The phrase research and development (also R and D or, more often, R&D;), according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications".

Research and development is often scientific or towards developing particular technologies and is frequently carried out as corporate or governmental activity.

Overview

New product design and development is more often than not a crucial factor in the survival of a company. In an industry that is changing fast, firms must continually revise their design and range of products. This is necessary due to continuous technology change and development as well as other competitors and the changing preference of customers. Without an R&D; program, the firm must rely on strategic alliances, acquisitions, and networks to tap into the innovations of others.

A system driven by marketing is one that puts the customer needs first, and only produces goods that are known to sell. Market research is carried out, which establishes what is needed. If the development is technology driven then it is a matter of selling what it is possible to make. The product range is developed so that production processes are as efficient as possible and the products are technically superior, hence possessing a natural advantage in the market place.

R&D; has a special economic significance apart from its conventional association with scientific and technological development. R&D; investment generally reflects a government's or organization's willingness to forgo current operations or profit to improve future performance or returns, and its abilities to conduct research and development.

The top eight spenders in terms of percentage of GDP were Israel (4.53%), Sweden (3.73%), Finland (3.45%) Japan (3.39%), South Korea (3.23%), Switzerland (2.9%), Iceland (2.78%) and United States (2.62%). The Commitment to Development Index ranks these countries, rewarding them for research and development that support the creation and dissemination of innovations of value to developing countries.

In general, R&D; activities are conducted by specialized units or centers belonging to companies, universities and state agencies. In the context of commerce, "research and development" normally refers to future-oriented, longer-term activities in science or technology, using similar techniques to scientific research without predetermined outcomes and with broad forecasts of commercial yield.

Statistics on organizations devoted to "R&D;" may express the state of an industry, the degree of competition or the lure of progress. Some common measures include: budgets, numbers of patents or on rates of peer-reviewed publications. Bank ratios are one of the best measures, because they are continuously maintained, public and reflect risk.

In the U.S., a typical ratio of research and development for an industrial company is about 3.5% of revenues. A high technology company such as a computer manufacturer might spend 7%. Although Allergan (a biotech company) tops the spending table with 43.4% investment, anything over 15% is remarkable and usually gains a reputation for being a high technology company. Companies in this category include pharmaceutical companies such as Merck & Co. (14.1%) or Novartis (15.1%), and engineering companies like Ericsson (24.9%). Such companies are often seen as poor credit risks because their spending ratios are so unusual.

Generally such firms prosper only in markets whose customers have extreme needs, such as medicine, scientific instruments, safety-critical mechanisms (aircraft) or high technology military armaments. The extreme needs justify the high risk of failure and consequently high gross margins from 60% to 90% of revenues. That is, gross profits will be as much as 90% of the sales cost, with manufacturing costing only 10% of the product price, because so many individual projects yield no exploitable product. Most industrial companies get only 40% revenues.

On a technical level, high tech organizations explore ways to re-purpose and repackage advanced technologies as a way of amortizing the high overhead. They often reuse advanced manufacturing processes, expensive safety certifications, specialized embedded software, computer-aided design software, electronic designs and mechanical subsystems.

Research has shown that firms with a persistent R&D; strategy outperform those with an irregular or no R&D; investment programme.

Pharmaceuticals

Research often refers to basic experimental research; development refers to the exploitation of discoveries. Research involves the identification of possible chemical compounds or theoretical mechanisms. In the United States, universities are the main provider of research level products. In the United States, corporations buy licences from universities or hire scientists directly when economically solid research level products emerge and the development phase of drug delivery is almost entirely managed by private enterprise. Development is concerned with proof of concept, safety testing, and determining ideal levels and delivery mechanisms. Development often occurs in phases that are defined by drug safety regulators in the country of interest. In the United States, the development phase can cost between $10 to $200 million and approximately one in ten compounds identified by basic research pass all development phases and reach market. Pharmaceuticals market, however are extremely complex in many respects. Large public sector investment in biomedical R & D influence private companies' choices about what to work and how intensively to invest in research and development. The returns on private sector R & D are attractive, on average but they vary considerably from one drug to the next. Consumer demand for prescription drug is often indirect, mediated by doctors and health insurers. New drug must undergo costly and time consuming testing before they sold.

Business

Research and development is nowadays of great importance in business as the level of competition, production processes and methods are rapidly increasing. It is of special importance in the field of marketing where companies keep an eagle eye on competitors and customers in order to keep pace with modern trends and analyze the needs, demands and desires of their customers.

Unfortunately, research and development are very difficult to manage, since the defining feature of research is that the researchers do not know in advance exactly how to accomplish the desired result. As a result, higher R&D; spending does not guarantee "more creativity, higher profit or a greater market share".

