Four coloured dice showing all six possible sides (on a right-handed, 6-sided die with pips)

A die (plural dice, from Old French dé, from Latin datum "something which is given or played")^[1] is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers. This makes dice suitable as gambling devices for games like craps, or for use in non-gambling tabletop games.

A traditional die is an often rounded cube, with each of its six faces showing a different number (pips) from 1–6. The design as a whole is aimed at the die providing a randomly determined integer from one to six, each of those values being equally likely. A variety of similar devices are also described as dice; such specialized dice may have polyhedral or irregular shapes and may have faces marked with symbols instead of numbers. They may be used to produce results other than one through six. Loaded and crooked dice are designed to favor some results over others for purposes of cheating or amusement.

History[link]

Bone die found at Cantonment Clinch (1823–1834), an American fort used in the American Civil War by both Confederate and Union forces at separate times.

Dice have been used throughout Asia since before recorded history; the oldest known dice were excavated as part of a 5000-year-old backgammon set at the Burnt City, an archeological site in south-eastern Iran.^[2] Other excavations from ancient tombs in the Indus Valley civilization indicate a South Asian origin.^[3] Dicing is mentioned as an Indian game in the Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Buddha games list;^[4] it also plays a critical role in the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, where Yudhisthira plays a game of dice against the Kauravas for the northern kingdom of Hastinapura, which becomes the trigger for a war. There are several biblical references to "casting lots", as in Psalm 22, indicating that dicing was commonplace in the region during King David's reign. Knucklebones was a skill game played by women and children; a derivative form had the four sides of the bone receive different values and count as modern dice. Gambling with two or three dice was a very popular form of amusement in Greece, especially with the upper classes, and an invariable accompaniment to symposia.

Knucklebones die, made of steatite.

Dice were originally made from the talus of hoofed animals, colloquially known as "knucklebones". These are approximately tetrahedral, giving the term "bones" used for dice. Modern Mongolians still use such bones as shagai, for games and fortunetelling. Besides bone, materials like ivory, wood and recently plastics like cellulose acetate have been used. Dice are hard to differentiate from knucklebones because ancient writers confused the two, but both were used in prehistoric times.

The Romans were passionate gamblers, especially at the peak of the Roman Empire, and dicing was common though forbidden except during the Saturnalia. Horace derided what he thought as a typical youth of the period, who wasted time on dicing instead of horse-chasing. Throwing dice for money was the cause of many special laws in Rome; one of these stated that no lawsuit could be filed by a person who allowed gambling in his house, even if he had been cheated or assaulted. Professional gamblers were common; some of their loaded dice are preserved in museums. The public houses were the resorts of gamblers, and frescos exist showing two quarrelling dicers being ejected by the host. Twenty-sided dice date back to the 2nd century AD.^[5]

A collection of historical dice from Asia.

Tacitus stated that the Germans were passionately fond of dicing, so much that they would stake their personal liberty when bankrupt. During the Middle Ages, dicing became the favorite pastime of the knights, with dicing schools and guilds. After the downfall of feudalism, the landsknechts established a reputation as the most notorious dicing gamblers of their time; many of the dice then were curiously carved in the images of men and beasts. In France, dicing was played by both knights and ladies, despite repeated legislation, including interdictions on the part of St. Louis in 1254 and 1256. The markings on Chinese dominoes evolved from the markings on dice.

Construction[link]

Western, Asian and casino dice.

Common dice are small cubes most commonly 1.6 cm across, whose faces are numbered from one to six, usually by patterns of round dots called pips. (While the use of Hindu-Arabic numerals is occasionally seen, such as in the game Pop-O-Matic Trouble, the ambigrammatic properties of the digits (for instance, 6 can look like a 9 upside down) make such dice uncommon.) Traditionally, opposite sides of a die add up to seven, implying that the 1, 2 and 3 faces share a vertex;^[6] these faces may be placed clockwise or counterclockwise about this vertex. If the 1, 2 and 3 faces run counterclockwise, the die is called right-handed and vice versa. Western dice are normally right-handed and Chinese dice are normally left-handed.^[7]

Typical facets of an Asian-style (top) and a Western-style die (bottom). The pips on the Asian-style facets are arranged more compactly than the Western-style facets.

The pips on dice are arranged in specific patterns as shown in the picture to the left. Asian style dice bear similar patterns to Western ones, but the pips are closer to the centre of the face; the one's pip is larger than the others, with that and the four's pips coloured red. In some older sets, the "one" pip is a colorless depression. It is suggested^[who?] that an entirely black and white color combination on the one's and four's sides would be unlucky; red, a lucky color in Chinese culture, would counteract this. The word for four in Chinese is a homophone of the word for death and is considered unlucky; it is probable that red fours are of Indian origin.^[7][8]

The result of a die roll is determined by the way it is thrown, according to the laws of classical mechanics; they are made random by uncertainty due to factors like movements in the thrower's hand. Thus, they are a type of hardware random number generator. Some people^[who?] claim that the pips on the faces of certain styles of dice cause a small bias, but there is no research to support this claim; this is reduced somewhat in the Asian die with its oversized single pip.^{[citation needed]} Casino dice have flush markings, offering the assurance that this brings them very close to providing true uniformly distributed random numbers.^{[citation needed]}

Dice are thrown, singly or in groups, from the hand or from a container designed for this, onto a flat surface; the face of the die that is uppermost when it comes to rest provides the value of the throw. A typical dice game today is craps, where two dice are thrown at a time and wagers are made on the total value of the two dice. Dice are frequently used to randomize moves in board games, usually by deciding the distance through which a piece will move along the board; examples of this are backgammon and Monopoly.

