Fnac (originally Fédération Nationale d’Achats des Cadres, or National Shopping Federation for Managers ) is an international entertainment retail chain offering cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. It is the largest retailer of its kind in France. Its head office is in Le Flavia in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris.

Core values[link]

The company's founders, André Essel and Max Théret^[12] were both part of France's Young Socialist movement. Fnac was founded to provide affordable products to the worker, who had increasing purchasing power. As a result, it has remained true to its socialist beliefs.^[13] Today, the company prides itself on offering a diverse range of products, impartial advice from their employees, ensuring their products are up to standard by being checked in an independent test centre and blacklisting those that do not meet a minimum set of requirements.

Fnac also holds multiple "forums" throughout the year, which are opportunities for customers to have open dialogue with people such as Pedro Almodóvar, George Lucas, and David Cronenberg, discussions with authors including Paul Auster, Pierre Bourdieu, and Françoise Giroud in addition to exclusive^[vague] concerts. Musicians playing in these concerts have included Yann Tiersen, Ben Harper, Keane and David Bowie.

Each year a "Book Fair" is held with discussions among writers, opinion leaders, politicians and the public. Topics related to literature, culture, society and the sciences are discussed. Since 2001 the company has also annually presented an award, Le prix du roman Fnac, whose winners are chosen by an independent panel of booksellers and members. Dominique Mainard, Pierre Charras and Pierre Péju are among those who have won. These events are shown on the company website fnaclive.com (in French).

Fnac also participates in campaigns against exclusion, racism and censorship. In 2003, the firm began a five-year plan to combat illiteracy among schoolchildren.

The company is also committed to defending the diversity of music. In February 2002 Fnac published with UPFI (Union des Producteurs Phonographiques Français Indépendants) "Manifeste pour la diversité musicale", as a prelude to a policy of favorable treatment for independent labels and their artists. Fnac publishes "Indétendances," a compilation of ten artists bimonthly published by independent labels, which it set aside part of its listening kiosks in stores to promote their work.^[14]

History[link]

Fnac was founded in 1954 as a members-only discount buyers' club by André Essel and Max Théret.^[15] The objective of the company for the two founders would be to serve both the commercial and consumer industries, offering discounted equipment through a magazine titled Contact, and by cutting the standard retail mark-up (as high as 50 percent elsewhere) on its products down to as low as 15 percent, thereby making products more affordable and increasing the purchasing power of the worker. The first shop was opened in a sublet, a second-floor apartment on the rue de Sebastopol in Paris on July 31, 1954.^[16] The company differs from its competition with a "unique brand positioning based on the exaltation of pleasure to discover the diversity of cultures and technologies".^[17]

This unique brand positioning of the company was continued with the training of all sales assistants in their product categories, with purchases being guaranteed for one year. Furthermore, all products were tested in the company's independent test centre before sale. The test centre would check for technical quality, ease of use, price and the "price/quality ratio," and all results were published in the companies free members' magazine Contact, which today can also be found advertised in store. In addition, staff were expected to do more than just sell their products but offer advice to customers and beginning in 1957 blacklist any unsatisfactory products, such as those with technical difficulties. By the end of its first full year of operation the company saw revenues of 50 million old francs. In 1957, it was selling televisions, hi-fis, recording equipment, radios and records.^[18]

1960s and 1970s[link]

In 1966, the Fnac store was opened to non-members and began to expand, opening its second store, also in Paris on the avenue de Wagram, near the Arc de Triomphe in 1969.^[19] By this time, the company had 580 employees.

