Random House, Inc.

File:Random House Corporate Logo 2011.jpg
Type	Division of Bertelsmann
Industry	Books, Publishing
Founded	1925
Founder(s)	Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer
Headquarters	Random House Tower, New York City, NY, USA
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Markus Dohle (Chairman & CEO, Random House Worldwide/Random House, Inc.) Núria Cabutí (CEO, Random House Mondadori) Anne Davis (Executive Vice President & CFO, Random House Worldwide) Brad Martin (President & CEO, Random House of Canada) Dr. Frank Sambeth (Chairman & CEO, Verlagsgruppe Random House) Gail Rebuck (Chairman & CEO, The Random House Group) Frank Steinert (Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Random House Worldwide)
Products	Books
Revenue	€1.828 billion Euros (2010)
Owner(s)	Bertelsmann
Employees	5,262 (as of December 31, 2010)
Website	www.randomhouse.com

Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films, of which the most recent release was One Day. The company is also currently developing a division responsible for creating story content for media including video games, social networks on the web, mobile platforms, in print and on film.^[1] Random House is considered one of the "Big Six" publishing companies, along with Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster^[2].

Random House, U.S.A.[link]

Random House Tower headquarters, New York City

Random House was founded in 1927 by Americans Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House.^[3]

Its American divisions currently include the Crown Publishing Group, the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, the Random House Publishing Group, and Random House Children's Books.

Random House entered reference publishing in 1947 with the American College Dictionary, which was followed in 1966 by its first unabridged dictionary. Today it publishes the Random House Dictionary of the English Language and Random House Webster's College dictionaries, probably the main competitors for Merriam-Webster reference titles.

The American publishers Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and Pantheon Books were acquired by Random House in 1960 and 1961, respectively; works continue to be published under these imprints with editorial independence, such as Everyman's Library, a series of classical literature reprints. Random House has been the distributor for Shambhala Publications since 1974. They also currently distribute Rizzoli Books, National Geographic Books, Steerforth Press, Wizards of the Coast, Vertical Inc., Welcome Books, New York Review of Books, Titan Books, Other Press, Kodansha Manga, Hatherleigh Press, North Atlantic Books, Monacelli Press Books, and DC Comics. In 1998, Bertelsmann AG bought Random House and it soon went global.^[4]

The publisher's main U.S. office is located at 1745 Broadway in Manhattan, in the 684-foot Random House Tower, completed in 2003 and spanning the entire west side of the block between West 55th Street and west 56th. Its lobby showcases floor-to-ceiling glassed-in bookcases filled with books published by the company's many imprints. Earlier addresses were 457 Madison Ave., New York 22, N.Y.; 20 East 57th St., New York 22, N.Y.; and 201 East 50th St, New York, NY 10022.

International Branches[link]

Random House, Inc. maintains several independently managed subsidiaries around the world.

The Random House Group is one of the largest general book publishing companies in the UK and is based in London. The Group comprises five publishing companies: Cornerstone Publishing, Vintage Publishing, Ebury Publishing, Random House Children's Books and Transworld Publishers, boasting more than 40 diverse and highly respected imprints. Its distribution business services its own imprints as well as 60 other UK publishers. The Random House archive and library is located in Rushden in Northamptonshire.

The Random House Group also operates branches in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa (as a joint venture under the name Random House Struik), and India as part of its overseas structure. In Australia offices are in Sydney and Melbourne.^[5] In New Zealand it is based in Glenfield, Auckland, while Random House's Indian headquarters are located in New Delhi.

Verlagsgruppe Random House was established after Bertelsmann's 1998 acquisition of Random House, grouping its German imprints (until then operating as Verlagsgruppe Bertelsmann) under the new name. It is the second largest book publisher in Germany with more than 40 imprints, including historic publishing houses Goldmann and Heyne, as well as C. Bertelsmann, the publishing house from which today's Bertelsmann AG would eventually evolve. Verlagsgruppe Random House is headquartered in Munich (with additional locations in Gütersloh, Cologne, and Aßlar), employs about 850 people, and publishes roughly 2.500 titles per year.