Clones of board games must use computer generated dice; the values are usually determined by a pseudorandom number generator, then displayed as a visual representation of a die. The reverse is also possible, with bar coded dice shuffling as a source of true random data for computers.^[9]

Manufacturing[link]

Non-precision dice are manufactured via the plastic injection molding process. The pips or numbers on the dice are a part of the mold. The coloring for numbering is achieved by submersing the dice entirely in paint, which is allowed to dry and then polished via a tumble finishing process, similar to rock polishing. The abrasive agent scrapes off all of the paint except for the indents of the numbering. A finer abrasive is then used to polish the die. This process also creates the smoother, rounded edges on the dice.^[10]

Precision dice[link]

Precision casino dice may have a polished or sand finish, making them transparent or translucent respectively. Casino dice have their pips drilled, then filled flush with a paint of the same density as the material used for the dice, such that the dice are as close to perfectly cubical as possible. All such dice are stamped with a serial number to prevent potential cheaters from substituting a die.^{[citation needed]} Precision backgammon dice are made the same way; they tend to be slightly smaller and have rounded corners and edges, to allow better movement inside the dice cup and stop forceful rolls from damaging the playing surface.

Terms[link]

While the terms ace, deuce, trey, cater, cinque and sice have been made obsolete by one to six, they are still used by some professional gamblers to designate different sides of the dice. Ace is from the Latin as, meaning "a unit";^[11] the others are 2 to 6 in old French.

Notation[link]

Using Unicode characters, the faces ⚀ ⚁ ⚂ ⚃ ⚄ ⚅, can be shown in text using the range U+2680–U+2685 or using decimal &9856;–&9861;.^[12]

In many gaming contexts, especially tabletop RPGs, the count and number of sides of dice to be rolled at any given time is reduced to a common set of notations; typically these involve the letter "d" for dice. Hence, 6d8 means six eight-sided dice and 2d6 two common dice. Various arithmetic operations are often added at the end; 3d6+4 is three six-sided dice plus four to the outcome.

Loaded dice[link]

A loaded, weighted or crooked die is one that has been tampered with to land with a specific side facing upwards more often than it normally would. There are several methods for creating loaded dice; these include round and off-square faces and (if not transparent) weights. Tappers have a mercury drop in a reservoir at the center, with a capillary tube leading to another reservoir at a side; the load is activated by tapping the die so that the mercury travels to the side.

Another type of loaded die is hollow with a small weight and a semi-solid substance inside whose melting point is just lower than the temperature of the human body, allowing the cheater to change the loading of the die by applying body heat, causing the semi-solid to melt and the weight to drift down, making the chosen opposite face more likely to land up. A less common type of loaded die can be made by inserting a magnet into the die and embedding a coil of wire in the game table; running current through the coil increases the likelihood of a certain side landing on the bottom, depending on the direction of the current. Transparent acetate dice, used in all reputable casinos, are harder to tamper with than other dice.

Shaved dice[link]

A Boggle game requires dice with letters on them to create a field for players to search for words.

A die may be shaved on one side, making it slightly shorter in one dimension, thus affecting its outcome. One countermeasure employed by casinos against shaved dice is to measure the dice with a micrometer before playing.^[13]

Variants[link]

Dice with faces other than digit sequences[link]

The faces of most dice are labelled using sequences of whole numbers, usually starting at one, expressed with either pips or digits. However, there are some applications that require results other than numbers. Examples include letters for Boggle, directions for Warhammer Fantasy Battle, and instructions for sexual acts using sex dice.

Non-cubic dice[link]

A Platonic solids set of five dice.

10-sided dice are used for games requiring percentages.

Seven- and eight-sided dice are stated in the 13th century Libro de los juegos to have been invented by Alfonso X in order to speed up play in chess variants.^[14][15] Around the early 1950s,^{[citation needed]} such non-cubical dice became popular among players of wargames, and since have been employed extensively in RPGs and TCGs. Although these are relative novelties now, ancient cultures appear to have used them in games, as evidenced by the discovery of two icosahedral dice dating from ancient Rome, currently on display in the British Museum. Reciprocally symmetric numerals are distinguished with a dot or by being underlined.

The Platonic solids are the most common non-cubical dice; these can make for 4, 8, 12, and 20 faces. The only other common non-cubical die is the 10-sided die. More uncommon dice include 3, 5, 7, 14, 16, 18, 24, 30, 50, and the 100 sided Zocchihedron. Using these dice in various ways, like 10-sided dice in pairs to produce a uniform distribution of random percentages and summing multiple dice to produce approximations to normal distributions, games can closely approximate the real probability distributions of the events they simulate.

The tetrahedral die can be marked in one of two ways – either the numbers are printed around the points, so that when it settles, the numbers at the vertex pointing up are the same and the one counted; or, the numbers can be placed at the middle of the edges, in which case the numbers around the base are read.

A die can be constructed in the shape of a sphere, with the addition of an internal cavity in the shape of the dual polygon of the desired die shape and an internal weight. The weight will settle in one of the points of the internal cavity, causing it to settle with one of the numbers uppermost. For instance, a sphere with an octahedral cavity and a small internal weight will settle with one of the 6 points of the cavity held downwards by the weight.