The 1970s saw further expansion for Fnac, as the company began opening shops in the French provinces outside Paris and a third in the city itself that sold books, the newest addition to the product range. The founders of the company sold 40 percent of the company to insurance firm Union des Assurances (AXA) to raise money to fund growth. In turn, the insurance firm sold 16 percent of its shares to investment bank Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas (later known as Banque Paribas), in 1972. During this period, the company's sales were worth an estimated $70 million, generating net profits of $2.2 million, translating to 4 percent of all record sales in the French market, eight percent of sound equipment sales and ten percent of photo equipment sales.^{[citation needed]}

In 1974, the company began selling books at 80% of the RRP, which sparked protests from publishers, writers and independent booksellers alike, who could not benefit from the economies of scale. This prompted government action in 1982 with the so-called 'anti-Fnac' law, that was signed to limit discounts on books to a maximum of five percent. In 1975, videos were added to the product range.^[20]

Towards the late 1970s, Fnac continued to expand by building to 12 stores in Paris and other cities through France. In 1977, the remaining shares of the company's founders were sold to the Société Génerale des Cooperatives de Consommation (SGCC, the financial arm of the Coop retailing group) to raise more capital.

1980s and 1990s[link]

Virgin Megastore Paris

FNAC became a Public limited company on the Paris stock exchange in 1980 when 25 percent of the company was offered to the public. SGCC, however, maintained a 51 percent control of the company, which now employed more than 2,700 and was declaring turnover of FFr 2.2 billion.

In 1981, FNAC opened a store in Brussels, Belgium under the management of Sodal, a joint-venture between FNAC (40 percent) and the GIB Group (60 percent). The GIB Group later added three more stores in the mid-1980s, in Ghent, Antwerp, and Liège.

In 1983, André Essel retired and was replaced by the then SGCC president Roger Kerinec.

In 1985, SGCC sold its shares to the insurance group Garantie Mutuelle des Fonctionnaires (GMF) due to growing competition from the French hypermarket and discount chains such as Carrefour and E.Leclerc. Michel Barouin, GMF's president and director general, took these positions at FNAC as well. In 1987, Barouin disappeared in an airplane accident and Jean-Louis Petriat was named to lead both GMF and FNAC.

In 1988, the first Virgin Megastore opened in Paris. Petriat announced a FFr 1.5 billion plan to add 15 new stores to the 31-store chain and double the company's gross revenues, in order to compete with the new entrant to the French market. Petriat also had plans to expand into the German market. By this point, sales of compact discs and other recordings had joined books as the company's most important sources of revenue. Fnac now has 20% of the recordings market, making it the largest retailer in the country.^{[citation needed]}

During the late 1980s, Petriat added a music distribution division following the purchase of Wotre Music Distribution (WMD). In January 1991, Fnac Music was formed. Petriat hoped to build the first French multinational record company, with plans to capture as much as five percent of the market.

The 1990s brought fierce competition after the arrival of HMV and Virgin Megastores in 1988 as well as the strength of hypermarkets. The company responded by cutting its prices and stepping up the competition, which forced HMV to leave France after only six months. Virgin Megastores remained in the French market, and decided to open two more stores in addition to its original store in Paris. In response to the megastore, as seen to the right, Fnac spent around $23 million to build its own megastore, at 32,000 square metres, more than twice the size of the Virgin megastore, which^[vague] became known as "the Cathedral".

In 1991, the first Fnac store was opened in Berlin continuing with Petriat's plans, this was close to the original Virgin megastore, which opened there only a few months earlier.

In 1992, the fate of FNAC Librairie Internationale, featuring books in languages other than French, was sealed and closed after only a year of trading.^[21] This store was converted to a computer products-only concept, called FNAC Micro, which proved more successful.

In 1993, the first Fnac store was opened in Madrid, Spain.^[22] However, the FNAC Music subsidiary, while posting some successes, failed to live up to the company's expectations and was unable to gain more than a two percent market share and was eventually sold off the distribution arm WMD, which shut down FNAC Music in 1994.^[23]

Despite some failures, the company revealed growing revenues though shrinking profits in the early 1990s, also attributed to the recession in the French economy. In 1991 the company recorded gross sales of FFr 7.4 billion, while profits fell approximately FFr 55 million, to FFr 159.5 million. The following year, despite a rise in revenues to FFr 8.9 billion, the company's net income dropped to FFr 31.9 million.