Random House of Canada^[6] was established in 1944 as the Canadian distributor of Random House Books. In 1986 the company established its own indigenous Canadian publishing program that has become one of the most successful in Canadian history. Until January 2012 it used to hold a 25% stake in McClelland & Stewart, with the remaining 75% being controlled by the University of Toronto. It is now the sole owner of McClelland & Stewart.

Random House Mondadori is Random House's Spanish-language joint venture with Italian publisher Mondadori, targeting markets in South and Central America and Spain. It is headquartered in Barcelona with locations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

In late 2009 and early 2010, respectively, Random House discontinued their Japanese joint venture Random House Kodansha, which had been established in 2003, and also divested their four-year ownership of Random House Korea. The company has since named Random House Australia managing director Margie Seale responsible for exploring and evaluating potential future business opportunities in Asia.^[7]

Divisions and imprints[link]

[edit] Random House, U.S.A.^[8]

[edit] Random House International^[8]

Fenn/M&S^{[clarification needed]}

Fenn/Tundra^{[clarification needed]}

See also[link]

Children's literature portal

• List of English language book publishers
• List of largest UK book publishers
• Media of New York City
• Publishing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Random House official website
• The Random House Group official website
• Verlagsgruppe Random House official website
• Random House of Canada official website
• Random House Australia official website
• Random House New Zealand official website
• Random House India official website
• Random House Mondadori official website in Spain
• Random House Mondadori official website in Mexico
• Random House Struik official website
• Random House Publishing Group official website

Coordinates: 50°42′00″N 2°26′00″W / 50.7°N 2.433333°W / 50.7; -2.433333

Dorchester
Dorchester  Dorchester shown within Dorset
Population	20,101
OS grid reference	SY690906
District	West Dorset
Shire county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DORCHESTER
Postcode district	DT1
Dialling code	01305
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	West Dorset
Website	http://www.dorchester-tc.gov.uk
List of places: UK • England • Dorset

Dorchester ( /ˈdɔrtʃɛstər/ DOR-ches-tər) is the county town of Dorset, England. A historic market town, Dorchester lies on the banks of the River Frome, in the Frome Valley, just south of the Dorset Downs and north of the South Dorset Ridgeway, that separates the area from Weymouth, 8 miles (13 km) south.

Dorchester is noted as being home and inspiration to the author Thomas Hardy, whose novels Tess of the d'Urbervilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge were both based on the town.

In the 2001 Census the official population of Dorchester was 16,171, although by 2010 this was estimated to have risen to 18,280.^[1]

History[link]

Prehistory and Romano-British[link]

Dorchester's roots stem back to prehistoric times. Settlements were first based around Maiden Castle, a large Iron Age hill fort that was one of the most powerful settlements in pre-Roman Britain, with varying tribes having existed there since 4000 BC. The Durotriges were likely to have been there at the arrival of the Romans in 43 AD.

The Romans defeated the local tribes by 70 AD. After possibly being converted from a garrison to a town, the Romans named the settlement Durnovaria. This was a Brythonic name meaning 'place with fist-sized pebbles' and appears to have taken part of its name from the local Durotriges tribe who inhabited the area. Durnovaria was first recorded in the 4th century Antonine Itinerary and became a market centre for the surrounding countryside, and an important road junction and staging post,^[2] and eventually one of the twin capitals of the Celtic Durotriges tribe.^[3]

The Romans walled the town and the remains can still be seen today. The walls were largely replaced with walks that form a square inside modern Dorchester. Known as 'The Walks' a small segment of the original Roman wall still exists today near the Top 'o Town roundabout.

Roman town house ruins in Dorchester

The town still has some Roman features, including part of the town walls and the foundations of a Roman town house, which are freely accessible near the County Hall. There are many Roman finds in the County Museum. The Romans built an 8-mile (13 km) aqueduct to supply the town with water, lengths of the terrace on which it was constructed still remain in parts. Near the town centre is Maumbury Rings, an ancient British henge earthwork converted by the Romans for use as an amphitheatre, and to the north west is Poundbury Hill, another pre-Roman fortification.

