HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index. Acquisitions by the HMV Group include Waterstone's in 1998 from W H Smith^[1] (sold in 2011), the music retailer Fopp in August 2007, and selected Zavvi retail outlets in February 2009.^[4]

Simon Fox has been Chief Executive Officer since 28 September 2006. For this role he is paid an annual salary of £873,000.^[5] HMV stands for His Master's Voice, a painting created in 1899^[6] by Francis Barraud, of the dog Nipper listening to a cylinder phonograph. For advertising purposes this was changed to a wind-up gramophone, and eventually used simply as a silhouette.

History[link]

20th Century[link]

In 1921, the Gramophone Company opened the first HMV shop in London, England;^[7] the composer Sir Edward Elgar participated in the opening ceremonies.^[8] In March 1931 the Gramophone Company merged with Columbia Graphophone Company to form Electric and Musical Industries Ltd (EMI).

From the 1930s onwards, HMV manufactured radio and television sets under the HMV and Marconiphone brand names in their factory at Hayes Middlesex. The name HMV became synonymous with the highest quality; an HMV radiogram with a Garrard automatic record changer was regarded^{[by whom?]} as the Rolls Royce of radio and carried a correspondingly high price tag. There were to be seen only in the homes of the upper middle class such as doctors and solicitors^{[citation needed]}. They were also popular as a retirement present for long serving company executives^{[citation needed]}.

HMV flagship branch on Oxford Street, London.

In 1966, HMV began expanding its retail operations in London. Throughout the 1970s, the company continued to expand, doubling in size, and in six years became the country's leading specialist music retailers. It faced new competition, however, from Virgin Megastores, established in 1976, and Our Price, established in 1972.^[8] Subsequently, HMV overtook Our Price in popularity and threatened their existence, having established a chain of newer, larger stores.

Growth continued for a third decade in the 1990s. In 1996, when the company celebrated its 75 year anniversary, there were over 300 HMV Music stores internationally.^[8]

In 1998, HMV Media was spun off from EMI, leaving EMI with a 43% stake in HMV Media. The same year, the Company bought the Waterstone's chain of bookshops and merged them with Dillons.^[9]

21st Century[link]

From March 1999 through September 2006, Alan Giles was the CEO.^[10][11]

In 2002, the company floated on the London Stock Exchange as HMV Group plc, leaving EMI with only a token holding.^[12]

All HMV stores in Germany were closed in 2003.

In 2006, the HMV Group took over the Ottakar's book chain, via Waterstone's, with which it was merged into, in a similar situation to the acquisition of Dillons. This merger tied in to HMV's strategy for growth, as many of the Ottakar's branches were in smaller towns and outposts.

Permira bid[link]

The Christmas period of 2005 was disastrous for the HMV Group, with many product areas falling in sales. As a result, HMV itself became susceptible to a takeover, this time from a private equity firm called Permira. On 7 February 2006, HMV Group received a £762 million conditional takeover bid (based on 190p a share) from Permira, however it was rejected on the basis that it was an insufficient valuation of the company.^[13]

On 13 March 2006, HMV released a press statement declining a second offer from the private equity firm, even though it increased the value of the company, HMV felt that their firm was being undervalued and so rejected that offer of takeover as well. By the beginning of March 2006, HMV released a statement that the Permira offer undervalued the medium and long term prospects for the Group,^[14] resulting in Permira's withdrawal from the bidding.^[15]

HMV Curzon store in Wimbledon, London

Recent development[link]

HMV began piloting their refreshed loyalty scheme during 2008 under the name "pure hmv".^[16] The scheme had previously ceased to operate after being introduced in August 2003.

In 2007, HMV selected CLIC Sargent as its charity partner until 2010.^[17]

In the 2008 MCV Industry Excellence Awards, HMV was given the title 'Entertainment Retailer of the Year'.^[18]

On 1 September 2008, HMV Group launched Get Closer, a social networking site which allows users to import their own music library and rivals current providers including Napster and the iTunes Store which are both examples of an online music store.^[19]

As part of chief executive Simon Fox's plans to turn the retailer into an entertainment group for all seasons, HMV started a joint venture with Curzon Artificial Eye to bring cinemas to HMV and Waterstone's stores across England. The first trial store was in Wimbledon, London. The cinema is located above the shop in a former storage room and has been converted in to three separate screens and a bar. It has its own entrance, so it can be accessed outside store hours, as well as one within the store. The trial was deemed a success and HMV plan to open more, with HMV in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London lined up next.^[20]

On 5 January 2011, HMV announced that profits would be at the lower end of analysts' forecasts due to falling sales, resulting in the share price falling by 20%^[21] and an announcement of the group's intention to close 40 HMV stores, as well as 20 Waterstone's stores, mainly in towns and cities where the company operates at multiple locations. The first of the store closures began at the end of January 2011.^[22]

On 5 February 2011, HMV Ireland announced that its profits fell by almost 90% to €465,000 last year compared to €4.1 million the previous year.^[23] It has not yet been confirmed whether some of the 27 stores operating in Ireland will cease trading under the redevelopment strategy currently being undertaken by HMV.

On 29 June 2011, the sale of Waterstone's to A&NN Capital Fund Management for £53 million was completed and was approved by the vast majority of shareholders at an emergency general meeting.^[24]

Takeovers[link]

Ottakar's[link]

The Competition Commission provisionally cleared HMV Group, through Waterstones, for takeover of the Ottakar's group on 30 March 2006. The Commission stated that the takeover would "not result in a substantial lessening of competition".^[25]

Waterstones then announced that it had successfully negotiated a takeover of Ottakar's on 31 May 2006.^[26]

All 130 Ottakar's stores were rebranded as Waterstone's prior to Christmas 2006. In March 2007, new Group CEO Simon Fox announced a 10% reduction over three years in the enlarged Waterstone's total store space, comprising mostly dual location shops created by the acquisition of Ottakar's.^[27]

Fopp[link]

In early July 2007, retailers Fopp went into administration, with the closure of 81 stores and 700 staff made redundant. Towards the end of the month, HMV bought the Fopp brand and six of its stores. HMV claimed that the six stores had traded profitably prior to their closure, and that the deal would save around 70 jobs. They later added a seventh Fopp store to its portfolio. They will continue to trade under the Fopp brand. Since, HMV did have ten stores trading under the Fopp Banner, which included the opening two new stores in Exeter and Gower Street, London which did not have a Fopp Store previously. They closed the Fopp Exeter store on 30 January 2011 due to the recent developments surrounding HMV's share price fall. Nine stores are still open under HMV ownership.^[28]

Zavvi[link]

HMV in the Manchester Arndale, England, now closed down. This store was a former Zavvi

On 24 December 2008, Christmas Eve, HMV's rival Zavvi, also an entertainment retailer, entered into administration. On 14 January 2009, a placing announcement by the company revealed that they intend to acquire 14 of Zavvi's stores.^[29]

On 18 February 2009, five additional Zavvi stores were purchased by HMV Group, all will be rebranded to HMV outlets. A 6th store has been taken over from Zavvi: this is a store in Exeter's modern Princesshay Development.^[30] The acquisitions by HMV were investigated and cleared by the Office of Fair Trading in April 2009.^[31]

MAMA Group[link]

By selling additional shares, the company will raise money to fund another joint venture with the MAMA Group, to run 11 live music venues, including the Hammersmith Apollo which is set to be renamed to the HMV Apollo. Other venues purchased include The Forum in London's Kentish Town, the Birmingham Institute and Aberdeen's Warehouse. HMV will also use the opportunity to create a tickets division which will have benefits for HMV loyalty card members.

A few months later HMV entered into a joint venture with MAMA Group. The Group had purchased a 50% stake in MAMA Group in January 2009 as part of a deal to introduce the HMV brand to live music venues, including the Hammersmith Apollo.^[32] On 23 December 2009, it decided to buy the whole of the MAMA Group in a live music takeover deal worth £46m.

Worldwide operations[link]

United Kingdom and Ireland[link]

A large HMV branch in Leeds incorporating an Orange Shop.

The company operates 379 HMV shops and 313 Waterstone's.(April 2008^[33]) HMV shops in the UK and Ireland use the His Master's Voice trademark with Nipper the dog, though its design has been updated. HMV's flagship store in Dublin, Ireland has relegated music to the basement of the store.

On 1 April 2007, HMV Group announced that Gromit, the animated dog of Wallace and Gromit fame, would stand in for Nipper for a three month period, promoting children's DVDs in its UK stores.^[34]

Hong Kong[link]

HMV store in the Elements, Kowloon

In 1994, HMV began operating in Hong Kong. HMV began relocating their store locations to shopping malls that are newly opened. HMV in Hong Kong appeals to the crowd that enjoy organized and free-sampling environment which many other records cannot match. However, the prices on their products especially those without promotion and discount are often higher than many independent record stores. HMV Hong Kong is the second place after UK that launched in-store digital kiosks. It is also the first in Asia.