R&D; alliance

An R&D; alliance is a mutually beneficial formal relationship between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed goals while remaining independent organisations, where acquiring new knowledge is a goal by itself. The different parties agree to combine their knowledge to create new innovative products. Thanks to funding from government organizations, like the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and modern advances in technology, R&D; alliances have now become more efficient. Every company has their own research and develop department.

R&D; Reorientation

Industrial sector is transforming from vertical integration to horizontal structure. So far this transformation has taken place in manufacturing, but now it’s the turn for R&D; to make a paradigm shift. The restructuring trends of manufacturing predict the future of R&D; to be focused, financially independent, universally expanded and distributed.

In 2003 with their article titled Reorienting R&D; for a Horizontal Future Downey, Greenberg and Kapur illustrated that a horizontal structure of development in all industrial disciplines is required because of emerging markets, cost cutting needs and globalization. Collaborative networks in a decentralized environment are producing better results because of flexibility and cost reduction. R&D; is spreading across the globe for faster development and unique innovations. Building block structure is getting popular in R&D; because it is more manageable and focused.

In a challenging market environment after manufacturing now companies are eyeing to reduce the development cost where R&D; needs to justify its existence as an independent profit center with increased productivity and reduced operational costs. This can only be achieved through collaboration and trade-offs. Formation of horizontal collaborative network is challenging because it incorporates the issues of adaptability, security, cultural differences, varying standards, trust and ownership. Globalization is pushing R&D; to concentrate on global design approach with the design flexibility where products can be tailored as per different geographic markets.

Innovating products in response to market requirements will keep organizations in business whereas knowing their own productivity and capacity will enable them to operate more effectively. Firms can make better investment decisions if they can predict their development cost. This will directly add to the bottom line of the business. In a race to improve the productivity, lower the cost and save time, firms should not forget to retain the expertise of their core competencies. The proper synchronization of global resources must be addressed in order to save time and money. Companies must support the development of innovation management system for future growth.

Companies are decentralizing their R&D; units across the globe to extract the time and diversity benefits. Customer centric orientation is most profitable approach for any firm to operate in a competitive environment. R&D; is an area where ‘The World is Flat’ theory applies perfectly. World is shrinking with the increasing pace of information technology, and the same time decentralization is making our days longer. In this fast pace environment managing intellectual property is more critical for businesses to keep themselves in the race. Never ending attempts should be made to optimize the development with minimal resources. Flattening the innovation process will result in technological development with greater profits and efficiency.

See also

Basic research

ERD3 (Energy research, development, demonstration and deployment)

Demonstration

Deployment

Innovation

List of countries by research and development spending

List of business and finance abbreviations

Research

R&D; 100 Awards

Science of science policy

Science policy

Technology Life Cycle

Neglected Tropical Disease Research and Development

Notes

External links

U.S. Federal Investments in Energy R&D;: 1961-2008

R&D; Magazine:

* R&D; 100 Awards.

DOE Funded Research Projects Win 30 R&D; Awards for 2008

USA Today May 2008 Q&A; with Texas Instruments CEO about Bayh-Dole Act

OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2008

2010 Science and Engineering Indicators – Research and Development: National Trends and International Linkages

Scientific Grant Awards Database Contains details of over 2,000,000 scientific research projects conducted over the past 25 years.

RAND R&D; Methods Used by Federal Agencies in USA.

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Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	Luke Kelly
background	solo_singer
birth date	November 17, 1940
death date	January 30, 1984
origin	Sheriff Street, Dublin, Ireland
instrument	Vocals, banjo
genre	Folk music
occupation	Musician
years active	1960s–1980s
associated acts	The Dubliners
notable instruments	}}

Luke Kelly (; 17 November 1940 - 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer and folk musician from Dublin, Ireland, notable as a founding member of the band The Dubliners.

Early life

Luke Kelly was born into a working class family in Lattimore Cottages, 1 Sheriff Street, a quarter of a mile from Dublin's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street. His grandmother, who was a McDonald from Scotland, lived with the family until her death in 1953. His father worked all his life in Jacob's biscuit factory and enjoyed playing football. Both Luke and his brother Paddy played club Gaelic football and soccer as children.

He attended the Laurence O'Toole School as a child, and achieved very good grades in most subjects. In 1953 the Dublin Corporation moved the family to Larkhill near Whitehall when their flat was destroyed in a fire, but he continued to attend O'Toole's by taking a bus there every day. Luke left school at thirteen and after four years of odd-jobbing, he went to England in 1958. Working at steel fixing with his brother Paddy on a building site in Wolverhampton, he was sacked after asking for more money. He worked odd jobs from oil barrel cleaning to vacuum salesman.

