savoy Hotel specially for Mr. Bennett

The Literary Debate Between Arnold Bennett and Virginia Woolf

Stoke-on-Trent Museums cares for a historic collection of Benett's letters and personal effects

Images of England Photo of the Bennett family home

Free book downloads in HTML, PDF, text formats at ebooktakeaway.com

Public domain audio books of works by Arnold Bennett at Librivox

Arnold Bennett Society

Category:1867 births Category:1931 deaths Category:English dramatists and playwrights Category:English diarists Category:English novelists Category:Alumni of the University of London Category:People from Hanley, Staffordshire Category:Deaths from typhoid fever Category:Infectious disease deaths in England Category:British propagandists

bg:Арнолд Бенет de:Arnold Bennett es:Arnold Bennett eo:Arnold Bennett fr:Arnold Bennett ko:아널드 베넷 hr:Arnold Bennett it:Arnold Bennett nl:Arnold Bennett ja:アーノルド・ベネット pl:Arnold Bennett pt:Arnold Bennett ro:Arnold Bennett simple:Arnold Bennett sh:Arnold Bennett fi:Arnold Bennett sv:Arnold Bennett th:อาร์โนลด์ เบนเน็ตต์

Coordinates	51°11′″N21°50′″N
name	Bill Hicks
birth name	William Melvin Hicks
birth date	December 16, 1961
birth place	Valdosta, Georgia, U.S.
origin	Houston, Texas, U.S.
death date	February 26, 1994
death place	Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
medium	Stand-up, music, philosophy
nationality	American
active	1978—1994
genre	Observational comedy, dark comedy, political satire
subject	American culture, American politics, current events, pop culture, human sexuality, philosophy, religion, spirituality, recreational drug use, entheogens, conspiracy theories, consumerism
website	BillHicks.com. WebCitation archive.
footnotes	}}

William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy. In both his stand-up performances and during interviews, he often criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity, and banality within the media and popular culture, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to "keep people stupid and apathetic."

Hicks was just sixteen years old when started performing stand up comedy at the Comedy Workshop in Houston in 1978. During the 1980s he toured America extensively and performed a number of high profile television appearances. It was in the UK, however, where Hicks first amassed a significant fan base, packing large venues with his 1991 tour. Hicks died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32. In the years after his death, his work and legacy achieved acclaim in creative circles. In 2007 he was voted the sixth-greatest stand-up comic on the UK's Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and appeared again in the updated 2010 list as the fourth-greatest comic.

Early life

Born in Valdosta, Georgia, Bill Hicks was the son of Jim and Mary (Reese) Hicks and had two elder siblings: brother Steve and sister Lynn. The family lived in Florida, Alabama, and New Jersey, before settling in Houston, Texas when Hicks was seven. He was raised in the Southern Baptist faith, where he first began performing as a comedian for other children at Sunday School.

Hicks was drawn to comedy at an early age, emulating Woody Allen and Richard Pryor, and writing routines with his friend Dwight Slade. Worried about his behavior, his parents took him to a psychoanalyst at age 17 but, according to Hicks, after one session the psychoanalyst informed him that "...it's them, not you."

Career

Change in comic style

Hicks graduated from high school and began touring in the early 1980s. After a few years of performing the same material, he felt that his act wasn't progressing. He wanted to push the boundaries of creativity as his idols Jimi Hendrix and Richard Pryor had done. At 21 years old, Hicks had never consumed alcohol, smoked cigarettes, or tried drugs. He began to experiment to see if intoxication was indeed the key to crossing the line. Although drinking and drugs helped Hicks to loosen his tongue, he eventually had to quit, realizing that it would interfere with his act, making it too controversial (and occasionally shambolic) for the public to handle.

Once Hicks gained some underground success in night clubs and universities, he quit drinking, realizing that it wasn't alcohol that made a comic genius but his ability to express a truth, even if it was an unpopular one. However, Hicks continued to smoke cigarettes. His nicotine addiction, love of smoking, and occasional attempts to quit became a recurring theme in his act throughout his later years.

California and New York

In January 1986, Hicks found himself broke, having spent all his money on a variety of substances. His career soon received another upturn, though, as he appeared on Rodney Dangerfield's ''Young Comedians Special'', in 1987. The same year, he moved to New York City, and, for the next 5 years, performed about 300 times a year. On the album ''Relentless'', he jokes that he quit using drugs because "once you've been taken aboard a UFO, it's kind of hard to top that", although in his performances, he continued to extol the virtues of LSD, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms. He fell back to chain-smoking, a theme that would figure heavily in his performances from then on.