There are currently five HMV stores in Hong Kong (the fifth is recently opened in Whampoa on 27 July 2011).

HMV Hong Kong once used the same stylized gramophone as HMV Japan; however, HMV Hong Kong's website presently displays the HMV UK & Ireland version of Nipper (without his gramophone), with the same lowercase logo as HMV UK & Ireland.

Singapore[link]

HMV was the second international music store to set up shop in Singapore, after Tower Records (which later closed down). It currently operates 2 stores in Singapore at 313@Somerset (which replaces one formerly in The Heeren), after closing the other at the CityLink underground mall, with a second one at Marina Square.

It is generally higher priced than other independent shops, and local chains like Gramophone and That CD Shop pose a serious challenge in terms of price competition. HMV, however, is the only store that also sells games, T-shirts, books and audio gear in addition to their music and video collection.

Former international operations[link]

Australia[link]

In September 2005, HMV Group decided to sell its 32 Australian stores to focus on the UK, Irish, Canadian and Asian markets. Under the HMV Australia subsidiary, these stores were sold to Brazin Limited, known briefly in the UK as Sanity Music, for AUS$7.3m (£1.7m). The company also operates the Sanity Entertainment and Virgin Entertainment (Virgin at Myer) retail chain in Australia. The horizontal merger was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in October 2005.^[35] The HMV group's agreement with Brazin is to phase out the HMV brand in Australia by 2010. Most HMV stores in Australia have very high overhead costs and most have been closed when their lease ends and the remaining stores converted into Sanity stores, if there is no Sanity store in the area.

HMV's Australian flagship store, located in Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, was shut down on Friday 31 August 2007, when the Mid City Centre shopping centre it was located in, was closed for renovation.

USA & Canada[link]

In 1988, HMV Group began operating in Canada. This coincided with the bankruptcy, a few years later, of the Canadian record store retail chain A&A Records. HMV has also been cited as a contributor to the decline and eventual bankruptcy of two other major Canadian chains, Sam the Record Man and Music World (HMV in Canada was created by EMI Music Canada's buyout of the faltering Mister Sound chain in the late 1980s.)

HMV stores in the U.S. and Canada did not have rights to the His Master's Voice trademark; in those countries, that trademark is part of the RCA trademark portfolio owned by Technicolor SA and licensed to others. HMV Canada applied for use of the trademark, but its application was abandoned in 2010.^[36] Though the initials "HMV" originally came from the His Master's Voice trademark, HMV was not prevented from using its initials in the U.S. & Canada.

HMV had a handful of stores in the Eastern United States, which in their final years were overseen by HMV's Canadian operations. In the 1990s they had a significant presence in Manhattan.

Poor real estate decisions made in the early 1990s rendered the United States stores uneconomical and HMV gradually extricated itself from leases, with the final store in the United States, having lost £500,000 in 2003 and £1 million in 2004, closed on 3 November 2004.^[37]

In contrast, HMV has a strong position in Canada's music market, with 116 stores as of October 2007. For the last two decades, HMV has been awarded "Canadian Music Retailer of the Year".^[38]

In 2005, HMV Canada took over a Virgin Megastore in Vancouver, allowing it to own, "Canada’s largest store dedicated to music and DVD".^[39]

In June 2010, HMV Canada launched Purehmv, a customer rewards program that offers store discounts and exclusive items across worlds of Music, Film, and Gaming in exchange for points gained in-store.

In recent years, HMV Canada has encountered controversy by removing from sale all music and video recordings made by artists that have made exclusive distribution deals with other retailers for particular limited-edition or early-release titles; artists affected by this move include Alanis Morissette, The Rolling Stones and KISS.^[40]

In June 2011, HMV sold its Canadian stores for £2 million to Hilco UK, a firm specializing in failing retail stores.^[41]

On 3 November 2011 it was announced that the iconic flagship store in Downtown Vancouver, would close in January 2012, with no formal date given in a phone interview by President of Canadian operations. It was also noted that a smaller location would open in a different area of Downtown Vancouver at some time in the future, but no further details were disclosed. The same announcement brought forth detailed plans to close the location in Richmond Centre as well. ^[42]

Japan[link]

In July 2007, HMV Japan, which operates 62 shops, was sold to DSM Investment Catorce. The stores and HMV Japan website continue to trade as HMV, but is no longer owned by HMV Group.^[43]

Since JVC Kenwood Holdings (thru its JVC and Victor Entertainment subsidiaries) controls the His Master's Voice trademark in Japan, HMV Japan uses as its trademark a stylized gramophone of its own design.^[44] As with the former U.S. & Canadian operations, HMV Japan's use of the initials "HMV" has never been challenged.

India[link]

The first overseas branch of EMI was established in India in 1901. It went on make the first audio recording in India, of singer Gauhar Jan in 1902 and witnessed Indian cinema going talkies in 1931 leading to a boom in film based songs. The Gramophone Company of India was incorporated in 1946, and existed until 1985, when it was taken over by the RPG Group. On 2 November 2000, the company changed its name to Sa Re Ga Ma India Ltd.. Sa Re Ga Ma controls a large repertoire of Indian film and non-film music, spanning a century.^[45]

Product range[link]

HMV stores stock a range of products from audio, books, Blu-ray discs, CDs, computer software and hardware, DVDs, video games and most recently^[when?] have expanded their range of clothing and fashion items through "The Studio" section of their stores.^[46]

See also[link]

• Fopp
• Ottakar's
• Waterstone's
• A&B Sound
• His Master's Voice, the trademark from which HMV got its name
• Nipper, the dog featured in the trademark
• The Hut Group

References[link]

External links[link]

• HMV Group

Annie Lennox OBE
Annie Lennox performing at the Rally for Human Rights during the International AIDS Conference 2010 in Vienna as part of her SING Campaign.
Background information
Birth name	Ann Lennox
Born	(1954-12-25) 25 December 1954 (age 57)
Genres	Pop, rock, blue-eyed soul, New Wave, pop rock, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, activist, humanitarian ambassador
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, accordion, harmoniumflute
Years active	1975–present
Labels	RCA, Arista (1981–2009) Island, Decca (2010–)
Associated acts	The Catch, The Tourists, Eurythmics
Website	www.annielennox.com

Ann "Annie" Lennox, OBE (born 25 December 1954), is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s as part of the New Wave band The Tourists, she and fellow musician David A. Stewart went on to achieve major international success in the 1980s as Eurythmics. Lennox is the most recognized female artist at the Brit Awards, winning a total of eight awards. She has also been named the "Brits Champion of Champions".^[1]

Lennox embarked on a solo career in the 1990s with her debut album, Diva (1992), which produced several hit singles including "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". To date, she has released five solo studio albums and a compilation album, The Annie Lennox Collection (2009). She is the recipient of eight Brit Awards, four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2002, Lennox received a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard Magazine.^[2] In 2004, she won both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West", written for the soundtrack to the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.^[3]

In addition to her career as a musician, Lennox is also a political and social activist, notable for raising money and awareness for HIV charities in Africa. She also objected to the unauthorised use of the 1999 Eurythmics song "I Saved the World Today" in an election broadcast for Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in 2009.^[4] In 2011, Lennox was appointed to the OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for her "tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes".^[2][5]

Known as a pop culture icon for her distinctive contralto vocals and visual performances, Lennox has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone.^[6] She has earned the distinction of "most successful female British artist in UK music history" due to her global commercial success since the early 1980s. Including her work within Eurythmics, Lennox is one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 80 million records worldwide.^[7]

Early life[link]

Lennox was born on Christmas Day, 1954, in Summerfield Maternity hospital, Aberdeen. Her father worked at the shipyard, and her mother was a cook until she became a housewife. Lennox was an only child and the family lived in a small two-roomed apartment in a tenement with communal laundry facilities. Despite her family's financial status, Lennox had piano lessons at school from the age of seven years at the cost of £4.00 per term. She was interested in singing and, with plenty of time to herself, passed some of the time by singing along to the popular music of the time, including music by The Beatles. She was an unhappy teenager, partly because of a struggle over boundaries for her independence with her overprotective father.^[8] She attended Aberdeen High School for Girls, now Harlaw Academy.^[8][9] In 1964, her early talent was demonstrated when she came second in a talent contest at a Butlins holiday camp. She sang the song "Mairi's Wedding".^[10]

In the 1970s, Lennox won a place at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied the flute and classical music for three years. She lived on a student grant and worked at part-time jobs for extra money. Lennox was unhappy during her time at the Royal Academy partly because she was lonely and shy, and she missed many history-of-music lessons.^[8]

Lennox's flute teacher's final report stated: "Ann has not always been sure of where to direct her efforts, though lately she has been more committed. She is very, very able, however." Two years later, Lennox reported to the Academy: "I have had to work as a waitress, barmaid, and shop assistant to keep me when not in musical work." She also played and sang with a few bands, such as Windsong, during the period of her course. In 2006, the academy made her an honorary Fellow.^[11] Lennox also was made a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama that year.^[12]

Music career[link]

1976–1990: Dragon's Playground, The Tourists and Eurythmics[link]

Lennox in the mid-1980s

In 1976, Lennox was flautist with a band called Dragon's Playground, leaving before they appeared on TV's New Faces.^[13] Between 1977 and 1980, she was the lead singer of The Tourists (initially known as The Catch), a moderately successful British pop band and her first collaboration with Dave Stewart. During the time they were in The Tourists, Stewart and Lennox were involved in a relationship, though this had ended by the time they formed Eurythmics.