Musical beginnings

The first folk club he came across was in Newcastle upon Tyne in early 1960. Having already acquired the use of a banjo, he started memorising songs. In Leeds he brought his banjo to sessions in McReady's pub. The folk revival was under way in England: at the centre of it was Ewan MacColl who scripted a radio programme called ''Ballads and Blues''. The skiffle craze had also injected a certain energy into folk singing.

Luke started busking. On a trip home he went to a ''fleadh cheoil'' in Miltown Malbay on the advice of Johnny Moynihan. He listened to recordings of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. As he sought out the musician in himself, he also developed his political convictions which, as Ronnie Drew pointed out after his death, he stuck to throughout his life. As Ronnie also pointed out, he learned to sing with perfect diction.

He befriended Sean Mulready in Birmingham, Luke lived in his home for a period, a teacher who was run out of his job in Dublin over his communist beliefs, he also had strong music links. A sister, Kathleen Moynihan was a founder member of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. He was related by marriage to Festy Conlon, the Co. Galway whistle player. His wife's brother, Ned Stapleton, taught Luke "The Rocky Road to Dublin".

Luke bought his first banjo, a five-string, started a lifelong habit of consummate reading and even took up golf - on one of Birmingham's municipal courses. He got involved in the Jug O'Punch folk club run by Ian Campbell. He befriended Dominic Behan and they performed in folk clubs and Irish pubs from London to Glasgow. In London pubs like The Favourite he would hear street singer Margaret Barry and musicians in exile like Roger Sherlock, Seamus Ennis, Bobby Casey and Mairtín Byrnes.

Luke Kelly was by now active in the Connolly Association, a left-wing grouping strongest among the exiles in England. His political development was significant. It gave edge and conviction to his performance and lent weight to The Dubliners' repertoire at a time when the youth in Ireland were breaking away from Civil War politics. He was also to start frequenting Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger's Singer Club in London.

The Dubliners

In 1961 there was a ballad boom in waiting in Ireland. The Abbey Tavern sessions in Howth were the forerunner to sessions in the Hollybrook, Clontarf, the International Bar and the Grafton Cinema. Luke Kelly returned to Dublin in 1962. O'Donoghue's Pub was already established as a session house and soon Luke was singing with, among others, Ronnie Drew and Barney McKenna. Other early people playing at O'Donoghues included The Fureys, father and sons; John Keenan and Sean Og McKenna; Johnny Moynihan and Mairtin Byrnes.

A concert John Molloy organized in the Hibernian Hotel led to his Ballad Tour of Ireland with the Ronnie Drew Ballad Group. (Billed in one town as the Ronnie Drew Ballet Group). The success trail led to the Abbey Tavern and the Royal Marine Hotel and then to jam-packed sessions in the Embankment, Tallaght. Ciaran Bourke joined the group, followed later by John Sheahan. They renamed themselves The Dubliners at Luke's suggestion, as he was reading James Joyce's book of short stories, entitled ''Dubliners'', at the time.

In 1964 Luke Kelly left the group for nearly two years and was replaced by Bobby Lynch, Luke went with Deirdre O'Connell, founder of the Focus Theatre, whom he was to marry the following year, he went back to London and became involved in Ewan MacColl's "gathering". The Critics, as it was called, was formed to explore folk traditions and help young singers. Luke Kelly greatly admired MacColl and saw his time with The Critics as an apprenticeship. "It functioned as a kind of self-help group to develop each other's potential," said Peggy Seeger.

Bobby Lynch left The Dubliners and Luke rejoined. They recorded an album in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, played the Cambridge Folk Festival and recorded ''Irish Night Out'', a live album with, among other, exiles Margaret Barry, Michael Gorman and Jimmy Powers. They also played a concert in the National Stadium in Dublin with, to Luke's delight, Pete Seeger as special guest. They were on the road to success: Top Twenty hits with "Seven Drunken Nights" and "The Black Velvet Band", the ''Ed Sullivan Show'' in 1968 and a tour of New Zealand and Australia. The ballad boom in Ireland was becoming increasingly commercialized with publicans building even larger venues for pay-in performances. Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger on a visit to Dublin expressed concern to Luke about his drinking.

Christy Moore became a friend after they met in 1967. During his Planxty days he got to know Luke particularly well. "Mind you at that time I think his best singing days were over. I think Luke ran out of steam in The Dubliners as a singer. I've heard tapes of him singing as a younger man and he was wonderful" Luke took to the stage, surprising many with his performance as King Herod in ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. In 1972 The Dubliners themselves performed in ''Richard's Cork Leg'', based on the "incomplete works" of Brendan Behan.