In 1988, Hicks signed on with his first professional business manager, Jack Mondrus. Throughout 1989, Mondrus worked to convince many clubs to book Hicks, promising that the wild drug- and alcohol-induced behavior was behind him. Among the club managers hiring the newly sober Hicks was Colleen McGarr, who would become his girlfriend and fiancée in later years.

Hicks quit drinking in 1988, as stated in his 1990 album ''Dangerous'' on the first track, entitled "Modern Bummer".

In 1989 he released his first video, ''Sane Man''. It was reissued in 2006.

Early fame

In 1990, Hicks released his first album, ''Dangerous'', performed on the HBO special ''One Night Stand'', and performed at Montreal's ''Just for Laughs'' festival. He was also part of a group of American stand-up comedians performing in London's West End in November. Hicks was a huge hit in the UK and Ireland and continued touring there throughout 1991. That year, he returned to ''Just for Laughs'' and filmed his second video, ''Relentless''.

Hicks made a brief detour into musical recording with the ''Marble Head Johnson'' album in 1992. During the same year he toured the UK, where he recorded the ''Revelations'' video. for Channel 4 He closed the show with his soon-to become-famous philosophy regarding life, "It's Just a Ride". Also in that tour he recorded the stand-up performance released in its entirety on a double CD titled ''Salvation''. Hicks was voted "Hot Standup Comic" by ''Rolling Stone magazine''. He moved to Los Angeles in 1992.

Hicks and Tool

The progressive metal band Tool invited Hicks to open a number of concerts for it on their 1993 Lollapalooza appearances, where Hicks once famously asked the audience to look for a contact lens he'd lost. Thousands of people complied.

Tool dedicated its triple-platinum album ''Ænima'' (1996) to Hicks. The band intended to raise awareness about Hicks's material and ideas, because they felt that Tool and Hicks "were resonating similar concepts". In particular, ''Ænima''s final track, "Third Eye", is preceded by a clip of Hicks' performances, and both the lenticular casing of the Ænima album packaging as well as the chorus of the title track "Ænema" make reference to a sketch from Hicks' Arizona Bay philosophy, in which he contemplates the idea of Los Angeles falling into the Pacific Ocean. The closing track "Third Eye" contains samples from Hicks' ''Dangerous'' and ''Relentless''. An alternate version of the ''Ænima'' artwork shows a painting of Bill Hicks, calling him "Another Dead Hero," and mentions of Hicks are found both in the liner notes and on the record.

Controversy

Censorship and aftermath

Hicks constantly faced problems with censorship. In 1984, Hicks was invited to appear on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' for the first time. He had a joke that he used frequently in comedy clubs about how he caused a serious accident that left a classmate using a wheelchair. NBC had a policy that no handicapped jokes could be aired on the show, making his stand-up routine difficult to perform without mentioning words such as "wheelchair". Hicks was disappointed that the television audience didn't get to experience the uncensored Bill Hicks that people saw in clubs.

On October 1, 1993, Hicks was scheduled to appear on ''Late Show with David Letterman'', his 12th appearance on a Letterman late- night show, but his entire performance was removed from the broadcast — then the only occasion where a comedian's entire routine was cut after taping. Hicks' stand-up routine was removed from the show allegedly because Letterman and his producer were nervous about a religious joke ("if Jesus came back he might not want to see so many crosses"). Hicks said he believed it was due to a pro-life commercial aired during a commercial break. Both the show's producers and CBS denied responsibility. Hicks expressed his feelings of betrayal in a letter to John Lahr of ''The New Yorker''. Although Letterman later expressed regret at the way Hicks had been handled, Hicks did not appear on the show again. The full account of this incident was featured in a ''New Yorker'' profile by Lahr, which was later published as a chapter in Lahr's book, ''Light Fantastic''.

Hicks' mother, Mary, appeared on the January 30, 2009 episode of ''Late Show''. Letterman played the routine in its entirety. Letterman took full responsibility for the original censorship and apologized to Mrs. Hicks. Letterman also declared he did not know what he was thinking when he pulled the routine from the original show in 1993, saying, "It says more about me as a guy than it says about Bill because there was absolutely nothing wrong with that."