Little evidence exists to suggest continued occupation after the withdrawal of the Roman administration from Britain. Historians have suggested that the town became known as Caer Durnac, mistakenly recorded by Nennius as Caer Urnac.^[4][5] The area remained in British hands until the mid-7th century and there was certainly continuity of use of the Roman cemetery at nearby Poundbury. Dorchester has therefore been suggested as the centre of a sub-kingdom of Dumnonia or other regional power base.^[6]

Anglo-Saxon[link]

By 864, the area around Durnovaria/Caer Durnac was dominated by the newly established Saxons, who came to refer to themselves as Dorsaetas ('People of the Dor' - Durnovaria). In their own language, they referred to the town as Dornwaraceaster or Dornwaracester, combining the original name 'Dor/Dorn' from the Latin and Celtic languages with the word 'cester', which was an Anglo-Saxon word used for 'walled town'.^[7] The name would further change to Dorncester/Dornceaster until modern Dorchester emerged some time later. It continued as a thriving commercial and political centre for south Dorset with a textile trading and manufacturing industry continuing until the 17th century.^[8]

Early modern history[link]

"The town is populous, tho' not large, the streets broad, but the buildings old, and low; however, there is good company and a good deal of it; and a man that coveted a retreat in this world might as agreeably spend his time, and as well in Dorchester, as in any town I know in England". -- Daniel Defoe, in his A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724-1726).^[9]

In 1613 and 1725 great fires destroyed large parts of the town, but some of the mediaeval buildings, including Judge Jeffreys' lodgings, and the Tudor almshouse survive in the town centre, amongst the replacement Georgian buildings, many of which are built in Portland limestone.

In the 17th century the town was at the centre of the Puritan emigration to America, and the local rector, John White, organised the settlement of Dorchester, Massachusetts. For his efforts on behalf of Puritan dissenters, White has been called the unheralded founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Some observers have attributed the oversight to the fact that White, unlike John Winthrop, never came to America.)^[10]

In 1642, just prior to the English Civil War, Hugh Green, a Catholic chaplain was executed here. After his execution, Puritans played football with his head.^[11] The town was heavily defended against the Royalists in the Civil War.

In 1685 the Duke of Monmouth failed in his invasion attempt, the Monmouth Rebellion, and almost 300 of his men were condemned to death or transportation in the "Bloody Assizes", held in the Oak Room of the Antelope Hotel, Dorchester and presided over by Judge Jeffreys.

Modern history[link]

In 1833, the Tolpuddle Martyrs formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. Trade unions were legal, but due to them swearing an oath of allegiance, they were arrested and tried in the Shire Hall in Dorchester. This building still remains and is preserved as it was at the time. Under the court are the cells where the prisoners were held while waiting for their court appearance. Dorchester Prison was constructed in the town during the 19th century and the prison is still in use today, holding convicted and remanded inmates from the local courts.

Dorchester remained a compact town within the boundaries of the old town walls until the latter part of the 19th century due to the ownership of all land immediately adjacent to the west, south and east by the Duchy of Cornwall. This land composed the Manor of Fordington, and a select few developments had encroached onto it:

• The Marabout Barracks, to the north of Bridport Road, in 1794
• The Dorchester Union Workhouse, to the north of Damer's Road, in 1835
• The Southampton and Dorchester Railway and its station east of Weymouth Avenue, in 1847
• The Great Western Railway and its station to the south of Damer's Road, in 1857
• The Waterworks, to the north of Bridport Road, in 1854
• A new cemetery, to the west of the new railway and east of Weymouth Avenue, in 1856
• The Dorset County Constabulary police station in 1860, west of the Southampton railway, east of Weymouth Avenue and north of Maumbury Rings.

A map of Dorchester in 1937

This remaining Duchy land was farmed under the open field system until 1874 when the land was enclosed - or consolidated - into three large farms by the landowners and residents.^[12] Soon afterwards followed a series of key developments for the town: the enclosing of Poundbury hillfort for public enjoyment in 1876, the 'Fair Field' (new site for the market, off Weymouth Avenue) in 1877, the Recreation Ground (also off Weymouth Avenue) opening in 1880, and the imposing Eldridge Pope Brewery of 1881, adjacent to the railway line to Southampton. Salisbury Field was retained for public use in 1892, with land being purchased in 1895 for the formal Borough Gardens, between West Walks and Cornwall Road.^[12] The clock and bandstand were added in 1898.^[13]