The arrival of a new manager for The Dubliners, Derry composer Phil Coulter, resulted in a collaboration that produced two of Luke's most notable performances: “The Town I Loved So Well” and “Scorn Not His Simplicity” ,a song about Phil's son who was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome. Luke had such respect for the song that he only performed it once for a television recording and rarely, if ever, sang it at the Dubliners' often boisterous concerts.

His interpretations of “On Raglan Road” and “Scorn Not His Simplicity” were significant musical achievements and became points of reference in Irish folk music. His version of “Raglan Road” came about when the poem's author, Patrick Kavanagh, heard him singing in a pub in Dublin city then called the Bailey, and approached him to say that he should sing the poem (which is set to the tune of “Dawning Of The Day”). Kelly remained a politically engaged musician, and many of the songs he recorded dealt with social issues, the arms race and war, workers' rights and Irish nationalism, ("The Springhill Disaster", "Joe Hill", "The Button Pusher", "Alabama 1958" and "God Save Ireland" all being examples of his concerns). In the socially and politically conservative atmosphere in Ireland at the time, this was notable.

Personal life

Luke Kelly married Deirdre O'Connell in 1965, but they separated in the early 1970s. Luke spent the last eight years of his life living with his partner Madeleine Seiler, who was from Germany. He was the brother of Will Kelly.

Final years

On 30 June 1980 during a concert in the Cork Opera House Luke Kelly collapsed on the stage. He had already suffered for some time from headaches and forgetfulness, which however had been ascribed to his alcohol consumption. A brain tumour was diagnosed. Although Kelly toured with the Dubliners after enduring an operation, his health deteriorated further. He forgot lyrics and had to take longer breaks in concerts as he felt weak. On his European tour in autumn 1983 he came off the stage in Traun, Austria and again in Mannheim, Germany. Shortly after he had to cancel the tour of southern Germany and after a short stay in hospital in Heidelberg he was flown back to Dublin. After another operation he spent Christmas with his family but was taken into hospital again in the New Year, where he died on 30 January 1984. His gravestone in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, bears the inscription: ''Luke Kelly - Dubliner ''.

Legacy

Luke Kelly remains a Dublin icon and his music is widely regarded as one of the city's cultural treasures. He united Dubliners in their appreciation of their own music and street songs and, years later, when the City Council was divided along Civil War lines over the naming of a new bridge over the River Tolka, the councillors quickly united as Tony Gregory proposed that it be named after Luke Kelly.

Kelly's music was pan-celtic . The influence of his Scottish grandmother was paramount in Kelly's help in preserving important traditional Scottish songs such as Robert Burns' 'Parcel of Rogues', Hamish Henderson's 'Freedom Come All Ye', and Thurso Berwick's 'Scottish Breakaway'

The Ballybough Bridge in the north inner city of Dublin has been renamed the "Luke Kelly Bridge" and in November 2004, the Dublin city council voted unanimously to erect a bronze statue of Luke Kelly. However, the Dublin Docklands Authority has since stated that it can no longer afford to fund the statue. Councillor Christy Burke of Dublin City Council has appealed to members of the music community including Bono, Phil Coulter and Enya to help build it.

Paddy Reilly has recorded a tribute to Kelly entitled ''The Dublin Minstrel'' This features on his Gold And Silver Years, Celtic Collections and the Essential Paddy Reilly CD's. The Dubliners recorded it on their Live At Vicar Street DVD/CD. The song was composed by Declan O'Donoghue, the Racing Correspondent of The Irish Sun.

References

Bibliography

''Luke Kelly: a Memoir'', Des Geraghty, ISBN 1-85594-090-6

''Ar Bhruacha na Life'', Des Geraghty, - 23-5-07 135585 www.tg4.ie - En sub.wmv (Déanann Des Geraghty, fear amhrán agus feadóige, ceiliúradh ar an lucht ceoil i mBaile Átha Cliath).

External links

Biography at "Ramblinghouse"

'Ahern lends support to Kelly memorial' 31 December 2004

http://uk.youtube.com/kellyoneill

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-501647685464276780

Category:1940 births Category:1984 deaths Category:Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Category:Irish banjoists Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish folk singers Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:Irish communists Category:Irish people of Scottish descent

de:Luke Kelly eu:Luke Kelly fo:Luke Kelly fr:Luke Kelly ga:Luke Kelly it:Luke Kelly nl:Luke Kelly no:Luke Kelly pl:Luke Kelly pt:Luke Kelly fi:Luke Kelly sv:Luke Kelly

Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
Name	The Mutton Birds
Background	group_or_band
Origin	New Zealand
Years active	1991–2002
Label	EMIVirgin Records
Past members	Don McGlashanRoss BurgeDavid LongChris SheehanAlan GreggTony Fisher}}

The Mutton Birds was a band from New Zealand formed in 1991 by Don McGlashan, Ross Burge, and David Long.