Standard variations[link]

Dice are often sold in sets, matching in color, of five or six different shapes: the five Platonic solids, whose faces are regular polygons, and optionally the pentagonal trapezohedron, whose faces are ten kites, each with two different edge lengths and three different angles; the die's vertices also are of two different kinds.

Normally, the faces on a die will be numbered sequentially beginning with 1, and opposite faces will thus add up to one more than the number of faces (but in the case of the d4 and dice with an odd-number of faces, this is simply not possible). Some dice, such as d10, are usually numbered sequentially beginning with 0, in which case the opposite faces will add to one less than the number of faces.

Sides	Shape		Notes
4	tetrahedron		Each face has three numbers: they are arranged such that the upright number (which counts) is the same on all three visible faces. Alternatively, all of the sides have the same number in the lowest edge and no number on the top. This die does not roll well and thus it is usually thrown into the air instead.
6	cube		A common die. The sum of the numbers on opposite faces is seven.
8	octahedron		Each face is triangular; looks like two square pyramids attached base-to-base. Usually, the sum of the opposite faces is 9.
10	pentagonal trapezohedron		Each face is a kite. The die has two sharp corners, where five kites meet, and ten blunter corners, where three kites meet. The ten faces usually bear numbers from zero to nine, rather than one to ten (zero being read as "ten" in many applications). Often all odd numbered faces converge at one sharp corner, and the even ones at the other. The sum of the numbers on opposite faces is usually 9 (numbered 0–9) or 11 (number 1–10).
12	dodecahedron		Each face is a regular pentagon. The sum of the numbers on opposite faces is usually 13.
20	icosahedron		Faces are equilateral triangles. A 2nd century AD Roman icosahedron die is in the collection of the British Museum, though the game for which it was used is not known.[16] These are sometimes numbered 0–9 twice as an alternative to 10-sided dice. The sum of the numbers on opposite faces is 21 if numbered 1–20.

Rarer variations[link]

The full geometric set of "uniform fair dice" (face-transitive) are:

• Platonic solids, the five regular polyhedra: 4, 6, 8, 12, 20 sides
• Catalan solids, the duals of the 13 Archimedean solids: 12, 24, 30, 48, 60, 120 sides
• Bipyramids, the duals of the infinite set of prism, with triangle faces: any even number above 4
• Trapezohedrons, the duals of the infinite set of antiprisms, with kite faces: any even number above 4
• Disphenoids, an infinite set of tetrahedra made from congruent non-regular triangles: 4 sides
• "Rolling-pin style dice" are the only way to make dice with an odd number of flat faces.^[17] They are based on an infinite set of prisms. All the (rectangular) faces they may actually land on are congruent, so they are equally fair. (The other 2 sides of the prism are rounded or capped with a pyramid, designed so that the die never actually rests on those faces.)

Probability[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Probability density function, p(S), for the sum of two fair six-sided dice, S.

For a single roll of a fair s-sided die, the probability of rolling each value is exactly ¹/_s; this is an example of a discrete uniform distribution. For n multiple rolls, with a s-sided die the possibility space is equal to sⁿ. So, for n rolls of an s-sided die the probability of any result is ¹/_sⁿ.

However, if we are rolling two dice and adding the result together, as in the game craps, the total is distributed in a triangular curve; the case for common dice follows:

Comparison of probability density functions, p(k) for the sum of n fair 6-sided dice to show their convergence to a normal distribution with increasing n, in accordance to the central limit theorem. In the bottom-right graph, smoothed profiles of the previous graphs are rescaled, superimposed and compared with a normal distribution (black curve).

As the number of dice increases, the distribution of the sum of all numbers tends to normal distribution by the central limit theorem; the exact value Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): F_{s,n}(k)

of a sum of n s-sided dice, k, is

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): F_{s,n}(k) = \sum_{i=1}^{k-n+1} {F_{s,1}(i) F_{s,n-1}(k - i)} \,

where F_s,1(k) = 1/s for 1 ≤ k ≤ s and 0 otherwise.

A faster algorithm would adapt the exponentiation by squaring algorithm:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): F_{s,x+y}(k) = \sum_i {F_{s,x}(i) F_{s,y}(k - i)} \, .

In the triangular curve described above,

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \begin{align} F_{6,2}(6) & =\sum_n {F_{6,1}(n) F_{6,1}(6 - n)} \\ & =F_{6,1}(1) F_{6,1}(5) + F_{6,1}(2) F_{6,1}(4) + \\ & \qquad \cdots + F_{6,1}(5) F_{6,1}(1) \\[6pt] & = 5\cdot\frac{1}{6}\cdot\frac{1}{6}=\frac{5}{36}\approx0.14 \end{align}

Equivalently, the probability can be calculated using combinations:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): F_{s,n}(k)=\frac{1}{s^n}\sum_{i=0}^{\left \lfloor \frac{k-n}{s} \right \rfloor} (-1)^i {n \choose i} {k-si-1 \choose n-1}

where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \lfloor {x} \rfloor

is the floor function. The probability of rolling an exact sequence of numbers is 1/sn.

Application in role-playing games[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Typical role-playing dice, showing a variety of colors and styles. Note the older hand-inked green 12-sided die (showing an 11), manufactured before pre-inked dice were common. Many players collect or acquire a large number of mixed and unmatching dice.

The fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is largely credited with popularizing dice in such games. Some games use only one type, like Exalted which uses only ten-sided dice. Others use numerous types for different game purposes, such as D&D, which makes use of all common polyhedral dice.

Dice are used to determine the outcome of events; such usage is called a check. Games typically determine results either as a total on one or more dice above or below a fixed number, or a certain number of rolls above a certain number on one or more dice. Due to circumstances or character skill, the initial roll may have a number added to or subtracted from the final result, or have the player roll extra or fewer dice. To keep track of rolls easily, dice notation is frequently used.

A common special case is percentile rolls, referred to as 1d100 or 1d%. Since actual hundred-sided dice are large, almost spherical, and difficult to read, percentile rolls are instead handled by rolling two ten-sided dice together, using one as the "tens" and the other as the "units". A roll of ten or zero on either die is taken as a zero, unless both are zeros or tens, in which case this is 100. Some sets of percentile dice explicitly mark one die in tens and the other in units to avoid ambiguity.

Dice for role-playing games are usually plastic; early polyhedral dice from the 1970s and 1980s were made of a soft plastic that would easily wear as the die was used, and wear would gradually render the die unusable. Many early dice were unmarked, and players took great care in painting them. Some twenty-sided dice then were numbered zero through nine twice; half of the numbers had to be painted a contrasting color to differentiate faces. These could double as a ten-sided die by ignoring the distinguishing coloring.

Application in divination[link]

Dice can be used for divination; using dice for such a purpose is called cleromancy. A pair of common dice is usual, though other forms of polyhedra can be used. Tibetan Buddhists sometimes use this method of divination. It is highly likely that the Pythagoreans used the Platonic solids as dice;^{[citation needed]} they referred to such dice as "the dice of the gods" and they sought to understand the universe through an understanding of geometry in polyhedra.^[18]

Astrological dice are a specialized set of three 12-sided dice for divination; the first die represents planets, the Sun, the Moon, and the nodes of the Moon; the second die represents the 12 zodiac signs; and the third represents the 12 houses. An icosahedron provides the answers of the Magic 8-Ball, conventionally used to provide advice on yes-or-no questions.

See also[link]

• Barrel die
• Crown and Anchor
• d20 system
• Dreidel
• Fuzzy dice
• Nontransitive dice
• Sicherman dice
• Teetotum
• Urim and Thummim

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Persi Diaconis and Joseph B. Keller. "Fair Dice". The American Mathematical Monthly, 96(4):337–339, 1989. (Discussion of dice that are fair "by symmetry" and "by continuity".)
• Bias and Runs in Dice Throwing and Recording: A Few Million Throws. G. R. Iverson. W. H. Longcour, and others. Psychometrika, Vol. 36, No. 1, March 1971
• Knizia, Reiner (1999). Dice Games Properly Explained. Elliot Right Way Books. ISBN 0-7160-2112-9.

External links[link]

Look up dice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dice

Look up dice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Weisstein, Eric W., "Dice" from MathWorld. Analysis of dice probabilities, also features Uspenski's work on rolling multiple dice.
• Mathematically "Fair Dice"
  • "Fair Dice" is an illustrated Math Games column about all the possible fair dice, and the mathematical reasons why other shapes are not fair.
  • A complete list of all possible Fair Dice which has nice illustrations
• Animation clearly demonstrating the probability space of dice
• World's Largest Dice Collection Links, Photos, Information about dice
• Computer Simulation of Irregular Dice
• "A Pair of Dice Which Never Roll 7"
• The oldest backgammon set found in Iran
• "A Brief History of Dice" (in Dungeons & Dragons games)
• "How do you make loaded dice?", The Straight Dope, July 14, 2009
• A discussion linking dice and Tarot cards
• "Why Dice Behave the Way They Do", Popular Science July 1945
• Dice size chart shows common dice dimensions
• "Dice – A Dicey Love Affair" A list of board games with special dice

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

Finley Quaye (born 25 March 1974, Edinburgh, Scotland)^[1] is a Scottish musician. He won the 1997 Mobo Award for best reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best British Male Solo Artist.

Life[link]

Quaye is the youngest son of jazz musician Cab Kaye, the half-brother of guitarist Caleb Quaye, and half-brother of jazz musician Terri Quaye.

Born in Edinburgh, Quaye went to school in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. However, he left school with no qualifications. Before making records he took employment spraying cars, smoking fish, making futons and as a stage-rigger and scaffolder.

His father was born in London, but considered himself as African. Although known as Cab Kaye, his full name was Nii Lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye and he was a Chief of the GA tribe centralized in Jamestown, Accra. Kaye was the son of the pianist Caleb Jonas Quaye a.k.a. Mope Desmond, who was born in Accra, Ghana. Kaye did not grow up with his father and only found out, in his twenties, about his father's history as a musician. Mope Desmond, Cab Kaye and Finley Quaye have all played Glasgow's Barrowlands, Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall and London's Cafe d'Paris. Finley was on tour with his band when he met his father for the first time in Amsterdam.^{[citation needed]}

Finley Quaye was inspired early on in his childhood by jazz musicians Pete King, Ronnie Scott, who started his musical career making tea and running errands in Finley's father's band, and Lionel Hampton. Additionally, Duke Ellington was Finley Quaye's godfather.^{[citation needed]} Quaye heard jazz as a child living in London with his mother, who would take him with her to Ronnie Scott's jazz club to catch performances of American jazz musicians touring Europe such as Buddy Rich, who recorded his live album there in 1980. His mother introduced him to Lionel Hampton in Edinburgh.