Lennox and Stewart's second collaboration, the 1980s synthpop duo Eurythmics, resulted in her most notable fame, as the duo's alto, soul-tinged lead singer. Early in Eurythmics' career, Lennox was known for her androgyny, wearing suits and once impersonating Elvis Presley. Eurythmics released a long line of singles in the 1980s, including "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", "Love Is A Stranger", "Here Comes the Rain Again", "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves", "Who's That Girl?", "Would I Lie to You?", "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", "Missionary Man", "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart", "Thorn in My Side", "The Miracle of Love" and "Don't Ask Me Why". Though Eurythmics never officially disbanded, Lennox made a fairly clear break from Stewart in 1990. Thereafter, she began a long and equally-successful solo career.

Lennox and Stewart reconvened Eurythmics in the late 1990s with the album Peace, their first album of new material in ten years. A subsequent concert tour was completed, with profits going to Greenpeace and Amnesty International.^[2]

Lennox (far right) and David A. Stewart (left) performing as Eurythmics in 1987.

Lennox has received eight BRIT Awards, the most of any female artist.^[14] Four of the awards were given during her time with Eurythmics, and another was given to the duo for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1999.^[15]

The 1988 single with Al Green, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" (a cover version of Jackie DeShannon's 1969 hit), was recorded for the soundtrack of the movie Scrooged. Though it was produced by Dave Stewart, it was credited to Lennox and Green. This one-off single peaked at No. 2 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, No. 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was a top 40 hit in the UK.^[16][17] Lennox performed the song "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye", a Cole Porter song, that same year for a cameo appearance in the Derek Jarman film Edward II. She then made an appearance with David Bowie and the surviving members of Queen at 1992's Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at London's Wembley Stadium, performing "Under Pressure".^[18]

[edit] 1992–1993: Diva

Lennox began working with former Trevor Horn protegé Stephen Lipson, beginning with her 1992 solo début album, Diva. It was a commercial and critical success, charting No. 1 in the UK, No. 6 in Germany, and No. 23 in the US where it went double platinum.^[19][20] Lennox's profile was boosted by Diva's singles, which included "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". "Why" won an MTV Award for Best Female Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, while the video for "Walking on Broken Glass" featured the actors Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich.^[21][22] "Little Bird" also formed a double A-side with "Love Song for a Vampire", a soundtrack cut for Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 movie Bram Stoker's Dracula.^[23] The B-side of her single "Precious" was a self-penned song called "Step by Step", which was later a hit for Whitney Houston for the soundtrack of the film The Preacher's Wife.^[23] The song "Keep Young and Beautiful" was included on the CD release as a bonus track (the original vinyl album had only ten tracks).

The album entered the UK album chart at no.1 and has since sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK alone, being certified quadruple platinum.^[24] It was also a success in the US where it was a top 30 hit and has sold in excess of 2,700,000 copies.^[19] In 1993, the album was included in Q magazine's list of the "50 Best Albums of 1992". Rolling Stone magazine (25 June 1992, p. 41) described the album as "...state-of-the-art soul pop..." and it is included in Rolling Stone's (13 May 1999, p. 56) "Essential Recordings of the 90's" list. The album won Best British Album at the 1993 Brit Awards.^[25]

[edit] 1995–2000: Medusa and return to Eurythmics

Although Lennox's profile decreased for a period because of her desire to bring up her two children outside of the media's glare, she continued to record. Her second album, Medusa, was released in March 1995. It consisted solely of cover songs, all originally recorded by male artists including Bob Marley and The Clash. It entered the UK album chart at No. 1 and peaked in the US at number 11, spending 60 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and selling over 2,000,000 to date in the United States.^[19] It has achieved double platinum status in both the UK and the US.^[24][26] The album yielded four UK singles: "No More I Love You's" (which entered the UK singles chart at No. 2, Lennox's highest ever solo peak),^[17] "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Waiting in Vain" and "Something So Right". The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammy Awards of 1996,^[27] losing to Turbulent Indigo by Joni Mitchell, however, Lennox won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single "No More I Love You's".^[28] Though Lennox declined to tour for the album, she did perform a large scale one-off concert in New York's Central Park, which was filmed and later released on home video.^[29]

Lennox also provided an extensive solo vocal performance (without lyrics) for the soundtrack score of the film Apollo 13 in 1995.

In 1997, Lennox re-recorded the Eurythmics track "Angel" for the Diana, Princess of Wales tribute album, and also recorded the song "Mama" for The Avengers soundtrack album. In 1998, following the death of a mutual friend (former Tourists member Peet Coombes), she re-united with Dave Stewart.^[30] Following their first performance together in eight years at a record company party, Stewart and Lennox began writing and recording together for the first time since 1989. This resulted in the album Peace. The title was designed to reflect the duo's ongoing concern with global conflict and world peace. The record was promoted with a concert on the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior II, where they played a mixture of old and new songs. "I Saved the World Today" was the lead single, reaching number eleven on the UK singles chart.^[31] Another single, released at the beginning of 2000, "17 Again", made the UK top 40, and topped the US dance chart.^[32] In 2002, Lennox received a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard Magazine, with Editor-in-Chief Timothy White describing her as one of "the most original and unforgettably affecting artists in the modern annals of popular music."^[2]

[edit] 2003–2007: Bare and work in Africa

Annie Lennox on stage in 2004

In 2003, Lennox released her third solo album, Bare. The album peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 4 in the US – her highest charting album in the US to date.^[33] She embarked on her first tour as a solo artist to promote the album. The tour, simply titled Solo Tour, pre-dated the release of the album and visited both the US and Europe, with only a two-night stop in the UK at Saddler's Wells Theatre in London. The album has been certified Gold in both the UK and the US and was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 46th Grammy Awards.^[34] The album was released with a DVD which included interviews and acoustic versions of songs by Lennox. The Japanese edition of the album features a version of Lennox's earlier hit "Cold" recorded live in Toronto.

In 2004, Lennox won the Academy Award for Best Song for "Into the West" from the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,^[35] which she co-wrote with screenwriter Fran Walsh and composer Howard Shore. The song also won a Grammy award and a Golden Globe award. She had previously recorded "Use Well the Days" for the movie, which incorporates a number of quotations from Tolkien in its lyrics. This song was not used in the film, but it appears on a bonus DVD included with the "special edition" of the movie's soundtrack CD. In mid-2004, Lennox embarked on an extensive North American tour with Sting.^[2] In July 2005, Lennox performed at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London, along with Madonna, Sting, and other popular musicians.^[36]

In 2005, Lennox and Stewart collaborated on two new songs for their Eurythmics compilation album, Ultimate Collection, of which "I've Got a Life" was released as a single in October 2005. The promotional video for the song features Lennox and Stewart performing in the present day, with images of past Eurythmics videos playing on television screens behind them. The single peaked at number fourteen in the UK Singles Chart and was a number-one US Dance hit.^[16][17] On 14 November 2005, Sony BMG repackaged and released Eurythmics' back catalogue as 2005 Deluxe Edition Reissues.^[37]

[edit] 2007–2008: Songs of Mass Destruction and AIDS activism

Ending her long association with Stephen Lipson, Lennox's fourth solo album, Songs of Mass Destruction, was recorded in Los Angeles with veteran producer Glen Ballard (known for producing Alanis Morissette's album, Jagged Little Pill). It was released on 1 October 2007, and was the last studio album of Lennox's contract with BMG. It peaked at No. 7 in the UK and No. 9 in the US.^[16][17] Lennox stated that she believed the album consisted of "twelve strong, powerful, really emotive songs that people can connect to". If she achieves that, she says, "I can feel proud of [it], no matter if it sells ten copies or 50 million."^[38] Lennox described it as "a dark album, but the world is a dark place. It's fraught, it's turbulent. Most people's lives are underscored with dramas of all kinds: there's ups, there's downs – the flickering candle."^[39] She added, "Half the people are drinking or drugging themselves to numb it. A lot of people are in pain."^[39]

The album's first single was "Dark Road", released on 24 September 2007. Another song on the album, "Sing", is a collaboration between Lennox and 23 prominent female artists: Anastacia, Isobel Campbell, Dido, Céline Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Beth Gibbons, Faith Hill, Angelique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Pink, Kelis, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Shingai Shoniwa, Joss Stone, Sugababes, KT Tunstall, and Martha Wainwright. The song was recorded to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organisation Treatment Action Campaign.^[40] Included among the group of vocalists are TAC activist members' own vocal group known as The Generics, whose CD of music inspired Lennox to make "Sing".^[40]

To promote Songs of Mass Destruction, Lennox embarked on a primarily North American tour called Annie Lennox Sings, which lasted throughout October and November 2007.^[41] The tour had 18 stops: London, San Diego, New York City (two dates), Boston. The venues generally were at medium-size theatres, except in New York, where one of the dates was a United Nations fundraiser at the Midtown restaurant Cipriani.