The falling profits for Fnac was a similar situation to the parent company, GMF whose share count totalled more than 80 percent. To raise more capital, GMF agreed to sell its shares of FNAC in July 1993 to Altus Finances, a subsidiary of government-owned Crédit Lyonnais, and Phenix, a property group owned by French waterworks company Générale des Eaux, for FFr 2.4 billion. The deal came under scrutiny by the Commission des opérations de bourse (COB) though was allowed to proceed in September 1993. Crédit Lyonnais became the majority shareholder, with 64 percent of shares, while Générale des Eaux held 34 percent. The remaining two percent of shares continued to be publicly owned.

In 1994, Crédit Lyonnais announced it was going to sell its 64 percent share of the company as part of a FFr 20 billion asset-reduction plan. In July 1994, the Altus Finances subsidiary agreed to sell the majority stake in FNAC for FFr 1.9 billion to François Pinault, the largest shareholder in and architect of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute.^[24]

Since 1994, PPR or Pinault-Printemps-Redoute has been the majority shareholder of Fnac and the company was led by François-Henri Pinault, son of the parent company's head François Pinault. The new ownership saw the closure of the WMD and FNAC Music subsidiaries and instead concentrated on further expansion of its retail chain. In 1995, the company added its 45th French store, while a second Spanish store, in Barcelona was opened in 1996. In 1995, the Fnac store was closed in Berlin and the company instead continued its international expansion in Belgium, which were now becoming profitable.

In October 1996, the new parent company assumed full control of the Belgian affiliate and announced plans to double the number of stores in Belgium that began with the opening of a fifth store in 1997. In March 1996, François-Henri, was named chairman of Fnac and opened two stores in France. At this point, Fnac had revenues passing FFr 10 billion and net earnings of FFr 200 million.^[25]

In 1999, the first Fnac store outside Europe was opened in São Paulo (Brazil).^[26]

Operations[link]

Fnac in Madrid (Spain)

As of 2009, the company has stores in France, Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Morocco and Taiwan (where it is now known under the name Fayaque).^[27]

Brazil[link]

There are 10 FNAC stores in Brazil (in order of opening): Pinheiros (São Paulo), Barra Shopping (Rio de Janeiro), Shopping Dom Pedro (Campinas), Paulista (São Paulo), Shopping Barigui (Curitiba), Parkshopping (Brasília), Morumbi Shopping (São Paulo), Barra Shopping Sul (Porto Alegre), Ribeirão Shopping (Ribeirão Preto), BH Shopping (Belo Horizonte) and Flamboyant Shopping (Goiânia). The headquarters is located in São Paulo.^[28]

Spain[link]

There are 20 FNAC stores in Spain (in order of opening): Plaza Callao (Madrid), L'illa (Barcelona), San Agustín (Valencia), Triangle (Barcelona), Coso (Zaragoza), Bulevar (Alicante), Parque Principado (Oviedo), Diagonal Mar (Barcelona), La Cañada (Marbella, Málaga), Plaza (Marbella, Málaga), Plaza Norte (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid), ParqueSur (Leganés, Madrid), Donostia (San Sebastián), Nueva Condomina (Murcia), Bilbao (Bilbao), Ave. de La Constitución (Seville), Praza de Lugo (Corunna), Málaga Plaza (Málaga), Plaza Imperial (Zaragoza), La Gavia (Madrid), and Paseo de la Castellana (Madrid). The headquarters is located in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid.^[29]

Switzerland[link]

As of 2009, there are four Fnac stores in Switzerland, two in Geneva, the third in Lausanne and the fourth in Fribourg^[30]

Fnac in Porto (Portugal)

Portugal[link]

