Robert Lacey (born 3 January 1944) is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of bestselling biographies, including those of Henry Ford^[1] and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as works of popular history.

Lacey’s 1981 work The Kingdom and its 2009 follow-up Inside the Kingdom have now both been cited as standard study texts for the diplomatic community working inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This has led to Lacey being employed by American Television networks, ABC^[2] and PBS as a commentator on the subject.

In 2009 Lacey made the controversial documentary “Rehab for Terrorists?: Can terrorists be rehabilitated with kindness?” for the ‘Now’ show for the PBS channel.

Lacey is also ABC's Good Morning America Royal commentator and was in London for the channel covering the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. He was also seen on the BBC’s late evening coverage of the event. David Brancaccio said: "In Saudi Arabia, Robert Lacey had the kind of access most journalists only dream of."^[3]

Lacey is an alumnus of Bristol Grammar School and a graduate of Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge where he earned a B.A. in 1967, a diploma of education in 1967, and an M.A. in 1970^[4]. He began his writing career as a journalist on the Illustrated London News, and later The Sunday Times.^[5]

Works[link]

• Robert, Earl of Essex (1971)
• Henry VIII (1972)
• Majesty (1977)
• The Kingdom (1981), History of Saudi Arabia to 1979.
• Aristocrats (1983)
• Ford (1986)
• Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life (1991)
• Grace (1994)
• The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium (1999, with Danny Danziger)
• Royal (2002)
• Monarch, Life and Reign of Elizabeth II (2002)
• Great Tales from British History, Volume 1 (2003)
• Great Tales from British History, Volume 2 (2005)
• Great Tales from British History, Volume 3 (2006)
• Inside the Kingdom (2009), History of Saudi Arabia from 1979 to date.
• A brief life of the Queen (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Robert Lacey website
• Inside the Kingdom – The Official Website for Robert Lacey's Book
• Invite Robert Lacey to speak at your club or organisation
• Transcript: Rehab for Terrorists?
• Works by Robert Lacey on Open Library at the Internet Archive

This article about a British historian or genealogist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Rob Lacey (1962-2006) was a British actor, storyteller and author of the word on the street (formerly the street bible) and The Liberator.

Background[link]

Before becoming a popular author, Lacey spent approximately 20 years as an actor and broadcaster, specialising in theatrical storytelling and performance poetry. He is best known for adapting Bible stories to the stage—initially as a one-man show that he performed at major Christian festivals in the UK and US, then later as a three-person show performed by the Lacey Theatre Company. Lacey's performances have attracted significant media attention, including the BBC, CNN, Fox News and USA Today.

Lacey also co-directed The Gate Arts Centre in his hometown of Cardiff, the Welsh capital. The Gate operates in a converted church building and offers a 350-seat theatre, a dance studio and art gallery.

The Word On The Street[link]

Lacey's first major book, the word on the street, was originally published in 2003 as the street bible. the word on the street is described as a "dangerously real retelling of Scripture," condensing the story of the Bible in less than 500 pages, paraphrasing the text in a distinctive, urban style inspired by Lacey's performances. Major biblical stories are recast as mini-blockbusters; individual psalms are rewritten as song lyrics; the letters of Paul become emails to the fledgling "Jesus Liberation Movement" (aka the church). the word on the street is published by Zondervan.

At the same time the book was launched, Lacey partnered with musicians Bill Taylor-Beales and Rachel Taylor-Beales to produce an audio CD of his 75-minute performance of the Bible. The CD was nominated for an Audie Award by the Audio Publishers Association in 2004.

While Lacey was writing the word on the street, he was diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer and given a year to live. Neither conventional nor alternative treatment seemed to halt the cancer's progress. However, more than two years after being diagnosed, he surprised doctors by making an unexpected recovery. Lacey chronicles his battle with cancer in his book and on his website.

the word on the street became a bestseller in Christian bookshops throughout the UK. In 2004 it was named the top Christian book of the year. In the US, Barnes & Noble recognized the word on the street as one of the ten best "religion & spirituality" books of 2004.