[edit] 2008–2009: The Annie Lennox Collection and departing from Sony

Finishing out her contract with Sony BMG, Lennox released the compilation album The Annie Lennox Collection. Initially intended for release in September 2008, the release date was pushed back several months to allow Lennox to recuperate from a back injury.^[42] The compilation was eventually released in the US on 17 February 2009, and in the UK and Europe on 9 March 2009. Included on the track listing are songs from her four solo albums, one from the Bram Stoker's Dracula soundtrack, and two new songs. One of these is a cover of Ash's single, "Shining Light". The other is a cover of a song by the English band Keane, originally the B-side of their first single in 2000. Lennox renamed the song from its original title "Closer Now" to "Pattern of My Life". A limited 3-disc edition of the album included a DVD compilation featuring most of Lennox's solo videos since 1992, and also featured a second CD of rarer songs including a version of R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" with Alicia Keys and Lennox's Oscar winning "Into the West" from the third Lord of the Rings film. The album entered the UK Album Chart at No. 2 and remained in the top 10 for seven weeks.^[43]

Lennox's recording contract with Sony BMG concluded with the release of Songs of Mass Destruction and the subsequent retrospective album The Collection, and much was made in the press in late 2007/early 2008 about the apparent animosity between Lennox and the record company. Lennox stated that while on a trip to South Africa in December 2007 to appear at the 46664 campaign in Johannesburg, the regional company office of the label failed to return phone calls and e-mails she made to them for three weeks, and had completely failed to promote the Sing project as planned. Upon her return to the UK, Lennox met with the head of Sony BMG UK, Ged Docherty, who was "mortified" by the problems she had encountered with the South African branch. However, the debacle (partly inflamed when Lennox's dissatisfaction with the South African office was made public on her blog) led to press reports falsely stating that she was being dropped by Sony BMG. The record company themselves quickly refuted the rumour stating that Lennox's contract with them had merely been fulfilled and that they hoped she would consider remaining with them. The British tabloid, Daily Mirror, subsequently printed a retraction of its story about her being dropped by the label.^[44]

[edit] 2010–present: Island Records and A Christmas Cornucopia

In August 2010, Lennox signed a new contract with Island Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US (both part of the Universal Music Group).^[45] Her first release was a Christmas album entitled A Christmas Cornucopia, issued on 15 November 2010. The album is a collection of Lennox's interpretations of traditional festive songs such as "Silent Night" and "The First Noel", along with one new composition, "Universal Child", which was released as a download-only single on 13 October 2010. Lennox had previously showcased the song on the American Idol Gives Back TV show in April 2010. She sang the song "Angels from the Realms of Glory" from the album for the TNT special Christmas in Washington.^[46]

A music video was produced for a second single from the album, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Lennox also performed the track on the UK chat show Loose Women in December 2010, and was also interviewed.^[47]

According to Metacritic, A Christmas Cornucopia has gained "generally favourable reviews".^[48] Ian Wade of BBC Music gave the album a very positive review, saying "this collection could find itself becoming as much a part of the holiday season as arguments with loved ones."^[49] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine awarded the album 3.5/5 and said "Lennox seems more inspired on A Christmas Cornucopia than she has in years."^[50] John Hunt of Qatar Today magazine gave the album 9/10 and said "in particular, the vocal work and musical arrangement of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' are impactful to the point of being intimidating."^[51]

Public image[link]

Charity and political work[link]

Lennox in 2009 in Hyde Park attending a demonstration for Gaza, January 2009.

In 1990, Lennox recorded a version of Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" for the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue, a benefit for AIDS awareness. A video was also produced.^[52]

HIV campaigners, Memory Sachikonye (l) and Annie Lennox (r) met with Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell

Lennox has been a public supporter of Amnesty International and Greenpeace for many years, and she and Dave Stewart donated all of the profits from Eurythmics' 1999 Peacetour to both charities.^[53]

In 2006, in response to her humanitarian work, Lennox became patron of the Master's Course in Humanitarian and Development Practice for Oxford Brookes University.^[2] In October 2006, Lennox spoke at the British House of Commons about the need for children in the UK to help their counterparts in Africa.^[2]

On 25 April 2007, Lennox performed "Bridge over Troubled Water" during the American Idol "Idol Gives Back" fundraising drive.^[54]

Lennox's 2007 song "Sing" was born out of her involvement with Nelson Mandela's 46664 campaign and Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), both of which are human rights groups which seek education and health care for those affected by HIV.^[2][40] In December 2007, Lennox established The SING Campaign, an organisation dedicated to raising funds and awareness for women and children affected by HIV and AIDS.^[55]

On 11 December 2007, she performed in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway together with a variety of artists, which was broadcast to over 100 countries.^[56] She led a rally against the Gaza War in London on 3 January 2009.^[57]

Lennox opened the 2009 Edinburgh Festival of Politics with a stinging attack on Pope Benedict XVI's approach to HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa. She said that the Pope's denunciation of condoms on his recent tour of Africa had caused "tremendous harm" and she criticised the Roman Catholic Church for causing widespread confusion on the continent. Lennox also condemned the media's obsession with "celebrity culture" for keeping the AIDS pandemic off the front page. In an attempt to counter this, during her address, she wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "HIV positive". Lennox wore similar T-shirts at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden on 30 October 2009,^[58] while appearing on The Graham Norton Show on 30 November 2009 (where she performed the new song "Full Steam", a duet with singer David Gray), also during a recorded performance for American Idol during a 21 April 2010 fund-raiser, Idol Gives Back, and most recently during a performance on the live Comic Relief show on 18 March 2011. In June 2010, she was named as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for AIDS.^[59]

Lennox also supports the Burma Campaign UK, a non-governmental organisation that addresses the suffering in Burma and promotes democratisation.^[60]

In December 2010, it was confirmed that Lennox was in the New Years Honours List and would become an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her humanitarian work. She received the award from Queen Elizabeth II on 28 June 2011.^[61][62][63]

Gay icon[link]

Lennox has garnered a significant following within the LGBT community. According to The Advocate, "her distinctive voice and provocative stage persona have made Lennox a longtime gay icon."^[64] With Eurythmics' music videos earning regular rotation on MTV in the 1980s, Lennox took part in the shaping of popular culture alongside other gay icons such as Boy George, Madonna, Morrissey, and Michael Stipe.^[65]

'The House of Annie Lennox' Exhibition 2011 - 2012[link]

In 2010(?), Lennox approached the Victoria and Albert Museum (V+A) and asked if they would be interested in displaying some of her collection of costumes, accessories, photographs, awards, ephemera from her political campaigns and personal items which she'd had in storage.^{[citation needed]} This collection, along with music videos and interviews, became 'The House of Annie Lennox' at the V+A from 15 September 2011 to 26February 2012.^[66] The exhibition was more than doubled in size when it was installed at The Lowry in Salford, Manchester, which opened on 17th March 2012, (and is due to close on 17th June).^{[67] [68]} The exhibition will then travel to Aberdeen.^{[citation needed]}

Music videos[link]

Both as part of Eurythmics and in her solo career, Lennox has made over 60 music promo videos. The 1987 Eurythmics album Savage and her 1992 solo album Diva were both accompanied by video albums, both directed by Sophie Muller.^[69] Actors Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich appeared in the music video for "Walking on Broken Glass", while the video for "Little Bird" paid homage to the different images and personas that have appeared in some of Lennox's previous videos.^[22] The clip features Lennox performing on stage with several lookalikes (male and female) that represent her personas from "Why", "Walking on Broken Glass", "Sweet Dreams", "Beethoven", "I Need a Man", "Thorn in My Side", "There Must Be an Angel", and even her stage image from the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