Denis Leary

For many years, Hicks was friends with fellow comedian Denis Leary. But in 1993 Hicks was angered by Leary's album ''No Cure for Cancer.'' Upon hearing the album, "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff, and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had practically line for line taken huge chunks of Bill's act and ''recorded'' it."

The friendship ended abruptly as a result. At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks's material as well as his persona and attitude. In an interview, when Hicks was asked why he had quit smoking, he answered, "I just wanted to see if Denis would, too." In another interview, Hicks said, "I have a scoop for you. I stole his [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and, to really throw people off, I did it before he did."

The controversy surrounding plagiarism is also mentioned in ''American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story'', by Cynthia True:

}}

During a 2003 Comedy Central roast of Denis Leary, comedian Lenny Clarke, a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast.

In a 2008 interview, Leary said, "It wouldn't have been an issue, I think, if Bill had lived. It's just that people look at a tragedy and they look at that circumstance and they go, oh, this must be how we can explain this."

Comic style

Hicks's style was a play on his audience's emotions. He expressed anger, disgust, and apathy while addressing the audience in a casual and personal manner, which he likened to merely conversing with his friends. His material was less focused on the everyday banalities of life and placed greater emphasis on philosophical themes of existence. He would invite his audiences to challenge authority and the existential nature of "accepted truth." One such message, which he often used in his shows, was delivered in the style of a news report (in order to draw attention to the negative slant news organizations give to any story about drugs):

Another of Hicks's most famous quotes was delivered during a gig in Chicago in 1989 (later released as the bootleg ''I'm Sorry, Folks''). After a heckler repeatedly shouted "Free Bird", Hicks screamed that "''Hitler had the right idea, he was just an underachiever!''" Hicks followed this remark with a misanthropic tirade calling for unbiased genocide against the whole of humanity.

Much of Hicks's routine involved direct attacks on mainstream society, religion, politics, and consumerism. Asked in a BBC interview why he cannot do a routine that appeals "to everyone", he said that such an act was impossible. He responded by repeating a comment an audience member once made to him, "We don't come to comedy to think!", to which he replied, "Gee! Where do you go to think? I'll meet you there!" In the same interview, he also said: "My way is half-way between: this is a night-club, and these are adults."

Hicks often discussed conspiracy theories in his performances, most notably the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He mocked the Warren Report and the official version of Lee Harvey Oswald as a "lone nut assassin." He also questioned the guilt of David Koresh and the Branch Davidian compound during the Waco Siege. Hicks would end some of his shows, especially those being recorded in front of larger audiences as albums, with a mock "assassination" of himself on stage, making gunshot sound effects into the microphone while falling to the ground.

Cancer diagnosis and death

Hicks wrote, "On June 16, 1993 I was diagnosed with having 'liver cancer that had spread from the pancreas.'” He started receiving weekly chemotherapy, while still touring and also recording his album, ''Arizona Bay'', with Kevin Booth. He was also working with comedian Fallon Woodland on a pilot episode of a new talk show, titled ''Counts of the Netherworld'' for Channel 4 at the time of his death. The budget and concept had been approved, and a pilot was filmed. The ''Counts of the Netherworld'' pilot was shown at the various Tenth Anniversary Tribute Night events around the world on February 26, 2004.

After being diagnosed with cancer, Hicks would often joke that any given performance would be his last. The public, however, was unaware of Hicks's condition. Only a few close friends and family members knew of his disease. Hicks performed the final show of his career at Caroline's in New York on January 6, 1994. He moved back to his parents' house in Little Rock, Arkansas, shortly thereafter. He called his friends to say goodbye, before he stopped speaking on February 14, and re-read J.R.R. Tolkien’s ''The Fellowship of the Ring''. He spent time with his parents, playing them the music he loved and showing them documentaries about his interests. He died of side effects of his cancer treatment in the presence of his parents at 11:20 p.m. on February 26, 1994. He was 32 years old. Hicks was buried in the family plot in Leakesville, Mississippi.

On February 7, 1994, Hicks authored a verse on his perspective, wishes, and thanks of his life, to be released after his death as his "last word", ending with the words: "I left in love, in laughter, and in truth and wherever truth, love and laughter abide, I am there in spirit."

Legacy

''Arizona Bay'' and ''Rant in E-Minor'' were released posthumously in 1997 on the Voices imprint of the Rykodisc label. ''Dangerous'' and ''Relentless'' were also re-released by Rykodisc on the same date.