Meanwhile, land had begun to be developed for housing outside the walls. This included the Cornwall Estate, between the Borough Gardens and the Great Western Railway, from 1876 and the Prince of Wales Estate, centred on Prince of Wales Road, from 1880. Land for the Victoria Park Estate was bought in 1896 and building began in 1897, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. The lime trees in Queen's Avenue were planted in February 1897.^[12]

Recent developments[link]

Dorchester High West Street

Poundbury is the well-known western extension of the town, constructed on Duchy of Cornwall land (owned by Charles, Prince of Wales) according to urban village principles since 1993. Being developed over 25 years, it will eventually be composed of four phases with a total of 2,500 dwellings and a population of about 6,000. Since 2008, Poundbury is now home to Dorset Fire and Rescue Service headquarters and Dorchester fire station. Prince Charles designed the estate (as well as the local Tesco supermarket) and makes several visits throughout the year.

Dorchester became Dorset's first Official Transition Initiative in 2008 as part of the Transition Towns concept.^[14] Transition Town Dorchester is a Dorchester community response to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change.^[15]

The town's Woolworths shop closed in January 2009 after the high-street retail chain entered administration. The store manager, however, secured investment to re-open the store in March 2009, under the name Wellworths,^[16] although due to legal reasons it was later renamed Wellchester. In May 2009, a skatepark was opened in Dorchester after 12 years of planning and construction.^[17]

The catchment population for major food retail outlets in Dorchester is 38,500 (2001 estimate). The catchment area extends eight miles west, north and east of the town, and two miles south.^[1] Brewery Square is a new development in the heart of the town, and is planned to include a multitude of retail outlets, residential units, bars, restaurants and various cultural facilities, plus the regeneration of Dorchester South station to make it the UK's first solar powered rail station.^[18] The Charles Street development, being built on the site of the former Charles Street car park, is the newest project in Dorchester, and will include 23 new shops, a 485-space underground car park, an hotel, affordable housing, new public toilets, a public library and adult education centre provided and paid for by Dorset County Council, and offices and separate parking occupied and paid for by West Dorset District Council. The Charles Street development is predicted to create 660 new jobs (not including jobs within the council).^[19]

There is a new leisure centre being built on Coburg Road to replace the old Thomas Hardye School Leisure Centre, costing over £8 million, and will consist of a new swimming pool and sports equipment.^[20]

Government[link]

Dorchester is represented by three tiers of government. Dorchester town council, West Dorset District Council and Dorset County Council, all of whom are based within the town. The Member of Parliament for West Dorset is Oliver Letwin.

The town's coat of arms depicts the old castle that used to stand where the prison now does. The royal purple background signifies Dorchester's status as part of the private estates of the king since before Domesday. The shield within the castle depicts lions, copied from the shields of Dorset men who fought at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, and fleur-de-lys. The fleur-de-lys on the shield are scattered (or "semée") rather than the more traditional triangular arrangement. Doing so, shows that the town had the right to bear the arms of France before 1405, when they were altered by King Henry VI. Dorchester's seal is the only one in the UK to use the fleur-de-lys in this way. The inscription 'Sigillum Bailivorum Dorcestre' means 'The Seal of the Bailiffs of Dorchester'.

In 2011 Dorchester was one of more than 20 towns across the country to apply for city status to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee,^[21] although in March 2012 it was revealed that Dorchester's bid was unsuccessful.

Media[link]

Dorchester is served by two local radio stations: Wessex FM and BBC Radio Solent (BBC Dorset). The county hospital has its own station named 'Ridgeway Radio'. Local television news coverage is by South Today or Spotlight (BBC News). Dorchester's regular print media comprise Dorset Echo and a free weekly periodical.

Transport[link]

Dorchester South railway station

The town has two railway stations. Dorchester South railway station on the South Western Main Line to Bournemouth, Southampton and London is operated by South West Trains. Dorchester West railway station on the Heart of Wessex Line is operated by First Great Western and serves Yeovil, Bath and Bristol The building at Dorchester West railway station is the original building designed and built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. As part of the regeneration project taking place at the Brewery Site in the town centre, Dorchester South railway station will become the first solar powered railway station in the UK.