Personal life[link]

Both of Lennox's parents died of cancer.^[8] Her first marriage from 1984 to 1985 was to a German Hare Krishna devotee Radha Raman.^[70] From 1988 to 2000, she was married to Israeli film and record producer Uri Fruchtmann.^[71] They have two daughters, Lola (born 1990), and Tali (born 1993), who models for fashion chain Karen Millen.^[72] A son, Daniel, was stillborn in December 1988.^[73][74] Lennox describes herself as an agnostic^[75] and lives in Notting Hill, London.^[76]

Lennox was estimated to have a fortune of £30 million in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2010.^[77]

Discography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Lennox has received a variety of major awards during her career:^[78]

American Music Awards^[79]

• 2008 – AMA Award of Merit for her work and her humanitarian efforts

Academy Awards^[80]

• 2004 – Best Original Song ("Into the West")

Grammy Awards^[81]

• 1984 – Best New Artist (Eurythmics) (nominated)
• 1986 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (Eurythmics, "Would I Lie to You?") (nominated)
• 1987 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (Eurythmics, "Missionary Man") (Won)
• 1993 – Album of the Year (Diva) (nominated)
• 1993 – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (Diva) (nominated)
• 1993 – Best Music Video – Long Form (Diva) (Won)
• 1996 – Best Pop Album (Medusa) (nominated)
• 1996 – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("No More I Love You's") (Won)
• 2004 – Best Pop Album (Bare) (nominated)
• 2005 – Best Song Written For a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ("Into the West") (Won)

Ivor Novello Awards^[82]

• 1984 – Songwriter of the Year for Lennox and Dave Stewart
• 1987 – Songwriter of the Year for Lennox and Dave Stewart
• 1987 – Best contemporary song ("Its Alright, (Baby's Coming Back)")
• 1993 – Best Song ("Why")

BRIT Awards^[83]

• 1984 – Best British Female Artist
• 1986 – Best British Female Artist
• 1989 – Best British Female Artist
• 1990 – Best British Female Artist
• 1993 – Best British Female Solo Artist
• 1993 – Best British Album (Diva)
• 1996 – Best British Female Solo Artist
• 1999 – Outstanding Contribution to British Music (Eurythmics)

MTV Video Music Awards^[21]

• 1992 – Best Female Video ("Why")

Golden Globe Awards^[84]

• 2004 – Best Original Song – Motion Picture ("Into the West")

Honorary degrees and awards^[85]

• 1986 – Associate – Royal Academy of Music London
• 1997 – Fellowship – Royal Academy of Music London
• 2006 – Honorary Doctor of Music – The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
• 2006 – Fellowship – Edinburgh College of Art
• 2009 – Honorary Doctorate at the University of Edinburgh (awarded 20 October 2009), in recognition of her work in the field of HIV/AIDS, and her success as a recording artist.^[86]

Other awards / titles / ambassadorships^[87]

• 2002 – Billboard Century Award by Billboard
• 2008 – OUT magazine honoured Lennox for her work in the HIV and Aids field. The top 100 most influential people in Gay Culture.
• 2008 – The British Red Cross Services to Humanity Award
• 2008 – Glamour Magazine's Inspirational Woman of the Year Award
• 2008 – Honoured at the 2008 Youth AIDS Gala, for her contribution in helping the fight against HIV and AIDS
• 2008 – The German Sustainability "special achievement" award for her commitment in the fight against HIV and AIDS
• 2008 – Webby Award for official website www.annielennox.com^[88]
• 2009 – Save the Children "Amigo de los Niños" Award
• 2009 – Awarded the "Freedom of the City of London" by the British Red Cross for services to humanity in the field of HIV and AIDS
• 2009 – Nobel Peace Laureates for services to humanity
• 2010 – Patron of the Elton John Aids Foundation
• 2010 – Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Scotland
• 2010 – Ambassador for HIV/AIDS in London
• 2010 – UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador
• 2010 – Barclays Women of the Year Award
• 2010 – [International Service Award] for Global Defence of Human Rights
• 2010 – GQ Charity Woman of the Year Award
• 2010 – Harper's Bazaar Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2010 – OBE – Order of the British Empire for her work fighting AIDS and poverty in Africa

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Annie Lennox website
• The SING Campaign website, founded By Annie Lennox
• Annie Lennox official YouTube channel

Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt (1946)
Background information
Birth name	Jean Reinhardt
Born	(1910-01-23)23 January 1910, Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium
Died	16 May 1953(1953-05-16) (aged 43) Fontainebleau, France
Genres	Jazz, Gypsy jazz, Romani music
Occupations	Guitarist, Composer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1928–1953
Associated acts	Stéphane Grappelli, Quintette du Hot Club de France

Django Reinhardt (French pronunciation: [dʒɑ̃ɡo ʁenɑʁt]; 23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) was a pioneering virtuoso Belgian jazz guitarist and composer.

Often regarded as the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the idiom, he is also revered by guitarists worldwide as among the foremost exponents of the instrument. Reinhardt invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called 'hot' jazz guitar) that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, he co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz."^[1] Reinhardt's most popular compositions have become jazz standards, including "Minor Swing", "Daphne", "Belleville", "Djangology", "Swing '42", and "Nuages".

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Jean "Django" Reinhardt^[2] was born 23 January 1910 in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium, into a family of Manouche gypsies. Reinhardt's nickname "Django" is Romani for "I awake."^[3] Reinhardt spent most of his youth in Romani (Gypsy) encampments close to Paris, playing banjo, guitar and violin from an early age. His family made cane furniture for a living, but included several keen amateur musicians.^[4]

Reinhardt was attracted to music at an early age, playing the violin at first. At the age of 12, he received a banjo-guitar as a gift. He quickly learned to play, mimicking the fingerings of musicians he watched. His first known recordings (in 1928) were of him playing the banjo. During this period he was influenced by two older gypsy musicians, the banjoist Gusti Mahla and the guitarist Jean "Poulette" Castro. By the age of 13, Reinhardt was able to make a living playing music. As a result, he received little formal education and acquired the rudiments of literacy only in adult life.^[5]

The injury[link]

At the age of 18, Reinhardt was injured in a fire that ravaged the caravan he shared with Florine "Bella" Mayer, his first wife.^[6] They were very poor, and to supplement their income Bella made imitation flowers out of celluloid and paper. Consequently, their home was rich in highly flammable material. Returning from a performance late one night, Reinhardt apparently knocked over a candle on his way to bed. While his family and neighbours were quick to pull him to safety, he received first- and second-degree burns over half his body. His right leg was paralysed and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were badly burned. Doctors believed that he would never play guitar again and intended to amputate one of his legs.^[7] Reinhardt refused to have the surgery and left the hospital after a short time; he was able to walk within a year with the aid of a cane.

His brother Joseph Reinhardt, an accomplished guitarist himself, bought Django a new guitar. With rehabilitation and practice he relearned his craft in a completely new way, even as his third and fourth fingers remained partially paralysed. He played all of his guitar solos with only two fingers, and used the two injured digits only for chord work.^[8]

In 1929, Reinhardt's estranged wife Florine gave birth to a son named Henri "Lousson" Reinhardt (aka Lousson Baumgartner).^[9]

Discovery of jazz[link]

The period between 1929 and 1933 were formative years for Reinhardt. One development was his abandonment of the banjo-guitar in favour of the guitar. He also first heard American jazz during this period, when a man called Emile Savitry played him a number of records from his collection: he was particularly impressed with Louis Armstrong, whom he called "my brother".^[10] Shortly afterwards he made the acquaintance of a young violinist with very similar musical interests—Stéphane Grappelli. In the absence of paid work in their radical new music, the two would jam together, along with a loose circle of other musicians.^[11] Finally, Reinhardt would acquire his first Selmer guitar in the mid 1930s. The volume and expressiveness of the instrument were to become an integral part of his style.

Formation of the quintet[link]

Reinhardt and Grappelli.

In 1934, Reinhardt and Parisian violinist Grappelli were invited to form the "Quintette du Hot Club de France" with Reinhardt's brother Joseph and Roger Chaput on guitar, and Louis Vola on bass.^[12] Occasionally Chaput was replaced by Reinhardt's best friend and fellow Gypsy Pierre "Baro" Ferret. The vocalist Freddy Taylor participated in a few songs, such as "Georgia On My Mind" and "Nagasaki". Jean Sablon was the first singer to record with him more than 30 songs from 1933. They also used their guitars for percussive sounds, as they had no true percussion section. The Quintette du Hot Club de France (in some of its versions at least) was one of the few well-known jazz ensembles composed only of string instruments.^[13]

In Paris on 14 March 1933, Reinhardt recorded two takes each of "Parce que je vous aime" and "Si, j'aime Suzy", vocal numbers with lots of guitar fills and guitar support, using three guitarists along with an accordion lead, violin, and bass. In August of the following year recordings were also made with more than one guitar (Joseph Reinhardt, Roger Chaput, and Django), including the first recording by the Quintette. In both years, it should be noted, the great majority of their recordings featured a wide variety of horns, often in multiples, piano, and other instruments.^[14] Nonetheless, the all-string format is the one most often adopted by emulators of the Hot Club sound.