There are 17 FNAC stores in Portugal (in order of opening): Colombo (Lisbon), NorteShopping (Oporto), Chiado (Lisbon), CascaiShopping (Cascais), Santa Catarina (Porto), Almada (Almada), GaiaShopping (Gaia), AlgarveShopping (Albufeira), Forum Coimbra (Coimbra), MadeiraShopping (Madeira), Braga Parque (Braga), Alegro (Alfragide), Palacio do Gelo (Viseu), MarShopping-IKEA (Matosinhos), Vasco da Gama (Lisbon), GuimarãeShopping (Guimarães) and LeiriaShopping (Leiria). Also a website (fnac.pt), which was the most popular commercial website in Portugal in 2007.^[31]

Loyalty programme[link]

Fnac operates a loyalty programme offering points that are awarded each time the card is presented at the till-point, for each euro spent. For every 4,000 points earned, a gift card worth €10 is issued to the card holder. As of 2008], Fnac boasts 1.8 million members to the programme with the loyalty card also serving as a credit card. As of 2008, there are two versions of the card, a one year membership card or alternatively a three year membership card. The membership card offers a 5% discount on hardware, books and various monthly offers.^[32]

Ownership[link]

As of 2008, PPR or Pinault-Printemps-Redoute is still the majority shareholder in Fnac, which has since seen further expansion internationally with stores in Brazil (where it is commonly referred to as Fenaque), Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and [Taiwan (where it is now known under the name Fayaque).^[33]

Product range[link]

Fnac stores stock a range of products from Audio, books, CDs, computer software and hardware, DVDs, televisions and video games.^[34] Some stores also operate services of photography and ticket sales. The company also offers a wide selection of higher-end consumer products positioning themselves above discount retailers.

Future[link]

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (July 2011)

In 2008, Fnac opened 10 new stores bringing their total locations, internationally, to 207 with 63 of those outside of France. The company objective for 2009 is to strengthen their position on each of these countries as well as further international expansion.^[35] In November 2007, Denis Olivennes, chief executive officer of Fnac, said, "We are moving from a strategy based on our position as a retailer of cultural and technological products to undertake a new, more global initiative, in which the product is only one aspect among others."^[36]

The parent company, PPR highlighted Fnac's good performance in France in its quarterly business performance, citing acceleration in growth and market share gains supported by strong trading in technical goods.^[37]

In November 2007, Eric Angiboust, global development director at Fnac, said in response to a question regarding Fnac entering the UK market, "It’s a matter of timing. For sure we want to be in London"^[38]

On 30 December 2008, the British newspaper, the Independent, speculated that Fnac could be tempted into the UK market by bidding for the 125 stores of the Zavvi Entertainment Group, also an entertainment retailer, which went into administration on 24 December 2008 due to problems with their supplier EUK.^[39]

Head office[link]

Fnac's head office is in Le Flavia in Ivry-sur-Seine, France.^[40][41]

Previously it was located in Clichy-la-Garenne, Hauts-de-Seine. Around 2006 there were rumors stating that Fnac would move to Wissous.^[42] In 2008 the head office moved to Ivry-sur-Seine. The subsidiary Fnac.com moved from Aubervilliers to Ivry during the same year.^[43]

In popular culture[link]

The story of the 2005 Spanish thriller Mar rojo, starring Maribel Verdú, begins with an armed robbery at a Fnac store in Barcelona.

See also[link]

	Paris portal
	Companies portal

• Dixons (UK) - competitor
• Media Markt - competitor
• PPR - parent company (holding)

References[link]

• International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 21. St. James Press, 1998.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fnac

• French Fnac website
• Belgian Fnac website
• Brazilian Fnac website
• Italian Fnac website
• Portuguese Fnac website
• Spanish Fnac website
• Swiss Fnac website
• Taiwanese Fnac (Fayaque) website

Selah Sue
Background information
Birth name	Sanne Putseys
Born	(1989-05-03) 3 May 1989 (age 23)
Origin	Leefdaal, Belgium
Genres	Reggae, soul
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Guitar, Vocals
Website	www.selahsue.com

Selah Sue (born Sanne Putseys,^[1] 3 May 1989) is a Belgian musician and songwriter.