He has two children: Theo and Caleb Quaye.

Career[link]

Quaye made a solo recording contract with Polydor Records and moved to New York. He began working with Epic/Sony when Polydor let him out of contract, and in late 1997 he reached the UK Top 20 twice, with "Sunday Shining" and "Even After All".^[2] His reputation was established by Maverick A Strike, released in September 1997. It went gold in less than three weeks later, and led directly to the BRIT Award victory. The album is now certified multi platinum. In 1998, Quaye performed George Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody, a tribute to George Gershwin, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. Two more albums were released on Epic, Vanguard (2000) and Much More Than Much Love (2004). "Spiritualized" became his last single to score a top 40 landing in the UK charts when it was released in September 2000, reaching number 26. In 2004 the single "Dice" was released in collaboration with William Orbit and featuring Beth Orton.

Quaye has been living and working in Berlin since 2005. He released the EP "Pound for Pound" with Intune Records in 2008 with Norman Grant of the Twinkle Brothers featuring Sly Dunbar and Lloyd Parks. He is currently working on a new album with A Guy Called Gerald and The Stereo MCs.

Quaye has also worked with Osibisa, both on stage and in the recording studio, as well as Iggy Pop, Tricky, Randy Savage, Primal Scream, Lee Scratch Perry and Buju Banton. He has supported James Brown, Luciano, Weller, The Verve, Ben Harper, Fun Loving Criminals, Robbie Williams and The Stereo MCs, and has been supported by Amy Winehouse, Natty, Ken Boothe and Cath Coffey of the Stereo MCs.

Discography[link]

Singles and other contributions[link]

• "Finley's Rainbow" - White Label (1993)
• "Finley's Rainbow" on A Guy Called Gerald's Black Secret Technology (1995)
• "Sunday Shining" (1997)
• "Even After All" (1997)
• "It's Great When We're Together" (1997)
• "Your Love Gets Sweeter" (1998)
• "Ultra Stimulation" (1998)
• "It Ain't Necessarily So" album Red Hot + Rhapsody (1998)
• "Spiritualized" (2000)
• "Caravan" on Timo Maas' album Loud (2002)
• "Stranges Changes" on A Guy Called Gerald's To All Things What They Need (2005)
• "For My Children's Love" (2006)
• "We Are Dreamers" on Cathy Claret's album Gypsy Flower (2007)
• "After Tonight" on Ava Leigh's La La La (2007)^[2]

Albums and EPs[link]

• Maverick A Strike - LP (1997)^[2]
• It Ain't Necessarily So - LP (1998)
• Vanguard - LP (2000)
• Much More Than Much Love - LP (2003)
• Dice - EP (2004)
• Oranges and Lemons - EP (2005)
• The Best Of The Epic Years 1995-2003 - LP (2008)
• Pound For Pound - LP (2008)
• Sound For Sound - LP (2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Finley Quaye – official US website
• Finlay Quaye Facebook – official facebook
• Finley Quaye discography at Discogs
• Finley Quaye on Myspace

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

William Orbit (born William Mark Wainwright, 15 December 1956) is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has won three Grammy Awards for his work with Madonna. He produced 13 by Blur and remixed some of the songs on the album.

Biography[link]

1956–1980: Early life & first work[link]

William Orbit was born William Wainwright in London's East End in 1956. His mother, of Italian and Swedish descent, and his father, from Yorkshire, were both schoolteachers.

He does not have a formal education, having left school at 15 and being entirely self taught. Aged 16, and living in a squat in Norwich and working as a strawberry picker in the summer, he started to devote himself to guitar playing.

Living in squats around Europe and working at various jobs, hotel kitchen worker, motorbike messenger, at a ladies shoes factory, as an accounts clerk (in the days before computers), a night shift worker at the old Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam, junior draftsman at a North Sea oil rig design company (he was 'creative' with his CV') and so on.

In these early years he was creatively frustrated, with no means to bring his ideas to life. But an opportunity to work as an assistant at Basing Street Studios just off the Portobello Road in West London gave him a first glimpse into the world of recording.

Aged 23, he met Laurie Mayer who had just moved into his squat in an abandoned primary school in Paddington. This semi-derelict Victorian edifice was the perfect environment for live music to flourish, with bands such as Throbbing Gristle frequently performing there. Laurie and William held mini-festivals in the deserted classrooms and workshops of the old school. The building was also home to the Spanish Anarchist collective Centro Iberico.

It was around that time, in 1980, that William was asked to model clothes for the designer Takeo Kikuchi in Tokyo and this experience opened his eyes to the world of fashion and the visual arts. On that same trip was also the young Hamish Bowles, now International Editor at Large for Vogue magazine.

1981–1993: Torch Song, production & remix work[link]

Laurie Mayer and William Orbit formed the band Torch Song. An experiment in audio cassette soundscapes that also included the graphic designer Neville Brody. Laurie and William have been close friends and creative collaborators ever since, with Laurie this year writing the melodic top line for Madonna's track "Falling Free" from the album 'MDNA'.