A bypass road was completed in 1988 by construction company Mowlem to the south and west of the town, diverting through traffic using the A35 and A37 from the town.^[22]

Education[link]

Dorchester has one private school, several first schools, two middle schools and one upper school. The upper school, The Thomas Hardye School, can trace its origins back to 1569, when it was founded by a merchant of that name, not the writer Thomas Hardy as commonly believed. Nineteen schools in the Dorchester area form the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP).

Kingston Maurward College is a land-based studies college based on the outskirts of the town.

Culture[link]

Local author and poet Thomas Hardy based the fictional town of Casterbridge on Dorchester. Hardy's childhood home is to the east of the town, and his house in town, Max Gate, is owned by the National Trust and open to the public. William Barnes, the local dialect poet, was Rector of Winterborne Came, a small hamlet near Dorchester, for 24 years until his death in 1886,^[23] and ran a school in the town. Statues of both men stand in the town centre; Barnes is outside St Peter's Church and Hardy's beside the Top o' Town crossroads. Cecil Day Lewis is buried in Stinsford, one mile (1.6 km) from Dorchester. Hardy is buried in London, but his heart was removed and buried in Stinsford.

On the hills to the south west of the town, stands Hardy's Monument, a memorial to the other local Thomas Hardy, Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, who served with Lord Nelson, which overlooks the town with views of Weymouth, the Isle of Portland and Chesil Beach. Tom Roberts, Australian painter, was born in Dorchester in 1856.

Dorchester Arts, a regularly funded arts organisation based in a former school building runs a seasonal programme of music, dance and theatre events in the town as well as a range of participatory arts projects for socially excluded groups and the biannual Dorchester Festival. In 2011, Dorchester Arts became an Arts Council 'National Portfolio organisation' with enhanced funding until 2015.

Museums in Dorchester include the Roman Town House, The Dinosaur Museum, the Terracotta Warriors Museum, the Dorset Teddy Bear Museum, The Keep Military Museum, Dorset County Museum. and the Tutankhamun Exhibition. All of these museums took part in the "Museums at Night" event in May 2011 where museums across the UK opened after hours.^[24]

On 15 December 2004, Dorchester was granted Fairtrade Town status.^{[citation needed]}

Twinned towns[link]

Dorchester is twinned with three European towns:^[25]

• Bayeux in France since 1959, came about because the Dorset Regiment were the first soldiers to enter the town in 1944 as the Second World War came to an end
• Lübbecke in Germany since 1973, largely down to the special relationship between the Durnovaria Silver Band who met the Lübbecker Schutzenmusik Corps at an event in Bayeux when Bayeux was twinning with Lübbecke in 1968
• Holbæk in Denmark since 1992, resulted from a shared interest in community plays.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people[link]

• James Campbell (born 1988), cricketer
• Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), writer, was born near Dorchester and later lived at Max Gate in the town. Two of his novels were directly based on Dorchester.
• Paul Hillier (born 1949), classical singer and composer was born in Dorchester. He attended the Thomas Hardye School.

Sport[link]

Dorchester is represented by many sports teams, the most prominent of whom are Dorchester Town F.C., a football team currently playing in the Conference South.

Harry Redknapp and former England players Graham Roberts and Martin Chivers represented 'The Magpies' during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The club have historically been based along Weymouth Avenue in the south of the town. Having previously played at the old Avenue Ground since their inception, the club moved to a new purpose built 5,000 capacity Avenue Stadium in the early 1990s - designed and owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The site of the old Avenue ground is now a Tesco supermarket built at the same time as the Avenue stadium

Dorchester RFC are an amateur rugby union team who currently play in the Southern Counties South league.

Dorchester CC, are a cricket club, who play in the Dorset Premier League, being last crowned champions in 2009.