Her debut album, Selah Sue (2011) was a major success, selling over 400.000 copies in Europe^[2], 200.000 in France alone. Today, she has chart success with the hit singles 'Raggamuffin', 'Crazy Vibes' and 'This World'.

In 2011, Selah Sue won an European Border Breakers Award (EBBA).^[3] In January 2012 during the EBBA award ceremony she was presented with the EBBA Public Choice Award.^[4]

Background[link]

Sanne Putseys was born in Leuven,^[1] but originates from the nearby Belgian town Leefdaal. At the age of fifteen, Sanne Putseys learned to play the acoustic guitar and started to write her own songs as well. When she was seventeen a Belgian producer asked her to sing some demo's of his songs, after which Universal offered her a contract. She refused, because she wanted to sing her own songs. At the same time she performed as the youngest and only female artist at the open-song contest Open Mic-avond at Het Depot in Leuven. Organizer and singer Milow (born Jonathan Vandenbroeck) had noticed her talents and asked her to perform in his supporting programme. Initially, Sanne Putseys managed to work out her musical career path while studying psychology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. According to her, studying psychology helped her to understand more about human emotions, which also is something that she has to deal with in her musical activities. Eventually, she continued doing warm-up performances in collaboration with artists such as Jamie Lidell in London and Paris. Furthermore, she played with the Belgian band Novastar at the Paradiso in Amsterdam.^[5]

Her first EP was released in 2008, under the title Black Part Love.^[6] It contains five songs

Selah Sue in concert

From September 2008 until August 2009, Selah Sue received some curricular guidance from the Belgian musical theater Ancienne Belgique. The programme, in which she was involved there, has been set up to support promising artists who aren't associated with any record company or other kinds of managing assistance.

Selah Sue often covers songs of Erykah Badu and The Zutons, but she does appear to assemble a whole range of her own songs. Two of her well-known songs are "Mommy" and "Black part love", both of which are carried out acoustically. She says to be influenced by artists such as Lauryn Hill, M.I.A. and Erykah Badu.

In 2009, Selah Sue attended the stages of the North Sea Jazz Festival and that of the Lowlands.^[7] Additionally, she regularly appears on TV shows such as De Wereld Draait Door on Dutch television and several other Flemish TV shows.^[8]

In 2010, she played most of the biggest festivals in Belgium, including Les Nuits Botanique, Les Ardentes, Dour, Lokerse Feesten, Couleur Café and Pukkelpop. But also outside her native country in big festivals such as Lowlands (Netherlands), Les Eurockéennes de Belfort (France) and Sziget Festival (Hungary). On November 8, 2010 she played a support appearance for Prince on his Sportpaleis concert.^[9] She then went on a mostly sold out headlining show in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, presenting her forthcoming debut album.

On March 4, 2011, Selah Sue released her eponymous debut album, called Selah Sue. The album has peaked to number 1 on the Belgium Albums Chart, it has also charted in the Netherlands, France and Switzerland.^[10]

Besides several hits singles, such as 'This World' and 'Crazy Vibes', the album also contains a duet with Cee Lo Green, called "Please".^[11]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

• 2008: Black Part Love
• 2010: Raggamuffin

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Selah Sue

• Official website
• Myspace (English)

Alela Diane
Background information
Birth name	Alela Diane Menig
Born	(1983-04-20) April 20, 1983 (age 29) Nevada City, California, USA
Genres	Folk, Americana, psych folk
Occupations	singer, songwriter
Instruments	vocals, guitar
Years active	2003-present
Labels	Rough Trade Holocene Music Names Records
Associated acts	Blitzen Trapper
Website	http://www.aleladiane.com/

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alela Diane

Alela Diane Menig (born April 20, 1983, Nevada City, California, USA) is an American singer and songwriter living in Portland, Oregon.

Life and career[link]

Alela Diane Menig, grew up singing with her musician parents and performing in the school choir. She taught herself guitar, and began writing songs which blend tense, trance-like arpeggios with warm vocals and meditative lyrics about family and nature. Her first recordings were self-released in 2003 as Forest Parade. Her first solo public appearances were at the invitation of fellow Nevada City native Joanna Newsom. She also did a stint in the Nevada City slow grass band Black Bear before continuing with her solo pursuits.

