Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for co-presenting the BBC TV show Top Gear with Richard Hammond and James May from October 2002 to March 2015. He also writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun.

From a career as a local journalist in northern England, Clarkson rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s, he has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering. From 1998 to 2000, he also hosted his own chat show, Clarkson.

His opinionated but humorous tongue-in-cheek writing and presenting style has often provoked public reaction. His actions both privately and as a Top Gear presenter have also sometimes resulted in criticism from the media, politicians, pressure groups and the public. He has also garnered a significant public following, being credited as a major factor in the resurgence of Top Gear as one of the most popular shows on the BBC.

Top Gear

Top Gear and similar may refer to the following:

Television productions

Video games

James May

James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is a British television presenter and journalist. He is widely known for his years as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 to 2015. As of 2016 he was a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons and scheduled to be presenting an Untitled Amazon motoring show for Amazon Video as an exclusive for Amazon Prime customers, alongside his former Top Gear co-hosts.

May has presented other programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture, and the plight of manliness in modern times. He wrote a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph's motoring section from 2003 to 2011.

Early life

James May was born in Bristol, one of four children; he has two sisters and a brother. May attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his teenage years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. He was also at school with Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes star Dean Andrews.

Zara Larsson

Zara Maria Larsson (pronounced [ˈsɑːra maˈriːa ˈlɑːʂɔn]; born 16 December 1997) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She received national fame for winning the 2008 season of the talent show Talang, the Swedish version of Got Talent. Zara signed with the record label TEN Music Group in 2010 and released her debut EP album Introducing, in January 2013. The single "Uncover" topped the charts in Sweden and Norway. By February 2013 her single "Uncover" was certified Platinum by Universal Music Sweden. In July 2013 the album Introducing was certified Triple Platinum. Zara also signed a three-year contract with Epic Records in the United States in April 2013. She lives with her mother, father and her younger sister.

Early life

Zara Larsson was born on 16 December 1997 in Stockholm, Sweden. She has one younger sister, Hanna.

Career

2007–11: Career beginnings

Larsson was a finalist of the Swedish talent show called Talang in 2007, which is the Swedish version of Britain´s Got Talent. In 2008 Larsson won the Talang competition at age 10, and received the prize money of 500,000 SEK. "My Heart Will Go On" was later released as Larsson's debut single. A video of her performance in the final has received over 15 million views on YouTube.

Grand Tour

The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means, or those of more humble origin who could find a sponsor. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transport in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage. Though primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry, similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on Continental Europe, and from the second half of the 18th century, by some South and North Americans. The tradition declined with the lapse of neo-classical enthusiasm and after rail and steamship travel made the journeys much easier when Thomas Cook made the "Cook's Tour" of early mass tourism a byword.

The New York Times in 2008 described the Grand Tour in this way:

The primary value of the Grand Tour, it was believed, lay in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of the European continent. In addition, it provided the only opportunity to view specific works of art, and possibly the only chance to hear certain music. A Grand Tour could last from several months to several years. It was commonly undertaken in the company of a Cicerone, a knowledgeable guide or tutor. The Grand Tour had more than superficial cultural importance; as E. P. Thompson stated, "ruling-class control in the 18th century was located primarily in a cultural hegemony, and only secondarily in an expression of economic or physical (military) power."