Aaron Cook, a taekwondo athlete who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games finishing in fifth place, was born in Dorchester.^[26]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Bingham, A. (1987) Dorset : Ordnance Survey landranger guidebook , Norwich: Jarrold, ISBN 0-319-00187-3
• Chandler, J. H. (1990) Wessex images, Gloucester: Alan Sutton and Wiltshire County Council Library & Museum Service, ISBN 0-86299-739-9
• Draper, J. (1992) Dorchester : An illustrated history Wimborne: Dovecote Press, ISBN 1-874336-04-0
• Morris, J. and Draper, J. (1995) "The 'Enclosure' of Foridngton Fields and the Development of Dorchester, 1874–1903", Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society proceedings, v. 117, p. 5–14, ISSN 0070-7112
• Pitt-Rivers, M. (1966) Dorset, A Shell guide, New ed., London: Faber, ISBN 0-571-06714-X
• Taylor, C. (1970) Dorset, Making of the English landscape, London: Hodder & Stoughton, p. 197–201, ISBN 0-340-10962-9
• Waymark, J, (1997) "The Duchy of Cornwall and the Expansion of Dorchester, c. 1900–1997", Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society proceedings, v. 119, p. 19–32, ISSN 0070-7112

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dorchester, Dorset

• Census data
• Dorchester, Dorset at the Open Directory Project

Tom Fletcher
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Michael Fletcher
Born	(1985-07-17) 17 July 1985 (age 26) Harrow, London, England
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass guitar
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Island, Super
Associated acts	McFly, James Bourne, Busted
Website	www.mcfly.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Gibson SG Gibson Flying V Fender Stratocaster Music Man Sterling

Thomas Michael "Tom" Fletcher (born 17 July 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as one of the lead vocalists and guitarists of English pop rock band McFly,^[1] in addition to being the group's founder and principal songwriter. In his nearly ten-year career as a professional songwriter, Fletcher has penned ten UK number one singles and twenty-one top ten singles.

Early life[link]

Fletcher was born in Harrow, London, to a working-class family.^[2] His father, who worked at Kodak and played in local bands, and mother, a special needs teacher, encouraged and supported his love of music from a young age.^[3] He has a younger sister, Carrie Fletcher. When he was 10, Fletcher starred as the main role in Oliver! at the London Palladium alongside Jim Dale as Fagin. He then went on to do a documentary about HIV for schools.

Education[link]

Fletcher attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, a co-educational independent school in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster in west London, on a scholarship.^[4][5]

Musical career[link]

At 14, Fletcher began writing music commercially.^[6] He originally auditioned for Busted^[7], but lost out on the place to Charlie Simpson after the record label Island decided the band should be a trio rather than a four-piece; Fletcher states that he was in the band "for approximately 24-hours."^{[citation needed]} Though the record label decided against offering Fletcher a place in Busted, they were intrigued by his songwriting talents and invited him to join Busted member (and already accomplished songwriter) James Bourne on the band's songwriting team. Fletcher has since stated that it was Bourne who taught him how to "properly" structure songs, and how to "come up with good, poppy melodies."^{[citation needed]}

McFly[link]

During the writing project for Busted's second album A Present for Everyone, Fletcher was asked by the record label if he was available to film auditions for a new band, V. It was at this time that he and Danny Jones met for the first time; Jones went to the audition mistaking the band to be a Busted-esque band, rather than the conventional, all-singing, all-dancing, boyband, for which they were intended.^[8] Fletcher was impressed with Jones's style, and so invited him to write with him and Bourne. When writing projects for Busted had come to an end, the two began collaborating for their own (as yet unnamed) band, and, eventually, moved into the InterContinental Hotel in London for 2 months^[9] to concentrate on writing together. Bassist (Dougie Poynter) and drummer (Harry Judd) were subsequently recruited via a classified advertisement in NME magazine.^[7] Fletcher suggested McFly for the band's name due to his love for the American science fiction/comedy trilogy Back to the Future and Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly.^[10]

In 2004, McFly made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, beating The Beatles's record for "the youngest band to have a début album go straight to number one".^[11] Fletcher has written the majority of McFly's songs with Jones and Poynter, with occasional contributions by Judd; Bourne has also assisted with songwriting on occasions. As of 15 November 2010, McFly have released five studio albums and two compilation albums.