History

All three members came into the band with experience: McGlashan came from Blam Blam Blam and The Front Lawn, guitarist Long had played in the Six Volts and Burge had played in the Spines and Sneaky Feelings. Burge was also playing in Dribbling Darts alongside the Mutton Birds. They gained bassist Alan Gregg, also from Dribbling Darts in 1992 and recorded their first self-titled album. It went platinum in New Zealand and gained them notice outside college radio, notably for a cover of Wayne Mason's "Nature" - originally recorded by Mason in 1970 with The Fourmyula and subsequently voted in 2002 as New Zealand's greatest song of the previous 75 years. The Mutton Birds debut album remained on the charts for over a year.

For their second album, ''Salty'', they signed with EMI Australia. It was self-produced and mixed by Tchad Blake. Again the album went platinum in NZ but received little notice beyond Australia and New Zealand.

Their next album, ''Nature'', was a collection of songs from their first two CDs with production assistance from Neil Finn, released by Virgin Records.

Their third proper CD, ''Envy of Angels'', was recorded in Wales and released in 1996 worldwide. It sold typically well in Australia and New Zealand, and sales increased from those of Nature in the rest of the world. This year also saw The Mutton Birds' contribution to the soundtrack of Peter Jackson's film ''The Frighteners'' with a remake of Blue Öyster Cult's 1976 classic "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". The band now moved to the United Kingdom where they would remain based until 2000.

As they began touring, David Long quit, replaced by Chris Sheehan. Two self-released CDs followed, ''Angle of Entry'' (an acoustic live album) in 1997 and ''Too Hard Basket'' (subtitled ''B-sides and Bastards'', it contained various rarities) in 1998 as the band looked for a record company. By 1999, Alan Gregg had decided to leave the band. He was replaced by Tony Fisher for their latest CD, ''Rain, Steam, and Speed'' which was also released independently. Another independently released live album (''Live in Manchester'') was issued in time for the 2000 UK tour. A greatest hits collection called ''Flock'' was released in 2002.

Discography

Albums

!Date of Release	!Title	!Label	!Charted	!Country	!Catalog Number
1992		Bag Records (EMI)		NZ	8282612
1993		Virgin Records		NZ
1995	''Nature''			-
1996	''Envy of Angels''	EMI
1997	''Angle of Entry''			-	GRAVY CD1
1998	''Too Hard Basket''		-	GRAVY CD2
1999	''Rain, Steam, and Speed''			-	SHCDA 001
2000	''Live in Manchester''		-	None on Sleeve or CD
2002	''Flock: The Best of the Mutton Birds''	EMI		-

Featured appearances

The group have appeared on many compilation albums since the inception in New Zealand. The following is a list of these albums that have featured tracks by the Mutton Birds.

(1999) - ''The Best Beer Drinking Songs In The World'' (EMI) - "Nature"

(2001) - ''Live At Helen's'' (Festival Mushroom Records) - "Pulled Along By Love"

(2001) - ''100% Kiwi Rock'' (Warner Music) - "Dominion Road"

(2002) - ''Nature's Best'' (Sony Music) - "Dominion Road"

(2002) - ''Absolute Bliss'' (Festival Records) - "Dominion Road"

(2002) - ''Nature's Best 2'' (Sony Music) - "Anchor Me"

(2009) - ''The Great New Zealand Songbook'' (Sony Music) - "Dominion Road"

Singles

!Year	!Single	!Album	!Charted	!Certification
1992				-
1992		''The Mutton Birds''		-
1992	"Giant Friend"	''The Mutton Birds''		-
1993	"Your Window"	''The Mutton Birds''		-
1994				-
1994		''Salty''		-
1994		''Salty''		-
1994		''Salty''		-
1996		''Envy of Angels''		-
1997		''Envy of Angels''		-
1999		''Rain, Steam, and Speed''		-

References

Dix, John, ''Stranded In Paradise'', Penguin, 2005. ISBN 0-14-301953-8

Eggleton, David, ''Ready To Fly'', Craig Potton, 2003. ISBN 1-877333-06-9

Shute, Gareth, ''NZ Rock 1987-2007'', Auckland, Random House, 2008. ISBN 978-1-86979-000-4

Spittle, Gordon, ''Counting The Beat'', GP Publications, 1997. ISBN 1-86956-213-5

Mick Thomas has covered 'Dominion Road'

External links

A Religion Of A Kind - The Mutton Birds and beyond

Don McGlashan's Official Homepage

Mutton Birds, The

Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	Marina and the Diamonds
background	solo_singer
birth name	Marina Lambrini Diamandis
birth date	October 10, 1985
birth place	Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
instrument	Vocals, keyboard, piano, glockenspiel, casio VL-tone, organ
genre	Indie pop, New Wave
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
years active	2007–present
label	Neon Gold, 679, Chop Shop
website	}}