Death[link]

Lacey lost his battle with bladder cancer and died on Monday 1 May 2006, aged 43. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Harnisch-Lacey, and his two young children Lukas and Magdalena.

The Liberator[link]

Lacey's last book was The Liberator, which aimed to tell the complete story of Jesus' life, based mainly on the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In addition to the paraphrased Gospel text (a continuation of the style he crafted with the word on the street), Lacey ventured into new territory, adding a sometimes tongue-in-cheek commentary, fictional newspaper interviews with key characters in the story, and satirical ideas for not taking the text seriously, called "Don't Like This?" notes. The Liberator was published by Zondervan in March 2006.

Street life[link]

Lacey also co-authored Street Life with Nick Page which is a radical, funny book of some thirty Bible studies, covering such apparently un-Biblical topics as 'Lip gloss', 'Scaffolding' and 'Chewing Gum'.

External links[link]

• http://www.thewordonthestreet.co.uk/ - official website
• http://www.roblacey.com/ - publisher's promotional site
• Zondervan Remembers Award-Winning Author Rob Lacey
• http://www.thegate.org.uk/index.html- The Gate Arts Centre
• http://www.laceytheatrecompany.com/- Lacey Theatre Company

Robert Lacy is an American writer, of short stories. He was born and raised in East Texas, and served in the United States Marines. He graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was a student of Richard Yates.^[1] He lives in Medicine Lake, Minnesota.

Reviews[link]

Robert Lacy's stories are direct, honest, grace-filled, and useful. The Natural Father is that good thing, a book that both sweetens and illuminates our lives.^[2]

Quotes about Yates[link]

I think we all wanted to be Richard Yates,” his student Robert Lacy remembered. “I know for a fact that I did. He was tall, lanky, and movie-star handsome back then, and he moved in an aura of sad, doom-haunted, F. Scott Fitzgeraldian grace. He was Gatsby and Nick Carraway and Dick Diver all rolled into one.^[1]

Though I realize I’m crippled that is true, sir,

Please don’t judge my courage by my twisted leg,

Let me show my Uncle Sam what I can do, sir,

Let me take the Axis down a peg.

God, how we loved that song! And, God, how Yates used to love to lead us in it! No doubt there were happier moments in his life. But those were the happiest I ever saw. We’d be gathered in someone’s kitchen, our heads, including Yates’s, all leaned in close together in a drunken bouquet, and the look on his face as he put us through our musical paces would be positively beatific. Occasionally a spouse or girlfriend might stick a head in the door to see what was going on, see what all the racket was. But after one look they’d shake their heads and go away.^[3]

Bibliography[link]

Books[link]

• The Natural Father: Stories, New Rivers Press, Minneapolis, 1997, ISBN 978-0-89823-176-2

Short stories[link]

• "Win a Few Lose a Few", The Saturday Evening Post, Volume 238, Issue 25, 18 December 1965, page 70-75
• "The Natural Father", Crazyhorse, Crazyhorse Association, [Number 50, 1996?]
• "Up in the Ozarks", South Dakota Review, Fall 1997
• "Donald Ross is Dying", Ploughshares, Spring 1989 ^[4]
• "Second Wives" The Antioch Review, Volume 54.1, Winter 1996, page 95
• "Verlin", The Antioch Review, Volume 114.1, Winter 2006, page 143-148
• "Occurrence at 133 Park Street, Apartment 2A", The Carolina Quarterly, Volume 59.1, Winter 2008, page 48

Essays[link]

• "Three Snapshots from a Minneapolis Album", North Stone Review, 2002
• "A Season In the Dismal Trade", The Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2003, pp. 134–142
• "Sing a Song of Sonny", Sewanee Review, Volume 114, Number 1, Spring 2005 pp. 309–316
• "From Here to Eternity and the American Experience", Sewanee Review - Volume 115, Number 4, Fall 2007, pp. 641–646
• "A Reason to Write", Sewanee Review - Volume 115, Number 1, Winter 2007, pp. 110–115
• "Threnody for Henry", Shenandoah, Washington and Lee University
• "Joyce", North Dakota Quarterly, Volume 75 Number 1, Winter 2008
• "Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano", North Dakota Quarterly, Volume 75.1, Winter 2008ISSN: 0029-277X