The songs for her album, 'The Pirate’s Gospel', were written on a trip to Europe. They were recorded in her father’s studio and were initially self-released in 2004, in paper and lace sleeves with hand lettering. The album was issued in revised form by Holocene Music^[1] in October 2006, and received widespread critical acclaim.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

A new song, "Dry Grass and Shadows", was issued on a compilation of Nevada City artists,^[7] and five more new songs were issued on a limited-edition 10" vinyl pressing, Songs Whistled Through White Teeth, released in the UK in October 2006. The Pirate's Gospel was released in the UK on Names Records^[8] in April 2007, garnering favorable reviews in The Times^[9] and NME.^[10]

Alela Diane has toured in the USA both solo and with Tom Brosseau. She had opened for Iron & Wine, Akron/Family, The Decemberists, and Vashti Bunyan. She performed in the UK in April and August 2007. While in the UK in August 2007 she performed at the Green Man Festival in Wales. She also toured extensively in Europe (UK, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) in March, April and May 2008.^[11]

She lent her voice to an album of cover versions, The Silence of Love by Headless Heroes, released in November 2008, recorded by Eddie Bezalel and Hugo Nicholson with musicians Josh Klinghoffer, Joey Waronker, Gus Seyffert, Leo Abrahams and Woody Jackson.^[12]

Her second album, To Be Still, was released in February 2009.^[13][14][15] In early 2009 she toured the USA opening for Blitzen Trapper, and spent the better part of that year touring Europe.

Her third album, Alela Diane & Wild Divine was released in early April 2011. Since the release, she and her band, Wild Divine, which includes her father, Tom Menig, and husband, Tom Bevitori have done tours of both the USA and Europe. In July 2011, they opened for the Fleet Foxes on a string of USA dates. In the fall of the same year she also accompanied them as opening act in Europe.

She now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and cat.

Discography[link]

Main studio albums[link]

• The Pirate's Gospel, Holocene Music, 2006 (revised track listing)
• To Be Still, Rough Trade, 2009
• Alela Diane & Wild Divine, Rough Trade, 2011, UK chart peak: #158^[16]

Self-released albums[link]

• Forest Parade, self-released, 2003
• The Pirate's Gospel, self-released, 2004

Compilation contributions and other[link]

• Dry Grass and Shadows, track on Family Album compilation, Grass Roots Records, 2006
• Songs Whistled Through White Teeth, Names Records (UK), 2006 (10” vinyl)
• The Pirate's Gospel, Names Records (UK rerelease w/ different artwork), April 2007
• The Silence Of Love, Headless Heroes (vocals), Names Records, November 2008
• Alela & Alina, Family/Names Records, October 2009 (10” vinyl)
• "Leaves of Life", Various Artists, Borne!/Darla Records, 2009

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Holocene Music
• Headless Heroes
• Interview with Alela Diane
• To Be Still album review from the Guardian Feb 2009
• Alela Diane - To Be Still album review on Citizen Dick
• Daytrotter Session by Alela Diane, May 2007
• Daytrotter Session by Alela Diane, September 2007
• Green Man Festival 2007
• Toad Session #30 with Alela Diane (UK) May 2008
• May 2009 Interview with L.A. Record
• Alela Diane & Wild Divine Interview with Folk Radio UK April 2011

Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell performing live at Metro, Chicago on October 27, 2006
Background information
Born	(1973-09-18) 18 September 1973 (age 38) Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England
Genres	Soul, funk, electronica, experimental
Occupations	Musician
Labels	Warp Records
Associated acts	Super Collider

Jamie Lidell (birth name Jamie Lidderdale;^[1] born 18 September 1973 in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England) is an English musician and soul singer living in Nashville, United States. He also has a group with Cristian Vogel called Super Collider.