Reinhardt also played and recorded with many American jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Rex Stewart (who later stayed in Paris), and participated in a jam-session and radio performance with Louis Armstrong. Later in his career he played with Dizzy Gillespie in France. Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France used the Selmer Maccaferri, the first commercially available guitars with a cutaway and later with an aluminium-reinforced neck.

World War II[link]

When World War II broke out, the original quintet was on tour in the United Kingdom. Reinhardt returned to Paris at once,^[15] leaving his wife behind. Grappelli remained in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war. Reinhardt reformed the quintet, with Hubert Rostaing on clarinet replacing Grappelli's violin. In 1943, Reinhardt married Sophie "Naguine" Ziegler in Salbris, with whom he had a son, Babik Reinhardt, who became a respected guitarist in his own right.^[16]

Reinhardt survived the war unscathed, unlike many Romanis who perished in the Porajmos, the Nazi regime's systematic murder of several hundred thousand European Romanis. He was well aware of the dangers he and his family faced, and made several unsuccessful attempts to escape occupied France. Part of the explanation of his survival is that he enjoyed the protection of (surreptitiously) jazz-loving Nazis such as Luftwaffe officer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, nicknamed "Doktor Jazz".^[17]

Reinhardt's problems were compounded by the fact that the Nazis also officially disapproved of jazz.^[18] Reinhardt became interested in other musical directions, attempting to write a Mass for the Gypsies and Symphony (since he could not write music, he would perform improvisations to be notated by an assistant). His modernist piece Rhythm Futur was intended to be acceptably unjazzlike.

United States tour[link]

After the war, Reinhardt rejoined Grappelli in the UK, and then went on in the autumn of 1946 to tour the United States as a special guest soloist with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, when he got to play with many notable musicians and composers such as Maury Deutsch. At the end of the tour he played two nights at Carnegie Hall; he received a great ovation and took six curtain calls on the first night. Despite Reinhardt's great pride in touring with Ellington (one of his two letters to Grappelli relates this excitement), he was not really integrated into the band, playing only a few tunes at the end of the show, backed by Ellington, with no special arrangements written for him. After the tour he secured an engagement at Café Society Uptown, where he did four solos a day backed by the resident band. These performances drew large audiences.^[19]

Reinhardt was reportedly given an untuned guitar to play with (discovered after strumming a chord) which took him five minutes to tune. Having failed to take along a Selmer Modèle Jazz, the guitar he made famous, he had to play on a haphazardly borrowed electric guitar, which failed to bring out the delicacy of his style.^[20]

Django Reinhardt was among the first people in France to appreciate the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, whom he sought when he arrived in New York. They were both on tour at the time, however.^{[citation needed]}

He had been promised some jobs in California but these failed to materialize and he got tired of waiting. He returned to France in February 1947.^[21]

After the quintet[link]

After returning to France, Reinhardt spent the remainder of his days re-immersed in Romani life, having found it difficult to adjust to the modern world. He would sometimes show up for concerts without a guitar or amp, or wander off to the park or beach, and on a few occasions he refused even to get out of bed. Reinhardt was known by his band, fans, and managers to be extremely unpredictable. He would often skip sold-out concerts to simply "walk to the beach" or "smell the dew".^[22]

In Rome in 1949, Reinhardt recruited three Italian jazz players (on bass, piano, and snare drum) and recorded his final (double) album, "Djangology". He was once again united with Grappelli, and returned to his acoustic Selmer-Maccaferri. The recording was discovered and issued for the first time in the late 1950s.^[23]

Final years[link]

Plaque commemorating Reinhardt at Samois-sur-Seine.

In 1951, he retired to Samois-sur-Seine, near Fontainebleau, where he lived until his death. He continued to play in Paris jazz clubs and began playing electric guitar (often a Selmer fitted with an electric pickup), despite his initial hesitation towards the instrument. His final recordings made with his "Nouvelle Quintette" in the last few months of his life show him moving in a new musical direction; he had assimilated the vocabulary of bebop and fused it with his own melodic style.^[24]

While walking from the Avon railway station after playing in a Paris club he collapsed outside his house from a brain hemorrhage.^[25] It was a Saturday and it took a full day for a doctor to arrive^[26] and Reinhardt was declared dead on arrival at the hospital in Fontainebleau at age 43.

Family[link]

Reinhardt's second son, Babik, was a guitarist in the contemporary jazz style. His first son, Lousson, was more of a traditionalist, but followed the Romani lifestyle and rarely performed in public. Reinhardt's brother Joseph had initially sworn to abandon music on hearing of Reinhardt's death, but was persuaded to start performing and recording again. Joseph's son Markus is a gypsy violinist. There is now a third generation of direct descendants: Reinhardt's grandson (by his son Babik), David Reinhardt, leads his own trio; his grandson by Lousson, Dallas Baumgartner, is a guitarist who follows in his father's footsteps by traveling and keeping a low public profile.

Django had a cousin, Schnuckenack Reinhardt^[27], who was a violinist. Schnukenack lived in Germany, and the two never met. Many of his descendants are also involved in gypsy music, such as his grandson Lulo Reinhardt.

Legacy[link]

For about a decade after Reinhardt's death, interest in his musical style was minimal, with the fifties seeing bebop superseding swing in jazz, the rise of rock and roll, and electric instruments taking over from acoustic ones in popular music. Reinhardt's friends and sidemen Pierre Ferret and his brothers continued to perform their own version of gypsy swing.

There was a revival of interest in Reinhardt's music from the mid sixties, with acoustic music having become popular through the folk movement. Several of Reinhardt's near-contemporaries recorded for the first time in the sixties and seventies, for instance Paul "Tchan Tchou" Vidal

In 1973 Stéphane Grappelli formed a successful Quintette-style band with British guitarists Diz Disley and Denny Wright. Grappelli would go on to form many other musical partnerships, including John Etheridge, Nigel Kennedy and David Grisman. He was also to acquire his own emulators, for instance Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis.

New generations began to emerge, for instance, Jimmy and Stochelo Rosenberg and their relatives from the Netherlands. Another musical clan is the Reinhardt brothers and cousins from Germany, distant relatives of Reinhardt's. Boulou Ferré, son of "Matelot" Ferret, was a child prodigy who entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 13, and studied under Olivier Messiaen. He continues to perform, with his brother Elios, and can mix bebop and even classical music with gypsy swing. Biréli Lagrène and Angelo Debarre were other prodigies.

Most of the above-mentioned are Roma who learned music by the 'gypsy method', involving intense practice, direct imitation of older musicians (often family members) and playing by ear, with little formal musical study (or, indeed, formal education of any kind). Since about the late 1970s, study materials of a more conventional kind such as workshops, books and videos have become available, allowing musicians worldwide to master the style.

An early non-Roma gypsy-style guitarist was René Didi Duprat (b. 1926). Contemporary ones include John Jorgenson, Jon Larsen (and his Hot Club de Norvège, established 1979), Joscho Stephan, Andreas Öberg, Frank Vignola, George Cole, Stephane Wrembel and Reynold Philipsek. Their music is sometimes jokingly referred to as "Gadjo jazz", where Gadjo is the Romani term for a non-Romani.^{[citation needed]} Young players such as Adrien Moignard and Gwenole Cahue represent the rising generation. Another sign of the rising popularity of gypsy jazz is the increasing number of festivals, such as the Samois-sur-Seine festival (started about 1980), and the various DjangoFests held in the USA.

Reinhardt in popular culture[link]

Reinhardt has been portrayed in several films, such as in the opening sequence of the 2003 animated film Les Triplettes de Belleville. The third and fourth fingers of the cartoon Reinhardt are considerably smaller than the fingers used to play the guitar. Reinhardt's legacy dominates in Woody Allen's 1999 Sweet and Lowdown. This spoof biopic focuses on fictional American guitarist Emmet Ray's obsession with Reinhardt, with soundtrack featuring Howard Alden. He is also portrayed by guitarist John Jorgenson in the movie Head in the Clouds.