Anthologies[link]

• "The Natural Father". The Best American Short Stories 1988 (Houghton Mifflin). 1988. ISBN 978-0-395-44256-2. (editors Mark Helprin, Shannon Ravenel) ^[5]
• The Best of Crazyhorse: Thirty Years of Poetry and Fiction. (University of Arkansas Press). October 1990. ISBN 978-1-55728-164-7. (editor Mark David Jauss)^[6]

Criticism[link]

• "Stories that won the O'Connor Award have the 'feel' of Chicago". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. February 15, 1987. 
• "Night Train Blues". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. July 6, 1996. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11381131.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "Dazzling story collection celebrates Alice Munro". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. October 20, 1996. 
• "After Rain". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. November 9, 1996. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11380901.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "Father and Son". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. December 14, 1996. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11380186.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "Le Divorce". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. January 4, 1997. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11371731.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "Medicine Men". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. April 19, 1997. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11379861.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "The Gospel According to the Son". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. May 3, 1997. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11373136.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "Kowloon Tong". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. June 7, 1997. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/12473666.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "A poetic love song to the late John Engman". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. June 14, 1997. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11377896.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "Larry's Party". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. September 6, 1997. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11380591.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• Robert Lacy, (Sept 28, 1997), In short, `The Complete Stories of Bernard Malamud'., Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), 14F
• "Prize Stories: The 1997 O. Henry Awards". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. November 22, 1997. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/11379706.html. Retrieved March 9, 2009. 
• "Smiley deftly sets scene then loses story". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. April 19, 1998. 
• "Casey's "Half Life"". The Minneapolis Star Tribune. May 10, 1998. 

Awards[link]

• Loft McNight Fellowship, Minnesota, 1984
• Midwest Voices fiction competition, Poets & Writers
• Minnesota Book Awards Past Finalists and Winners - 1998 ^[7]

References[link]

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (June 2011)

This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality, and to make it neutral in tone. (June 2011)

Tiff Lacey also known as Tiffany Lacey (born c. 1986) is a singer/songwriter from Crayford, Kent, England, and the vocalist behind many trance and house hits. Except for her vocal abilities, she's also known for the fact that she often writes lyrics that differ considerably from the standard themes in the genre.^[1]

Singing career[link]

Tiff Lacey started singing when she was 16 years old. A few years later she began working as a backing singer to the band "Falling Man". They recorded an album and gigged regularly until they eventually disbanded. Then she started fronting a blues/rock band touring locally in the South East. However, she felt the need to develop her songwriting capabilities in her own right, so she left the band, but yet teamed up with one of its members.They recorded several songs and had interest from both Virgin and EMI. But unfortunately they broke up soon after, because they were not able to capitalize upon the record company's interest. Deciding to change direction, Tiff Lacey joined the "Frankenstein’s Baby", an indie/folk band. They wrote and recorded several songs, gained large fan base and were reviewed various times in musical press around the country. Playing regularly at the legendary "Mean Fiddler", Tiff Lacey felt that the other members were not as driven as her in seeking chart success, so she left, to reflect on the direction her career should eventually take.