In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, fellow comedians and comedy insiders voted Hicks #13 on their list of "The Top 20 Greatest Comedy Acts Ever". Likewise, in "Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" (2004), Hicks was ranked at #19. In March 2007, Channel 4 ran a poll, "The Top 100 Stand-Up Comedians of All Time", in which Hicks was voted #6. Channel 4 renewed this list in April 2010, which saw Hicks move up 2 places to #4.

Devotees of Hicks have incorporated his words, image, and attitude into their own creations. By means of audio sampling, fragments of Hicks' rants, diatribes, social criticisms, and philosophies have found their way into many musical works, such as the live version of Super Furry Animals' "Man Don't Give A Fuck". His influence on Tool is well-documented, he "appears" on the Fila Brazillia album ''Maim That Tune'' (1996) and on SPA's self titled album ''SPA'' (1997), which are both dedicated to Hicks; the British band Radiohead's second album ''The Bends'' (1995) is also dedicated to his memory. Singer/songwriter Tom Waits listed ''Rant in E-Minor'' as one of his 20 most cherished albums of all time.

Rappers Adil Omar and Vinnie Paz have also cited Hicks as an influence to their work; contemporary comedians David Cross and Russell Brand have stated that they were inspired by Hicks.

The British actor Chas Early portrayed Hicks in the one-man stage show ''Bill Hicks: Slight Return'', which premiered in 2004. The show was co-written by Chas Early and Richard Hurst, and imagined Hicks' view of the world 10 years after his death.

On February 25, 2004, British MP Stephen Pound tabled an early day motion titled "Anniversary of the Death of Bill Hicks" (EDM 678 of the 2003-04 session), the text of which reads: of inclusion with Lenny Bruce in any list of unflinching and painfully honest political philosophers.}}

Film and documentary

A documentary entitled ''American: The Bill Hicks Story'', based on interviews with his family and friends, premiered on March 12, 2010, at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Discography

References

Notes

Further reading

External links

Sacred Cow Productions

Bill Hicks Quotes

The subversive legacy of comic Bill Hicks, ''Salon.com''

Bill Hicks' releases on Rykodisc

Bill Hicks is Dead: Tribute and Biography, with related videos.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Comedians: Bill Hicks at Love-It-Loud.com

Dark Poet Unofficial Fan site

Category:1961 births Category:1994 deaths Category:American cannabis activists Category:American satirists Category:American social commentators Category:American stand-up comedians Category:Cancer deaths in Arkansas Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer Category:Free speech activists Category:Former Baptists Category:People from Houston, Texas Category:People from Valdosta, Georgia Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Psychedelic drug advocates Category:Conspiracy theorists Category:Religious skeptics Category:Rykodisc artists Category:American agnostics

bg:Бил Хикс ca:Bill Hicks de:Bill Hicks el:Μπιλ Χικς es:Bill Hicks fr:Bill Hicks is:Bill Hicks it:Bill Hicks he:ביל היקס mk:Бил Хикс nl:Bill Hicks ja:ビル・ヒックス no:Bill Hicks pl:Bill Hicks ru:Хикс, Билл simple:Bill Hicks sk:Bill Hicks sr:Бил Хикс fi:Bill Hicks sv:Bill Hicks tr:Bill Hicks

Coordinates	51°11′″N21°50′″N
Name	Roni Size
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Ryan Owen Granville Williams
Born	October 29, 1969Bristol, England
Genre	Drum and Bass
Occupation	DJProducer
Years active	1988-present
Label	Full Cycle RecordsDope Dragon RecordsV.records
Associated acts	ReprazentBreakbeat Era
Website	}}

Roni Size (born Ryan Owen Granville Williams, 29 October 1969, Bristol) is a British record producer and DJ, who came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and leader of Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. That year they won the Mercury Prize for their album ''New Forms''.

He resurrected Reprazent in 2008 with the release of a deluxe edition of´''New Forms'' on Universal.

Early life

Williams, son of Jamaican immigrants, grew up in the Bristol suburb of St. Andrews. He cites reggae as one of his early influences. He was expelled from school at the age of 16 and started attending house parties run by Bristol soundsystem The Wild Bunch (a predecessor of Massive Attack). He learned the basics about music production at his local youth club, the Sefton Park basement project, which provided record players, a mixing desk, drum machines and samplers. He worked with his brother's comprehensive collection of Studio One records and later set up a home studio, buying a sampler.