Reinhardt is the idol of the character Arvid in the movie Swing Kids, where the character's left hand is smashed by a member of the Hitler Jugend, but is inspired by Reinhardt's example to keep playing. Similarly, in real life, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi suffered an industrial accident at 17, where the tips of his right middle and ring fingers were amputated on the last day of his job at a sheet metal factory. His boss, in an effort to encourage Iommi to follow his dream of being a professional guitarist, played a Django Reinhardt record for him for inspiration.^[28]

Reinhardt's music has been used in the soundtrack of many films, including in The Matrix; Rhythm Futur, Daltry Calhoun, Metroland, Chocolat, The Aviator, Alex and the Gypsy, Kate and Leopold and Gattaca; the score for Louis Malle's 1974 movie, Lacombe Lucien; the background for the Steve Martin movie L.A. Story; and the background for a number of Woody Allen movies, including Stardust Memories. (MnHe also appeared as a character in Allen's Sweet and Lowdown. Reinhardt's music has also been featured in the soundtracks of several video games, such as the 2002 game Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, Mafia II^[29] and several times in the 2007 game BioShock. Notably, not only was Reinhardt's music used in the 1978 film King of the Gypsies, his long-time friend and violinist Stéphane Grappelli appeared in the film in a cameo performing as part of one of the gypsy bands.

In the Martin Scorsese film, Hugo, 2011, a character who appears to be, and is credited as, Reinhardt plays guitar in a combo in the station cafe and a closeup shows him making chords without the use of his 3rd and 4th fingers. Other Paris artistic notables of the day are depicted as well.

Reinhardt has been the subject of several songs, most notably "Django" (1954), a gypsy-flavoured piece that jazz pianist John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet wrote in honour of Reinhardt; numerous versions of the song have been recorded, including one on the 1973 Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks self-titled debut album; it also appears on Joe Bonamassa's 2006 LP You & Me. The lyrics of the Norwegian song "Tanta til Beate" by Lillebjørn Nilsen mentions Reinhardt several times.

He is mentioned in Jump Little Children's song "Mexico": "I won't let you leave, not with all my Django, Emmylou and Steve".

In the novel Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds, the characters Wendell Floyd and André Custine mention having played music with Reinhardt.

At the end of the 2009 NCIS episode "Hide and Seek," Dr. Mallard mentions that Agent McGee's prized autographed Django Reinhardt album "Crazy Rhythm" was mysteriously destroyed.

In 2010 the French and Belgian Google homepages displayed a logo commemorating the centenary of his birthday on 23 January 2010.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actors Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor named their son after Reinhardt.

Reinhardt is loosely suggested as the main character in the music video for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Brian Setzer.^{[citation needed]}

The Django web framework is named after him, as is version 3.1 of the blog software WordPress.^[30]

"Twango", a track on Duane Eddy's album Road Trip, is a tribute to Reinhardt.

"Tango For Django", a track on Robbie Robertson's album How To Become Clairvoyant, is a tribute.

The Belgian government issued a commemorative coin in 92.5% sterling silver in 2010 coinciding with his 100th birth anniversary. It is a silver 10 Euro coin with a color image of Django Reinhardt on the reverse side.^[31]

Influence[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Many guitar players, and musicians, have expressed admiration for Django Reinhardt, or have cited him as a major influence. These include British rock guitarists Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton, all three of whom are regularly listed by publications such as Rolling Stone or Guitar Player Magazine as being within the top 10 greatest or most influential guitar players (often with Reinhardt, himself). In fact, Jeff Beck has described Reinhardt as "By far the most astonishing guitar player ever..." and "...quite superhuman..." [1] Other notable guitar players influenced by Reinhardt, include Bob Dunn, Leon McAuliffe, Jimmy McCulloch, NWOAHM guitarist Synyster Gates (Brian Haner Jr.) of Avenged Sevenfold, classical guitarist Julian Bream; country artist Chet Atkins, who placed Reinhardt #1 on a list of the ten most influential guitarists of the 20th century (and himself fifth); Latinrocker Carlos Santana; blues legend B.B. King; Pete Townshend of The Who; Australian acoustic guitar player Tommy Emmanuel; The Wiggles' Murray Cook; Pierre Bensusan; Phish's Trey Anastasio; The Libertines' Carl Barat, Shawn Lane; Hank Marvin; Stevie Ray Vaughan; Derek Trucks; Mark Knopfler; Les Paul; Joe Pass; Peter Frampton; Denny Laine; Bill Nelson; Jon Larsen; Steve Howe; Charlie Christian; Frank Vignola; Barney Kessel; George Benson; Wes Montgomery; Martin Taylor; Michael Angelo Batio; Richard Thompson; Robert Fripp; René Thomas; and Jeff Martin. Willie Nelson wore a Django Reinhardt T-shirt on tour in Europe in 2002, stating in an interview that he admired Reinhardt's music and ability. Willie pointed out how Reinhardt's Hot Club quintet paralleled the hot jazz & country fiddle sound of 1930's Western Swing bands Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies and Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.^{[citation needed]} As well as individual guitarist Django's music has inspired numerous groups to form, including countless "Hot Clubs" as well as more diverse groups such as Swing Je T'aime, and the David Grisman Quintet.

Jose Feliciano attributes his unique style to, in part, that of Reinhardt's. In 2009 he composed an album inspired by those musical influences and entitled it Djangoisms.^{[citation needed]}

Cuban composer and guitarist Leo Brouwer composed Variations on a Theme of Django Reinhardt for solo guitar (1984). It is based on Nuages, by Reinhardt.

The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, both of whom lost fingers in accidents, were particularly inspired by Reinhardt's ability to become an accomplished guitar player/musician, despite the diminished use of his own permanently injured hand following an accident. Jerry Garcia as quoted in June 1985 in Frets Magazine ; "His technique is awesome! Even today, nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at. As good as players are, they haven’t gotten to where he is. There’s a lot of guys that play fast and a lot of guys that play clean, and the guitar has come a long way as far as speed and clarity go, but nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django has. I mean, the combination of incredible speed – all the speed you could possibly want – but also the thing of every note have a specific personality. You don’t hear it. I really haven’t heard it anywhere but with Django".

A number of musicians have even named their sons Django in honour of, or respect for, Reinhardt. They include Dawelie Reinhardt, David Crosby, former Slade singer Noddy Holder, Jerry Jeff Walker, Richard Durrant, as well as actors Nana Visitor, Alexander Siddig and Raphael Sbarge. Jazz musician Django Bates and singer-songwriter Django Haskins were also named after him.

Songs written in Reinhardt's honour include "Django," an instrumental guitar piece by renowned blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. The piece was influenced by the violin introduction of "Vous et Moi" (Blues et Mineur 1942, Brussels) where Reinhardt himself played the violin. Vous et Moi (You and Me) became the title of Bonamassa's sixth album where the track first appeared in 2006. Slightly longer live versions appear on LIVE...From Nowhere In Particular (2009), and in DVD from the 4 May concert at Royal Albert Hall. "Django," composed by John Lewis, which has become a jazz standard performed by musicians such as Miles Davis. The Modern Jazz Quartet titled one of their albums Django in honour of him. The Allman Brothers Band song "Jessica" was written by Dickey Betts in tribute to Reinhardt — he wanted to write a song that could be played using only two fingers. This aspect of the artist's work also motivated Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, who was inspired by Reinhardt to keep playing guitar after a factory accident that cost him two fingertips. Composer Jon Larsen has composed several crossover concerts featuring Reinhardt-inspired music together with symphonic arrangements, most famous are "White Night Stories" (2002) and "Vertavo" (1996).

Not only did Reinhardt put his stamp upon jazz, his "hot" string band music also had an impact upon the parallel development of Texas's western swing string bands, which eventually fed into the wellspring of what is now called country music.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Django Reinhardt took 66th place in the election of The Greatest Belgian (De Grootste Belg) in Flanders and 76th place in the Walloon version of the same competition Le plus grand Belge.