And then her breakthrough in the club scene happened. Her demo was chosen among many by Paul Oakenfold and he invited her to record the vocals for his track "Hypnotised", which became a worldwide hit in 2002. It was then followed by "In Your Hands" with Redd Square which resulted another success and by M-Box's "Kiss In Shadows", which was remixed by Tiesto. In 2003 she also provided vocals for The Thrillseekers' track "Affinity". Her fame was established in 2004 when she was included in three tracks from ATB's album No Silence, all three of which became hits, especially "Ecstasy" which is still ATB's biggest hit to date. She would later work with him again for the albums Seven Years: 1998-2005 (2005) and Future Memories (2009). In 2005 she recorded vocals for Filo & Peri's techno hit "Dance With A Devil", which was remixed by Serge Devant and DJ Shog. That year saw her teaming up with Headstrong (aka Don Jackson). They recorded numerous tracks together which were released through the years. The hits among them are "Close Your Eyes" (2005), "The Truth" (2006) and "Symphony Of Soul" (2007). Lacey got in touch with Jackson thanks to another longtime collaborator and popular name in the EDM industry - Matt Darey (who contributed a remix for "Close Your Eyes"), with whom she recorded the successful track "Always", which was followed by "Sum Of All Fears" (2007) and "Into The Blue" (2010). Always in 2005 she did her first collaboration with Flash Brothers called "Faith In Love" which received support from DJs like Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, Markus Schulz and became Flash Brothers' main hit until then. Lacey later recorded again for them in 2007 ("Stay") and in 2011 she sang the title track for their album "Heaven's Gate".

In 2006 she recorded for the first time with Cosmic Gate. The tune called "Should've Known" was included on their album Earth Mover and was also released as a single with remixes by Wippenberg, Jonas Steur a.k.a. Estuera and DJ Delicious, receiving big success. Wippenberg wanted Lacey for the track "Promised Land" the next year, which was remixed by Nic Chagall.

In 2007 Tiff Lacey teamed up with Russian DJ Bobina for a collaboration track called "Where Did You Go", which was included in his album "Again". The track was remixed by another popular name, Dutch DJ First State. The remix received massive support from DJs such as Armin Van Buuren, which led to a collaboration between First State and Lacey called "Where Do We Go", included on his album "Time Frame".

In 2008 Lacey recorded two tracks with trance duo Matt Abbott and Chris Chambers a.k.a. Abbott & Chambers titled "Where Are You" and "Strange Liaison". The tracks were released with remixes by Nitrous Oxide, Cressida, Carl B, Dennis Sheperd, David & Carr, Onova, Allan O' Marshall and Karl G. These tunes established her fame in the Uplifting trance genre, after being included mainly on Progressive trance and Dance before that. The same year she also did "Don't Be Afraid" with Michael Badal and "The Sweetest Sound" with Nick Murray both of which became hits and are considered signature tracks of hers. Overall in 2008 (only) Tiff Lacey was included on more than 30 releases.

Her collaboration track with Tenishia called "Burning From The Inside" won the award Best Dance Production 2008 at the Malta Music Awards.^[2]

She wrote a vocal electronic album with Huw Williams in 2007 and it was released in 2008 under their alias name Rubikon and titled "Wonderland". The album featured 11 original recordings. Three of them, "Thing Called Love", "Why Keep On" and "Telephone" were released as singles with remixes by Morgan Page and Hakan Ludvigson, amongst others.

Even though she's mainly considered a Trance singer, however, Tiff Lacey is often wanted for House music collaborations as well. Some of her highlights in this genre include: "Clockworks" with Amex, Natlife and Purepath (2008), "Dreaming" with DJ Zya (2009), "Sweet 17" with Tash (2009), "Beds" with Chus Liberata (2010), "As We Ride" with The Henchmen (2011) , "Perfect World" with Pagano (2011) and "Darkest Hours" with Fergus Keogh (2012).

Tiff Lacey's first solo single (she only had one solo song included on Ibiza compilation before that) - a piano ballad called "Show Me The Way" was released on 14 December 2009, with remix package provided by Ivan Spell and Gabriel Lukosz. It was re-released in 2011 with a reworked version of the Ivan Spell remix.

In January 2010 "I Know" with George Acosta was released. The remix of the tune by Beat Service was played on A State Of Trance and featured on numerous other podcasts.^[3]

In April 2010, Tiff Lacey signed with label Loverush Digital for the release of her solo album. Later in that year she did a special appearance on Matt Darey's Nocturnal radio show where a 1 hour guest vocal set consisting entirely of her hits was played, including comments by herself between every track.^[4]

In February 2011, her track with Aly & Fila called "Paradise" was released as a single on Future Sound of Egypt to good reviews, being played on ASOT.^[5]

On 31 January 2011 the singer shared the official video of the first single from her upcoming full-length studio album "iVIVA!" called "Take Me Away" on her Facebook page. Later on the same day Mark "Loverush" Schneider announced the single's upcoming release. It was released on March 9, 2011 on iTunes with remixes by Tom Noize, Loverush UK, Darren Flinders and Stereojackers.