Encouraged by Laurie's creative zeal, he went on to build a commercially viable recording studio in Little Venice called Guerilla Studios (later situated in Crouch End, North London) A variety of clients booked the facility, including: The Cocteau Twins, Colour Box,Stewart Copeland, Belinda Carlisle, Etienne Daho, Howard Devoto, Erasure, The Fall, The Frank Chickens, Goldie and Metalheadz, Martin Gore, Kemistry and Storm, Laibach, Lords of the New Church, Daniel Miller ^{[disambiguation needed ]}, S'Express, Gary Numan, Renegade Soundwave, Les Rita Mitsouko, Sting, The Swans, 23 Skidoo, The Waterboys, Jah Wobble, World Party / Karl Wallinger

He began to create remixes for a long list of artists. At first for free, then later on, as word spread, for considerable sums. Remixed artists include: Prince, The Cure, Seal, Nitzer Ebb, Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, Seal & The Human League

1990–1992: Guerilla & Bassomatic[link]

William founded Guerilla Records at the beginning of the 90s, releasing vinyl discs from artists such as Leftfield, Underworld, Felix Da Housecat and DJ Pierre in the then-new genre of 'Progressive House', and hosting illegal rave parties in disused warehouses in Central London, before forming the band Bassomatic, Fascinating Rhythm being their biggest hit.

1993 onwards: Strange Cargo III & Madonna[link]

He then moved to California, living in the surfer haven of Hermosa Beach, and had a radio program on the Southern Californian radio station KCRW (he had always had a fascination for radio in all its forms) and in this pioneering station he found a true voice)

He also began recording his album Strange Cargo III, from which the track 'Water From A Vine Leaf', written with his ex-girlfriend Beth Orton, became an underground classic.

After traveling the world, and encountering different cultures and worldviews, he met Madonna in New York in 1997 and they recorded the multi Grammy Award winning album 'Ray of Light'. The two have remained friends since, and created tracks such as 'Beautiful Stranger' (circa 2000) and this year William co-wrote and co-produced six tracks for her album 'MDNA'.

He has said on many occasions that he remains truly grateful to Madonna for seeing what nobody else saw at the time, and giving him a global platform for his work.

Since then he has written and recorded with a wide range of artists, from Andreas Scholl in the classical world, to Beck, Pink, The Cure, Kraftwerk (a project with Ralf Hütter), Blur (the album '13'), All Saints ('Pure Shores' 'Black Coffee' and other songs), Katie Melua, Robbie Williams, Sugababes, Ricky Martin and the late Malcolm Mclaren.

He lived at the Leonard Hotel just behind Oxford Street in London for three years where he recorded most of Bono's vocals for 'Electrical Storm'. A track that he produced and performed on for U2

He has created a series of classical renditions 'Pieces in a Modern Style', from which came the club classic 'Adagio For Strings, Ferry Corsten mix'

In 2007 Orbit composed an orchestral suite for full orchestra. and choir. In nine movements. It debuted on 8 July 2007 with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

DJ & Radio[link]

William deejays occasionally, with a hardcore techno set, in various locations around the world such as Paris, Tokyo, Thailand and Novosibirsk, Siberia, He has described his mission as 'to get everyone on their feet, despite what they usually listen to'.

He also conducts lectures and masterclasses. And appears on BBC Radio and the BBC Worldservice discussing his work and guest editing music and arts programmes.

Recent work[link]

After a recent first-time trip to Hong Kong, as part of a cultural festival with his friend Sir V S Naipaul, Pharrell Williams and screenwriter Paul Shrader, he is currently in discussions about a regular club event in Hong Kong

He has recently been in the studio, writing and producing with Kid Cudi, Mika, St. Vincent, Kreayshawn, Roger Taylor from Queen & Anoushka Shankar

And has recently co-written and co-produced a track with Chris Brown, 'Don't Wake Me Up', for his forthcoming album 'Fortune'.

He has just completed the fifth album in the 'Strange Cargo' series, which is due for release later in 2012.

He is currently half way through his first (autobiographical) book

Location & Interests[link]

He primarily records in London, Los Angeles and at The Palms Casino's in-house studio in Las Vegas.

Orbit now lives in North London and Los Angeles and has his office and studio at Hoxton Square, London.

His interests in addition to composing and producing music are: photography and design, Cinema and the dramatic arts, Collecting rare books, Performance art and audio visual installations, Radio controlled helicopters, Unorthodox deejay events.

Discography[link]

More details and information about his discography can be found when exploring external links

Torch Song[link]

Bassomatic[link]

Solo[link]

Studio albums

Compilation albums

• The Best of Strange Cargos (1996, I.R.S.) — A compilation from Orbit's first three Strange Cargo albums, highlighted by two versions of "Water From A Vine Leaf", another collaboration with Beth Orton
• Strange Cargo Vol.1-3 (2000, EMI Records) — 3 CD Box Set
• William / Orbit (2002, Universal) — U.S. two-disc publishing CD set to support William Orbit's publishing catalogue ^[5]

Singles

Other Online, Production & Live Performances[link]

He often DJs at various locations. Additional information concerning the dates and places of his live performances appears^[7] on his webpage.

• William Orbit Odyssey^[8] by Ministry of Sound

‘Odyssey’ is a compilation of 42 tracks, including some of William Orbit’s own exclusives. The album was released in January 2010 and is divided into 3 discs; Discs 1 and 2 are unmixed, with many tracks reinterpreted to a greater or lesser extent, while Disc 3 is a continuous DJ mix by William Orbit.