Marina Lambrini Diamandis (, pronounced ; born 10 October 1985), better known by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds (sometimes stylised as Marina & the diamonds), is a Welsh singer-songwriter. She rose to fame after reaching number two on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll list, coming second to Ellie Goulding. After releasing one private EP, Diamandis released her second extended play, ''The Crown Jewels EP'', with help from Neon Gold Records, in 2009. Now signed to 679 Recordings, she released her debut full length studio album, ''The Family Jewels'', followed by her third extended play, ''The American Jewels EP'', in 2010. In 2011, Marina announce that she was working on her second album, "Electra Heart", no date has been announced. The first single from the second album is called "Radioactive" and is to release in the UK, on 3rd October 2011.

Her stage name, "Marina and the Diamonds", consists of Diamandis's first name and the translation of her surname which means "Diamonds" in Greek. Although "The Diamonds" is often mistakenly believed to refer to her backing band, it in fact refers to Diamandis's fans: she explains this on her Myspace page by saying "I'm Marina Diamandis. You are my fans."

Diamandis's musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo New Wave-style songs with full band backing. She has cited a wide-range of influences such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, The Distillers, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Yann Tiersen, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton and Madonna.

Background

Diamandis was born in Abergavenny, Wales to a Greek father and a Welsh mother, and brought up in the village of Pandy with her parents and her older sister. She attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, of which she said "I sort of found my talent there... I was the one who always skived off choir, but I had an incredible music teacher who managed to convince me I could do anything." When her parents separated, Diamandis moved to Greece when she was sixteen years old to live with her father but returned to Wales two years later.

Diamandis moved to London at the age of eighteen where she attended dance school for only two months. Following this, in 2005 she took a one year singing course at Tech Music Schools. Diamandis enrolled on a degree in music at the University of East London, transferring in her second year of studies to Middlesex University, but she later dropped out. She went for many auditions including the West End musical, ''The Lion King''. Diamandis admitted that she auditioned for a reggae boy band, held by Virgin Records, in 2005 to try to make it into the music business. She said she was "delusional with drive" and ultimately decided to dress up in male attire to try to amuse the record label to sign her, but she was unsuccessful. However, she was called back by the record label a week later.

Diamandis has a synaesthetic condition that involves seeing musical notes and days of the week in different colours.

Musical career

2005–2009: Early career

In 2005, Diamandis created the name "Marina and the Diamonds". When describing the origin of the name, she said:

Early demos of Marina and the Diamonds' songs were self composed and produced on the Apple software application Garageband. Through Gumtree she found someone to produce a few tracks, for which she paid £500. These ended up on her debut extended play ''Mermaid Vs. Sailor EP'' which was released on 23 November 2007. The record was created on hand-made CD-Rs by Diamandis and sold through her MySpace page. An estimated seventy copies were sold overall.

In January 2008, Diamandis was first discovered by music scouter Derek Davies of Neon Gold Records. Davies booked Diamandis to open for Australian singer Gotye later that year where Warner Music Group first saw her and ended up signing her in October 2008 to 679 Recordings. Diamandis's debut single was a double a-side consisting of "Obsessions" and "Mowgli's Road" which was issued on Neon Gold Records in the United States on 19 November 2008, followed by her second extended play ''The Crown Jewels EP'' on 1 June 2009 featuring her second single "I Am Not a Robot". Her first major label single, a re-recording of "Mowgli's Road", was released on 13 November 2009 under 679 Recordings in the UK and through Atlantic Records in the USA. On 7 December 2009 she was listed on the longlist for the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, and on 7 January 2010 it was announced that she had taken second place.

2008–2010: The Family Jewels

Marina and the Diamonds' debut album ''The Family Jewels'' was released on 22 February 2010. It peaked at number five in the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver in the United Kingdom days before its release. A re-release of "Mowgli's Road" was released as the album's lead single on 13 November 2009. However, the song "Hollywood" was released as the first major single from the album on 1 February 2010. A re-release of "I Am Not a Robot" on the 26 April 2010 became the album's third single. Diamandis said she decided to re-release the song because "people seem to empathize and relate with the song, regardless of gender or age." thumb|right|150px|Marina and the Diamonds at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ"Oh No!" became the album's fourth single on 2 August 2010. "Shampain" became the album's fifth single on 11 October 2010. She embarked on her first headlining tour on 14 February 2010, consisting of seventy dates around the United Kingdom, Ireland, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada.