On May 8, 2011, Tiff Lacey presented on Facebook an official video to another song from her upcoming album - the ballad "Mother To Daughter". The video was shot in Dorset and in her home. Her daughter also appears in it.

There was an album launch party which took place in London on August 12, 2011. The event included live performances by Lacey and Paul Stevens^{[disambiguation needed ]} and guest DJ sets by Loverush UK, Stuart J and Matt Emulsion.

Her album "¡Viva!" came out on iTunes on August 15, 2011 via Loverush Digital. Among the main record producers in it are George Popa, Matt Bukovski, Nick Murray and Loverush UK!. On the very next day, on August 16, American DJ/producer Ryan Farish released his album "Upon a Dream" which included 3 collaborations with Tiff Lacey (the title track being one of them). The album received a worldwide success and for Lacey musically it was an experience similar to those she had with ATB.

In January, 2012, Lacey's collaboration with Italian DJ Vito De Santis aka Vitodito called "Forbidden Love" was released via Neuroscience Deep label to great reviews. The Domenico Cascarino & Luca Lombardi remix of the track reached #3 on Beatport Chillout Chart.

Her second single with The Henchmen, "Dancing Into Day" became an immediate success after the original mix was released on "Housesession Miami WMC 2012" in March. She participated in the WMC 2012 compilations with one more track - "Perfect World" with Pagano, in remix by Ralphi Rosario.

On April 10, 2012, the singer shared with her fans in Facebook the music video for her song "Speak Your Name" (from "¡Viva!")

Her tracks "Perfect World" with Pagano and "Little Heart" with Illitheas, which already gained lots of attention and airplay, will have full single releases soon as well. She has also recorded new tracks with Airwave, Philip Aelis and Robert Lyttle, amongst others.

Writing[link]

Besides her singing talent, Tiff Lacey is also a writer and painter. She wrote almost all of her song lyrics. Her themes include various subjects, like love, romance, joy, dreams, fears, introspection, sorrow, God and, especially in the last few years, a consistent part of her lyrics are describing motherhood.

VSA[link]

In October 2011 Tiff Lacey, in collaboration with fellow performer Antonia Lucas, founded the non-profit organization VSA (Vocalist Songwriters Alliance). The organization's mission is to defend and support the business and creative rights of the vocalists, especially in the EDM sector of the industry, which have been strongly disrespected over the years by several DJ's. All that working in team. Numerous popular names joined the VSA, among which are Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Jaren, Marcie Joy and Audrey Gallagher. ^[6]

Discography[link]

Albums:

• ¡Viva! (2011)

Selected tracks:

• Paul Oakenfold & Tiff Lacey - "Hypnotised"
• The Thrillseekers & Tiff Lacey pres. Hydra - "Affinity"
• ATB & Tiff Lacey - "Ecstasy"
• Filo & Peri with Tiff Lacey - "Dance With A Devil"
• Matt Darey & Tiff Lacey - "Always"
• Bobina & Tiff Lacey - "Where Did You Go"
• First State & Tiff Lacey - "Where Do We Go"
• Michael Badal & Tiff Lacey - "Don't Be Afraid"
• Cosmic Gate & Tiff Lacey - "Open Your Heart"
• George Acosta & Tiff Lacey - "I Know"
• Motionchild & Will Holland with Tiff Lacey - "Arctic Kiss"
• Aly & Fila with Tiff Lacey - "Paradise"
• Ryan Farish & Tiff Lacey - "Upon A Dream"
• Matt Bukovski & Tiff Lacey - "Swept Away"
• Bartlett Bros, Matt Loki & Tiff Lacey - "Sweet Child"
• Sean Bay & Tiff Lacey - "Moon In The Dark"

References[link]