• Orbit Streamcast

Orbit has recently enabled an internet radio (streamcast) which allow listeners to hear more than 10 hours of his music, completely for free. In the playlist are variations of his well-known tracks, as well as released material. In addition, and what's more appreciated by fans, unreleased and rare material can also be found in this streamcast.^[9]

• Latest productions

He produced Katie Melua's fourth album, called The House. It was released on 24 May 2010 and had a remarkable chart performance (Gold in Germany^[10] and United Kingdom,^[11] as well as Platinum in Poland^[12]).

He also produced a track on Nadine Coyle's debut solo album "Insatiable" released on 8 November 2010.

In September 2011 it was confirmed that Orbit will collaborate on Madonna's 12th studio album MDNA. On 3 February 2012 Orbit confirmed on his Twitter account that he produced six tracks - "Gang Bang", "Some Girls", "I'm a Sinner", "Masterpiece", "Falling Free" and "Love Spent".^{[citation needed]}

• Solo career

In August 2010 Orbit released Pieces in a Modern Style 2, on Decca, which is follow-up a to the successful Pieces in a Modern Style. The two CD version containing some notable remixes of interpretations of Vaughan Williams Violin Concerto - Lark Ascending.

Orbit is working as part of the art collective Luxor, with former English National Ballet dancer Anna-Mi Fredriksson and the artist Pauline Amos.

Miscellaneous[link]

• Stereo Odyssey — 4-CDR set of KCRW radio show William produced circa 1996
• Rare Orbit Vol.1 — A 3-CDR collection of rare & unreleased material & productions. 2008, source unknown. Contained unreleased sessions with Madonna, and some new material.
• Essential Mix — 2-CDR set of UK BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, 6 February 2000
• XFM 2003 — 30 minute CDR of UK XFM Radio 'Superchunk', a mix/mashup collection of special rare and unreleased material, 17 August 2003
• XFM 2006 — 30 minute CDR of UK XFM Radio 'Superchunk', another mix/mashup collection, 12 March 2006
• World Odyssey Mix — 25 minute CDR of UK BBC Asia Network Radio 'Pathaans Musical Rickshaw', a diversified mix/mashup collection, 17 May 2009
• KCRW 2009 — 40 minute CDR of Los Angeles KCRW Radio Station show 'Morning Becomes Eclectic', a two piece live session with Laurie Mayer and interviews with Jason Bentley - 2 July 2009
• In 2010, some of the rare tracks were made public on www.orbitstreamcast.com.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American comedian and actor^[1] who played the lead role in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.^[2]

Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up albums. He is the only comedian in history to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, a feat he accomplished in 1990.^[3][4][5]

Early life[link]

Clay was born in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doris and Fred Silverstein, who worked in real estate sales.^[6] Clay is of Jewish heritage.^[7][8][9] Clay was doing impressions and entertaining his family in the living room by the time he was 5. He was a fairly proficient drummer at James Madison High School, and played bar mitzvahs and casual dates as "Clay Silvers."

Career[link]

In 1978, he auditioned at Pips, a local comedy club in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, doing comedic impressions, then headlined there the following week as "Andrew Clay." His act at the time included an impression of John Travolta in Grease and Jerry Lewis as The Nutty Professor. Clay graduated to the major Manhattan comedy clubs, including Budd Friedman's The Improv, Catch a Rising Star and Dangerfield's. His move to Los Angeles came in 1980. He was "adopted" there by Mitzi Shore, owner of the famed Comedy Store. His work at the Store led to sitcom appearances on M*A*S*H and Diff'rent Strokes. He later landed roles in movies such as Making the Grade (1984) and Pretty in Pink (1986).^[10]

He had a regular role on Crime Story from 1986 – 1988.^[11] He eventually turned from acting to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, focusing on the character "Dice" from Making the Grade. His big break came in 1988 when he did a seven-minute set at Dangerfield's during the Rodney Dangerfield special "Nothing Goes Right." It was there that he met his agent Dennis Arfa and later got his first HBO special.^[12]

Later works[link]

Clay retreated from the media spotlight for several years. For several years he ran a fitness gym in Brooklyn. 1995 saw him try to reclaim his fame with the broadcast of the HBO special Assume the Position. The special failed to reignite Clay's career.

In 1998, Clay released the triple-live album "Filth" via the Internet. Soon afterward, Clay aligned himself with New York City-based talk program The Opie and Anthony Show.

To coincide with the release of 2000's "Face Down, Ass Up," Opie and Anthony teamed up with Clay to allow him to perform at Madison Square Garden.

In 2005, Clay signed a deal with Sirius to produce and broadcast his own show, Out of the Cage.

In 2007, he attempted a comeback with the reality TV series Dice: Undisputed on VH1, which lasted seven episodes.^[13]

He appeared as a part of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 2 and was the first celebrity to be fired, after he openly entertained the idea of quitting while in Donald Trump's presence. On The Howard Stern Show, Clay stated that the show was edited to exclude situations where Trump treated Clay poorly based on his comic treatment of women rather than his accomplishments.^[14] Clay deserves credit for goading Trump into bringing snacks into the War Room. Throughout the season, each celebrity was raising money for a charity of their choice; Clay had selected StandUp For Kids.^[15]

In July 2011, Clay was featured in the eighth and final season of Entourage as Johnny Drama's co-star in the fictional program Johnny's Bananas.^[16] He also appeared in an episode of Raising Hope as himself which aired on November 29, 2011

In May of 2012, Clay appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Controversy[link]