Early on in 2010, Diamandis has been collaborating with producer Benny Blanco and guitarist Dave Sitek in Los Angeles on new material which she describes to be "a really great opportunity for me as a songwriter. [We are] such a weird threesome - a combination of super pop and really indie".

In March 2010, Atlantic Records signed Marina and the Diamonds to Chop Shop Records in the United States. Before the album's American release on 25 May 2010, Diamandis released her third extended play, ''The American Jewels EP'', digitally and exclusively for the United States on 23 March 2010. Diamandis made her North American debut on 14 March 2010 through a series of performances.

Marina and the Diamonds was nominated for Critics' Choice at the 2010 BRIT Awards and came fifth in ''SHREDnews''' "Ten Artists To Watch in 2010" list in March 2010. She also won the award for Best UK & Ireland Act at the 2010 MTV EMA awards, sending her into the Best European Act category, although she failed to reach the top 5 nominees.

2011–present: Electra Heart

Marina announced at a concert in Glasgow on the 1st of November, that she would be releasing new material as early as October 2011, although has since announced via her website that she is unsure how long it will take for the album to be completed. There is still no such indication as to date of release. In a January 2011 interview, she announced that her second album will mainly be about the female sexuality and feminism. On January 19, Diamandis was announced as a support act for the US leg of Katy Perry's "California Dreams Tour". Three early demos were leaked in early 2011, called "Sex, Yeah!", "Living Dead" and "Jealousy", each showing a more pop sound. A number of these previously unreleased tracks have been performed as part of the Burger Queen Tour. "Jealousy" made its television debut at the 2011 Glammy Awards in Germany. Of the leaked tracks it is so far the only to be confirmed for the new album, yet according to Diamondis "has nothing to do with the concept of the album". She is currently recording material with producers Guy Sigsworth, Labrinth, Greg Kurstin, Diplo, Dr. Luke, Stargate and Liam Howe.

On 8th August 2011 at 4pm, Diamandis uploaded a new video to her Youtube page titled "Part 1: Fear & Loathing". In an interview with Popjustice, Marina explained the whole concept of "Electra Heart" with the album to be under the same title and "Fear & Loathing" as an album track, and to be released on iTunes on September the 25th. However this will not be an official single. The high concept video for it sees Marina slowly transforming into the character of Electra Heart, a guise Marina says "epitomises and embodies the lies, illusions and death of American ideologies involved in the corruption of self." but will however not be an alter-ego as Marina says it is too "clichéd". Asked to describe just what Electra Heart is and stands for, Marina told Popjustice: "Electra Heart is the antithesis of everything that I stand for. And the point of introducing her and building a whole concept around her is that she stands for the corrupt side of American ideology, and basically that’s the corruption of yourself. My worst fear - that’s anyone’s worst fear - is losing myself and becoming a vacuous person. And that happens a lot when you’re very ambitious." The second song, 'Radioactive' produced by Stargate premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 22 August 2011. It is set to be released on iTunes on 3rd October 2011. Further developing the Electra Heart concept "Part 2: Radioactive" the official music video for the single premiered.

Aside from music, Diamandis became the new face of Max Factor. The venture was confirmed early 2011 with a number of photoshoots since taking place.

Music style and influences

Marina and the Diamonds has been influenced by a wide-range of musicians from PJ Harvey to Britney Spears. Diamandis has also noted Daniel Johnston as one of her major influences saying:

Diamandis calls herself a "DIY musician" and describes her sound as an alternative to mainstream pop music. In an interview with ''ClashMusic'' Diamandis said that she does not come from a musical background and explained “I probably have a bit of a different sound because I don’t really know what I’m doing”. Lyrically, she says her music analyzes people and that if she wasn't a musician, she would be a psychologist.

Critics usually catalogue Marina and the Diamonds as a New Wave pop artist. In an interview with ''The Guardian'' she said, "I suppose I'm an indie artist with pop goals". Although Diamandis has urged that she never tries to sound like any other artist or copy a genre of music, she has been compared to a variety of artists such as Kate Bush and most commonly Florence and the Machine. ''PopMatters'' commented on her vocal delivery and attitude saying it "has a tendency to overshadow the music, which is often melodically inventive, but we are rarely given the chance to realise this." ''The Guardian'''s Paul Lester wrote that "her songs are hard to fathom. They veer between simple keyboards-based ballads and more upbeat and catchy, quirky new wave-inflected numbers enhanced by percussion, guitar and drums."