His future musical partner, Krust, had been a member of the Fresh 4, whose "Wishing On A Star" reached the Top Ten of the UK Singles Chart in late 1989. Williams, Krust, Suv and DJ Die founded Full Cycle Records.

Aided by Chris Lewis, Roni Size founded the record label ''WTP'' ("Where's The Party At?") as part of Circus Warp, and in 1993 Full Cycle and Dope Dragon were established in 1993 from that. RCA Records employee Bryan Gee was an early admirer. When in 1994 he set up V Recordings, the first releases were Krust's ''Deceivers'' EP as catalogue number V001 and ''Agility'', the debut release of Roni Size and DJ Die, as V002.

Musical style

Much of the acclaim centred around Size's melding of the propulsive jungle beats accompanied by live drums and double bass. The band consists of Williams (compositions/programming), DJ Krust, Onallee (vocals), Dynamite MC and rapper Bahamadia (a former protégé of Gang Starr). As a result, Reprazent drum 'n' bass is equally informed by hip-hop, funk, soul and house.

Career

In consolidation of their mainstream breakthrough, Reprazent had a series of festival appearances in summer of 1997 (including Tribal Gathering). Their ''New Forms'' LP won the Mercury Music Prize. The singles from the album all featured singer Onallee, whose call for the music in "Brown Paper Bag" is a signal ravers still respond to. The album went platinum, and Roni Size and his collaborators returned to the studio.

Williams subsequently teamed up with DJ Die and Leonie Laws in Breakbeat Era, before returning to Reprazent to record the second album, October 2000's ''In The Mode'', which included guest vocals from Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine and Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan. In 2001, he returned to the studio and started working with Tali, who had recently arrived from New Zealand on her album ''Lyric On My Lip''. In this time he also produced ''Touching Down'' - released in October 2002. This, his first truly solo album, included 16 tracks segued into one hour's set. He came back to 'V' in 2005 with the release of ''Return To V'', which included vocal collaborations with artists such as Beverly Knight, Jocelyn Brown, Vikter Duplaix and Rodney P.

Roni Size resurrected Reprazent in 2008 with the release of a deluxe edition of ''New Forms'' on Universal. The reformed band included original members Dynamite MC, Onallee and bass player Si John alongside Yuval Gabay (Soul Coughing), D Product, Jay Wilcox and Pete Josef. Roni Size and Reprazent toured some of the biggest festivals in Europe, including Bestival, Glastonbury, Lovebox, EXIT and Rock Herk. As a result, they were among the nominees for Best Dance Act from the UK Festival Awards.

The band started 2009 with a tour of Australia as part of the Good Vibrations Festival. Following on from this, Roni Size and Reprazent returned to North America for the first time in seven years as one of the headliners at the 2009 Ultra Music Festival in Miami. They then went on to perform at Coachella, appearing as the final act of the festival.

In September 2009, Roni Size and Reprazent played a gig with an orchestra and choir to mark the re-opening of Bristol’s Colston Hall, collaborating with the BBC’s Nature’s Great Events composer, William Goodchild. In addition to older material, the band played material from a forthcoming Reprazent album.

In June 2011, Roni Size began trial at Bristol Crown court for GBH, He was accused of throwing his girlfriend down the stairs in a jealous rage shattering her heel bone. He was acquitted of any charges.

Discography

''Music Box'' (1993)

''Witchcraft'' (1994) ft. Krust

''Fashion'' (1995)

''Square Off'' (1996)

''New Forms'' (1997)

''Snapshot'' (1999)

''26 Bass'' (1999)

''Ultra-Obscene'' (1999) with DJ Die under the alias "Breakbeat Era"

''Through the Eyes'' (2000)

''In the Mode'' (2000)

''Sound Advice'' (2002)

''Playtime'' (2002)

''Touching Down'' (2002)

''Snapshot 3'' (2003)

''Out of Breath'' (2004)

''Touching Down, Vol. 2'' (2005)

''Return to V'' (2005)

''Friends'' (2006)

''New Forms²'' (2008)

''Kops & Robbers'' (2009)

''Out of Order'' (2010)

References

External links

Roni Size 2008 interview on ilikemusic.com

Roni Size Exclusive Interview

Roni Size interview with BBC Bristol

Roni Size interview with Remixmag

Category:People from Bristol Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:English electronic musicians Category:English people of Jamaican descent Category:Breakbeat musicians Category:English drum and bass musicians Category:Music from Bristol, England Category:Culture in Bristol

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