Clay is known for a style of comedy that has sparked controversy and much media coverage. He is loved by some and reviled by others, who feel that his act is crude, misogynistic, racist, homophobic and degrading. Clay has been widely opposed by women's rights groups and he has been banned from many radio and television shows for his explicit language and socially and politically charged humor. MTV banned him for life in 1989 for reciting what he called "adult nursery rhymes" during the annual Video Music Awards ceremony (September 6, 1989).^[17] In 2011, he was unbanned by MTV. The Biography Channel refuses to produce a biography of him.^[18]

In 1990, Clay was invited to guest host the weekly comedy TV show, Saturday Night Live. Cast member Nora Dunn declared her refusal to ever appear on the same broadcast as Clay and did not participate in the episode of his guest appearance (May 12). Invited musical guest Sinéad O'Connor also boycotted Clay's appearance.^[19]

Personal life[link]

In 2002, he divorced his wife and focused in part on raising his two sons.^[20] One of his sons, Max, has since followed his father into stand-up comedy,^[21] and occasionally opens for him on tour.^[22]

Discography[link]

• ADC: The Mixtape That Hates You, 1988
• Dice, 1990
• The Day the Laughter Died, 1990
• Dice Rules, 1991
• 40 Too Long, 1992
• The Day the Laughter Died, Part II, 1993
• No Apologies (Video), 1993^[23]
• Filth, 1999
• Face Down, Ass Up, 2000

Filmography[link]

• M*A*S*H, Cpl. Hrabosky in "Trick or Treatment" Episode (1982)
• Diff'rent Strokes, recurring character, named Larry, in Willis and Kimberly's high school (1982–83)
• Wacko (1982)
• Night Patrol (1984)
• Making the Grade (1984)
• Private Resort (1985)
• Pretty in Pink (1986)
• Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
• Casual Sex? (1988)
• Crime Story (1986–1988)
• The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
• Dice Rules (1991)
• Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993)
• No Contest (1994)
• Bless This House (1995)
• National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins (1995)
• Hitz (1997)
• Foolish (1999)
• My 5 Wives (2000)
• One Night at McCool's (2001)
• Dice Undisputed (2007)
• Entourage (2011)
• Raising Hope (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Andrew Dice Clay

• Official website
• Andrew Dice Clay at the Internet Movie Database
• Andrew Dice Clay at AllRovi
• Andrew Dice Clay on Myspace
• Rotten.com: Andrew Dice Clay biography
• Vegas Video Network: Awkward Silence 2.1 Interview with Andrew Dice Clay

Thomas Dybdahl
Thomas Dybdahl, May 2006
Background information
Born	12 April 1979
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Harmonica, Hammond, Mandolin, Banjo, Piano, Harp

Thomas Dybdahl (born 12 April 1979 in Sandnes, Norway) is a Norwegian musician in the singer/songwriter tradition.

Biography[link]

Thomas Dybdahl went out to become somewhat of a shooting-star in Norway. As a solo artist, the former guitarist of the band Quadraphonics released his first single EP Bird in 2000. His first release did not have much success, and his second EP from 2001, John Wayne, was also unsuccessful.

Beginning with the release of his first album titled ... That Great October Sound in 2002, the first part of his gold and platinum selling October series, he received national and even international appreciation for his unique work. Since then, and especially after the European release in 2004, Thomas Dybdahl's notability has increased significantly. The mostly positive reviews tout Dybdahl as a new pop wonder comparable to Nick Cave, Jeff Buckley and other important solo artists. He received the Spellemannprisen and the Alarm Award for his outstanding work.

The release of his next two albums Stray Dogs (European release in 2005) and One Day You'll Dance for Me, New York City further increased his standing as a respected artist.

The album One Day You'll Dance for Me, New York City features the famous Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss speaking of quality of life, as a sort of interlude.

In 2004, he teamed up with artists from the bands Jaga Jazzist and BigBang on the project The National Bank, which immediately entered the Norwegian charts with the project's self-titled debut album. It was released outside Norway in 2009.

His single Damn Heart, written for the Danish movie En Soap, was released in 2006 on Copenhagen Records.

In 2007, he performed as an opening act in the USA for fellow Norwegian artist Sondre Lerche and is expected to be opening for Tori Amos on her 2011 Night of Hunters Tour.

He features as the vocalist on several songs from Morcheeba's album Dive Deep.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• ...that great October sound (2002)
• Stray Dogs (2003)
• One day you'll dance for me, New York City (2004), (Danish version 2005)
• Science (2006)
• Waiting for That One Clear Moment (2010)

Compilation Albums[link]

• October Trilogy (2006) (box set featuring all three albums, the remastered DVD and a bonus CD)
• Thomas Dybdahl (2009)
• Songs (2011)

EPs/Singles[link]

• Bird EP (2000)
• John Wayne EP (2001)
• Rain down on Me (2003)
• A Lovestory (2004)
• Damn Heart (2006)
• Cecilia (2010)

Other releases[link]

• Quadrophonics - Q (1998)
• The National Bank - The National Bank (2004)
• The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side (2008)

DVDs[link]

• That Great October DVD (2003)
• That Great October DVD Digitally Remastered (2005)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Thomas Dybdahl

• Thomas Dybdahl – the official homepage with a lot of music and video downloads
• Thomas Dybdahl Official MySpace
• Fanpage – unofficial Thomas Dybdahl Fanpage, includes a complete discography, tour news, a huge link collection, downloads, reviews and photographs
• Interview with Thomas Dybdahl for www.4ortherecord.com