Public image

As well as her music, Marina and the Diamonds is also notable for her unique attire. When asked in an interview to describe her fashion style in three words, Diamandis said "vintage, cheerleader and cartoon". You can see an element of this style in the video for 'Oh No!' Which was released in June 2010.She has praised model/DJ Leigh Lezark's fashion style and called Gwen Stefani her definitive style icon calling her image "cartoonized but in a very fresh way". Diamandis has mentioned that she sometimes makes her own outfits with clothes she buys from charity shops. She also collects vintage cheer jackets. She has often been seen wearing clothes by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Laura Mackness, Beyond Retro, Motel Rocks, Jervoise Jackets amongst others. Diamandis has admitted that she would "like to do something in fashion, not designing, not one of those skanky celebrity lines, but being involved behind the scenes".

As part of Selfridges' "Sound of Music", Diamandis designed her own window display for the London's Oxford Street branch in May 2010. She also appeared as a "live mannequin" for the display. Marina was featured on VOGUE.CO.UK throughout November 2010 for a popular sartorial section called Today I'm Wearing - where she blogged her daily style choices for the fashion website. On 20 December 2010, Diamandis announced on her Twitter that she would be the new face of the new make up range "Max Factor Max Colour Effects" and performed an intimate gig at London's Cuckoo Club.

Discography

;Studio albums

2010: ''The Family Jewels''

2011: ''Electra Heart''

;Extended plays

2007: ''Mermaid Vs. Sailor EP''

2009: ''The Crown Jewels EP''

2010: ''The American Jewels EP''

Touring

In 2009, Marina and the Diamonds played at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon early in May 2009, Glastonbury Festival in June 2009, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2009.

In promotion for her album and "Hollywood", Diamandis performed at Brand New: 10 for 10 at London's Dingwalls, had an eleven minute 4Music special - ''4Play: Marina and the Diamonds'' - on Channel 4, performed at T4's Outside-In Festival, New to Q Sessions in January 2010, was a musical guest on GMTV, ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', ''The Review Show'' in February, 2010 and ''Later... with Jools Holland'' and T4's ''Frock Me!'' in April, 2010. She performed at the Isle of Wight Festival 2010 and Glastonbury Festival 2010 in June 2010 and is planned to appear at other music festivals across the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and North America.

Diamandis had already sold out the first leg of her first headlining tour, The Family Jewels Tour (including the third leg of her tour, The Gem Tour) before the release of her debut album. Her entire tour currently consists of seventy dates across six legs around the United Kingdom, North America, Ireland and mainland Europe. Diamandis was accompanied by support acts Clock Opera and Alan Pownall for the first leg of her tour and Spark on The Gem Tour.

;Tours

The Family Jewels Tour (February 2010 — September 2010)

The Burger Queen Tour (October 2010 - onwards)

California Dreams Tour (Supporting - 22 June - 9 July)

Backing band

;Current members

Peter Carr – electronic keyboard

Dan Gulino – bass

Jonathon Shone - keyboard

Sebastian Sternberg – drums

;Past members

Ben Epstein – bass

Nick Harsant – bass

Nick Johnson – drums

Tom Holdroyd – guitar

Chris Morris – drums

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable" |- ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Organisation ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Nominated work ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Award ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Result |- |rowspan="12"|2010 |BBC Sound of 2010 |Marina and the Diamonds |Sound of 2010 |style="background:lightgrey" |Second place |- |2010 BRIT Awards |Marina and the Diamonds |Critics' Choice | |- |SHREDnews |Marina and the Diamonds |Ten Artists To Watch in 2010 |style="background:lightgrey" |Fifth place |- |2010 NME Awards |Marina and the Diamonds |Hottest Woman | |- |2010 BT Digital Music Awards |Marina and the Diamonds |Breakthrough Artist of the Year | |- |rowspan="2"|MTV Europe Music Awards |Marina and the Diamonds |Best UK & Irish Act | |- |Marina and the Diamonds |Best European Act | |- |UK Festival Awards 2010 |Marina and the Diamonds |Best Breakthrough Act | |- |rowspan="3"|4Music Video Honours |Marina and the Diamonds |Hottest Girl of 2010 |style="background:lightgrey" |Eighth place |- |Marina and the Diamonds |Box Biggest Breakthrough of 2010 |style="background:lightgrey" |Tenth place |- |Hollywood |Best Video of 2010 | |- ||Virgin Media Music Awards |Marina and the Diamonds |Best Newcomer | |- |rowspan="1"|2011 ||Glamour Women of the Year Awards |Marina and the Diamonds |Best Band | |-

References

External links

Marina and the Diamonds on BBC Wales

Fan news site .net

Fan news site .org

Fan site documenting Marina's live career

Review of Marina and the Diamonds, Deaf Institute Manchester February 2010 Contact Music

Marina and the Diamonds on VOGUE.COM's Today I'm Wearing

Marina and the Diamonds Videography

Marina and the Diamonds Discography and Collectors Guide

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