Songwriting[link]

Fletcher has written or co-written ten UK number-one singles: "Crashed The Wedding," "Who's David?," and "Thunderbirds" for Busted; and "Five Colours in Her Hair," "Obviously," "All About You," "I'll Be OK," "Please, Please," "Star Girl," and "Transylvania" for McFly. He co-wrote eight of the songs on A Present for Everyone, as well as all but one ("Not Alone," written by Jones) of the tracks on McFly's debut album, Room on the 3rd Floor. He is the primary writer on the majority of tracks on all five of the band's albums. Of McFly's four members, he has "the most songwriting credits and therefore the most money."^[12]

Tom Fletcher wrote "On a Rainbow," the official song of the 2012 Summer Olympics' mascots Wenlock and Mandeville.^[13] The song features vocals from him and his sister Carrie. He also wrote the song "I Want" for One Direction's new album.^[14]

Other appearances[link]

Other Work[link]

In 2008, Fletcher contributed to the short story anthology, Wow! 366.^[16] Fletcher, along with the rest of McFly, have made a deal with Transworld Publishers to release their memoir in the fall of 2012.^[17] He also is scheduled to be releasing a children's story with Dougie Poynter entitled "The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas", about a boy who gets a pet dinosaur for Christmas. The book is expected to be released in October 2012.^[18]

Personal life[link]

On 18 April 2011, Fletcher became engaged to his longtime girlfriend Giovanna Falcone. He proposed to Giovanna Falcone at the Sylvia Young Theatre School where they first met.^[19] He currently lives in London with Giovanna and their three cats Marvin, Leia and Aurora.^[20] Fletcher and Falcone were married on 12 May 2012.^[21] They sold the rights to OK! Magazine. The article was published on 22 May 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tom Fletcher on Twitter
• Official website
• Tom website
• Tom Fletcher at the Internet Movie Database

Dougie Poynter
Poynter in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Dougie Lee Poynter[1]
Born	(1987-11-30) 30 November 1987 (age 24) Corringham, Essex, England[citation needed]
Genres	Pop rock
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Bass guitar, Vocals, Guitar
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Island (2003-2007, 2010-present) Super Records (2008-present)
Associated acts	McFly
Website	McFly.com
Notable instruments
Music Man Sterling Music Man StingRay Fender Jazz Bass

Dougie Lee Poynter (born 30 November 1987 in Corringham, Essex, England)^[1] is an English musician and the bassist and vocalist for the pop rock band McFly. He won the 11th series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

McFly[link]

Dougie is bassist of pop band McFly, also providing backing, and on occasion, lead vocals. He has co-writer credits on many of McFly's tracks, including the lead writer credit on their 2007 number one single "Transylvania." Poynter has called "Transylvania" his favourite song that he has written.^[2] Poynter also wrote an unrecorded track called Silence Is A Scary Sound, which features as a live recording on their third studio album Motion In The Ocean. The youngest member of the band, Poynter was also the last to enter it when Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher, who already had been signed to a record deal with Island, held auditions for a bassist and drummer. Poynter was 15 when he joined the band. Because of his young age, Dougie and the other members of McFly hold the record for the youngest band to ever have a debut album go straight to number one, a record previously held by The Beatles.

Personal[link]

Poynter dated Frankie Sandford of The Saturdays,^{[3][4][5][6][7]} until the pair briefly split up in March 2010.^[8] They reunited in April 2010,^[9] but split up again in November of the same year. Poynter has stated that they will not be getting back together for the third time.^[10] He spent some time in rehab following the split, due to his depression. Since his release from rehab, he stated he would not drink alcohol in order to keep a healthier state of mind.^[11] As of the end of 2011, Poynter is dating artist Lara Carew-Jones.^[12]

Other work[link]

Before joining McFly at the age of 15, Poynter was in a band named 'Ataiz'. In 2010, Dougie and three other people, including Motion In The Ocean and Radio:ACTIVE producer Jason Perry, started a clothing line called 'Zukie', named after Poynter's pet lizard. ^[13] Dougie owns 30 per cent of the business. In early 2011, it was confirmed that Poynter had started his own clothing range, by the name of 'Saint Kidd', a pirate-based company inspired by William Kidd. ^[14] Dougie is scheduled to be releasing a children's story with fellow bandmate Tom Fletcher entitled "The Dinosaur That Pooped Christmas", about a boy who gets a pet dinosaur for Christmas. The book is expected to be released in October 2012. ^[15]

Appearances[link]

Poynter won the 2011 series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, beating fellow Essex man Mark Wright.^[16][17][18]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: McFly

• Official website
• Dougie Poynter at the Internet Movie Database