Discography[link]

• 1945 Paris 1945
• 1947 Ellingtonia – with the Rex Stewart Band – Dial 215
• 1949 Djangology
• 1951 Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club Quintet
• 1951 At Club St. Germain
• 1953 Django Reinhardt et Ses Rythmes
• 1954 The Great Artistry of Django Reinhardt
• 1955 Django's Guitar
• 1959 Django Reinhardt and His Rhythm
• 1980 Routes to Django Reinhardt
• 1991 Django Reinhardt - Pêche à la Mouche: The Great Blue Star Sessions 1947/1953
• 1996 Imagine
• 1997 Django Reinhardt: Nuages with Coleman Hawkins
• 1998 The Complete Django Reinhardt HMV Sessions
• 2000 The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (5 CD boxed set)
• 2001 All Star Sessions
• 2001 Jazz in Paris: Swing 39
• 2002 Djangology (remastered) (recorded in 1948, discovered, remastered and released by Bluebird Records)
• 2003 Jazz in Paris: Nuages
• 2003 Jazz in Paris: Nuits de Saint-Germain des-Prés
• 2004 Le Génie Vagabond
• 2005 Djangology (Bluebird)
• 2008 Django on the Radio (radio broadcasts, 1945–1953)

• At least eight compilations have also been released.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Music portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Hotclublinks.com
• Djangopedia
• All About Django Reinhardt
• Manouche Maestro by Paul Vernon Chester
• Django by Michael Dregni
• Gypsy Jazz Encyclopedia
• Django: the Life and Times of a Gypsy Legend by Michael Dregni
• The Genius of Django Reinhadt 1/5 (documentary)
• Transcriptions
• King of the Gypsies at the Internet Movie Database
• Full collection of "Django Reinhardt for band in a Box"

Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Background information
Birth name	Edward Christopher Sheeran
Born	(1991-02-17) 17 February 1991 (age 21)
Origin	Halifax, England
Genres	Folk, acoustic, hip hop, grime
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, producer, rapper, beatboxer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, BOSS Loop Pedal RC-30
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Asylum, Atlantic Records
Associated acts	Yelawolf, Devlin, Wiley, Ghetts, P Money, Wretch 32, Sway DaSafo, Jamie Woon, Yasmin, Amy Wadge[1]
Website	edsheeran.com

Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter who is currently signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records.^[2] Sheeran broke through commercially in June 2011, when his debut single "The A Team" debuted at number 3 on the UK chart.^[3]

Life and career[link]

1991–2011: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire to Irish^[4] and English^[5] parents, before moving to Framlingham, Suffolk; he is a cousin of TV journalist and presenter Gordon Burns.^[6] He learned guitar at a very young age, and began writing songs during his time at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham.^[7] His early childhood memories, referred to in a interview on the Zane Lowe show, included listening to Van Morrison on his countless trips to London with his parents and going to an intimate gig with Damien Rice in Ireland when he was 11.^[8] He also opened for Nizlopi in Norwich in April 2008 after being one of their guitar technicians.^[7] Sheeran began recording in 2005, which led to the release of his first EP, The Orange Room EP. Sheeran also released 2 albums, a self-titled one in 2006 and Want Some? in 2007. He moved to London in 2008 to play gigs, starting off in very small venues, playing every day, to as little as five people. In 2008, he auditioned for the ITV series Britannia High.^[9]

In 2009, Sheeran played 312 gigs. He said that he read an interview with James Morrison that said that Morrison had done 200 gigs in a year, and Sheeran wanted to beat him on this number.^[10] Also in 2009, he released another EP, You Need Me, just before going on tour with Just Jack. He also did a few collaborations with Leddra Chapman, including Cee Lo Green's Fuck You. In February 2010 Sheeran posted a video through SB.TV, which led to mainstream rapper Example asking Sheeran to tour with him. Also in February 2010 he released his critically acclaimed Loose Change EP, which featured his later debut single "The A Team".

In April 2010, after leaving his old management company, Sheeran bought a ticket to Los Angeles, with no contacts other than one poetry night. He played open mic nights all over the city, before his talent was spotted at The Foxxhole by Jamie Foxx, who was so impressed that he offered Sheeran the use of his recording studio and the run of his Hollywood home for the rest of his stay. Throughout 2010, Sheeran began to be seen by more people over the internet through YouTube and his fan-base grew, with him also getting credit from The Independent newspaper, England football captain Rio Ferdinand and Elton John.^[11] Sheeran also self-released two other EPs in 2010; Ed Sheeran: Live at the Bedford and Songs I Wrote With Amy, which is a collection of love songs he wrote in Wales with fellow singer songwriter Amy Wadge.

Sheeran at Academy 1, Manchester Dot to Dot Festival on Monday 30 May 2011

On 8 January 2011, Sheeran released his final independent EP, No. 5 Collaborations Project featuring appearances by grime artists including Wiley, JME, Devlin, Sway and Ghetts.^[2] With this EP, Sheeran gained mainstream attention for reaching number 2 in the iTunes chart without any promotion or label, selling over 7,000 copies in its first week.^[12] Three months later, Sheeran put on a free show to fans at the Barfly in Camden. Over 1,000 fans turned up to see the show, so Sheeran ended up playing four different shows to make sure everyone saw a gig, including a gig outside on the street after the venue had closed. Later that month, Sheeran was signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records.

[edit] 2011–present: + and commercial success

On 26 April, Sheeran appeared on the TV music show Later... with Jools Holland – where he performed his debut single "The A Team". Six weeks later, "The A Team" was released as a digital download in the UK. The release served as the lead single from Sheeran's debut studio album, entitled +. "The A Team" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three, selling over 58,000 copies in the first week. It was congratulated on being the best selling debut single and the overall eight best selling single of 2011, shifting 801,000 copies.^[13] The lead single also became a top ten hit in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands. During a headline set in the BBC Introducing tent at Glastonbury Festival 2011, Sheeran announced that "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" would be released on 28 August as the second single from the album. The second single peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart.^[14]

Sheeran's debut album + was released on 12 September 2011. + received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[15] + debuted number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 102,000 copies in its first week.^[16] It became the second best selling debut album and the ninth biggest-selling album of 2011 in the UK, shifting 791,000 copies.^[17] The album climbed back up to number one on the UK Albums Chart on 1 January 2012, fifteen weeks after it last peaked at the top. The album has been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 900,000 units.^[18] As of March 2012, the album had sold 1,021,072 copies in the UK.^[19] The album also reached the top ten on the Australian Albums Chart, Flanders Belgian Albums Chart,^[20] Dutch Albums Chart,^[21] Irish Albums Chart,^[22] New Zealand Albums Chart^[23] and the Swiss Albums Chart.^[24]

On 11 November 2011, soul ballad "Lego House" was released as the third single lifted from the debut studio album +.^[25] It received its first radio play on BBC Radio 1 on 8 September 2011.^[26][27] It entered the UK Singles Chart at number five, on 17 November. "Lego House" also reached the top ten on Australian, Irish, Scottish, New Zealand Singles Charts, Flemish Ultratop 50 and the Wallonian Ultratip. "Drunk" was released on 19 February 2012 as the fourth single lifted from +.^[28] "Drunk" became the Sheeran's fourth consecutive top ten single in the UK, when it peaked at number nine.^[29] "Small Bump" is scheduled for a release in late May 2012 as the fifth single.^[30]

The song "Moments" on the debut album by boy band One Direction was co-written by Sheeran.^[31] On 21 February 2012, Sheeran attended the 2012 Brit Awards, he received the Brit Award for Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Breaktrough of the Year.^[32][33]

On 10 January 2012, it was announced Sheeran would support Snow Patrol on their United States tour from late March until May. On the band's Fallen Empires Tour.^[34]

His song "Give Me Love" was featured in the episode "Dangerous Liaisons" of The Vampire Diaries.^[35][36] At the 2012 Ivor Novello Awards in May 2012, Sheeran's "The A Team" beat Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" and Florence and the Machine's "Shake It Out", winning the award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.^[37]

Philanthropy[link]

Sheeran will perform a gig in Bristol, which has raised £40,000 for a charity that reaches out to street sex workers. Sheeran agreed to the event after one of the women One25 helps contacted him. "It's good to show insight that these people are real people with real emotions and they deserve the same charity work as anyone else," Sheeran said. "There's a lot more popular charities that get a lot of attention. And with certain subjects like this they're often washed over and people don't necessarily give them the attention they deserve." Tickets were available to those taking part in the charity's Give it up for One25 campaign by giving something up for 125 hours and hitting the £125 fundraising mark. Louise Willott, who organised the event at The Fleece, said of Sheeran: "He had volunteered in Crisis in London. which is a homeless shelter, and he had met a woman who told him her story. Her name was Angel. "He then went and did some more research about the issues and obviously he must have been moved and inspired to have written The A Team." Willott added: "The Fleece is quite a small venue - it only holds about 400, which makes it extra exciting as it's really intimate and Ed's not playing those size venues anymore. In total this has raised about £40,000 for the project. Its just going to give us such a boost. This is a difficult time for any charity. There's less money available and there's more competition for it, so to have one event raise £40,000 is just incredible."^[38]

Discography[link]

Album[link]

• + (2011)

Tour[link]

Opening act

• Fallen Empires Tour (North American select dates) (2012)

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

[edit] BRIT Awards

[edit] BT Digital Music Awards

[edit] Ivor Novello Awards

[edit] MOBO Awards

[edit] Q Awards

[edit] UK Music Video Awards

See also[link]

• List of Official Subscription Plays Chart number-one songs from the 2010s

References[link]