Career[link]

Lidell is known for layering tracks made with his voice into a microphone and performing the percussion and melody as a sequenced, beatboxing one-man band. Then over his augmented voices, he sings soul-inspired songs. This exercise makes for energetic live performances. Lidell has become renowned for his diverse range of genre-exploration. Following the release of his 2008 album, Jim, Lidell commented,^[2]

I want it to be about music, I think every musician does. But I think inevitably it ends up becoming about personality, which is what gives rise to the music, so people want to make sure that they get a bit of both. The more things do well, the more people want to know why it does well.

His song "Multiply" was used on the television show Grey's Anatomy, and was also included on its second soundtrack. Another song from his album Multiply, "A Little Bit More", was featured in a series of commercials for the U.S. retailer Target.

He often collaborates with Canadian musicians such as Gonzales, Feist and Mocky. He has also recently collaborated with British electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco for the song "Off The Map". In 2006, he was part of a live performance collaboration with David Link and F. M. Einheit, which was released on CD as 'Echohce'.

In early 2009, Lidell's Jim won in The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Album.^[3]

In 2009 he contributed a cover of Grizzly Bear's song "Little Brother" to the Warp20 (Recreated) compilation, as well as having his song "A Little Bit More" covered by Tim Exile.

In March 2010, Lidell announced that he is releasing a new album entitled Compass which is being produced by fellow musician and occasional collaborator Beck. The album was released in May 2010.^[4] The title track is featured in the Rockstar video game Red Dead Redemption, and is one of only four songs in the game to include vocals.

Lidell was the co-writer and vocalist for the Simian Mobile Disco track "Put Your Hands Together", from their 2012 album Unpatterns.^[5]

Discography[link]

• Freekin The Frame EP (1997)
• Muddlin Gear (2000, Spymania)
• Multiply (2005, Warp)
• Multiply Additions (2006, Warp)
• Jim (2008, Warp) #183 US
• Compass (2010, Warp) released May 18

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jamie Lidell on Myspace

Charlie Winston
Cruïlla BCN 2010, Barcelona
Background information
Birth name	Charlie Winston Gleave
Born	(1978-09-14) 14 September 1978 (age 33) Cornwall, England
Genres	Folk, indie folk, indie pop
Labels	Real World Records, Atmospheriques
Associated acts	Peter Gabriel, Tom Baxter
Website	www.charliewinston.com

Charlie Winston (born Charlie Winston Gleave, 14 September 1978, Cornwall) is an English singer-songwriter.

Music career[link]

Early career[link]

Winston started performing under the moniker "Charlie Winston and the Oxymorons" after recording and touring with Tom Baxter on Baxter's Feather and Stone album. The Oxymorons consisted of harmonicist Benjamin 'Gob Iron' Edwards, bass guitarist Elf Lord Taylor, and drummer Jamie Morrison.

[edit] Make Way

Winston's debut album, Make Way was recorded at Real World Studios in 2006. Described as "inspired and seductive".^[1] Winston supported Peter Gabriel.^[2] on his 2007 European tour.

[edit] Hobo

His second album, Hobo, entered the French charts at #3 on 31 January 2009, and peaked at #1 in its 25th charting week where it stayed for 4 weeks and, as of 5 July 2011 (2011 -07-05)^[update], spent 30 weeks in the Top 10.^[3] His debut album has also been certified as being platinum.^[4]

The first single, "Like a Hobo", also topped the French SNEP charts for one week on 11 April 2009.^[5][6]

In 2010, Winston won an European Border Breakers Award for 'Best UK artist in Europe'.^[7]

[edit] Running Still

Winston's third album Running Still was released in France on 21 November 2011.

In 2012, Winston contributed the track "This Wheel's On Fire" to the compilation CD set for Amnesty International titled "Chimes of Freedom - The Songs of Bob Dylan".

US television[link]

On November 10, 2011, the track "She Went Quietly" was used over the ending of the mid-season finale of Grey's Anatomy (Season 8, Episode 9 "Dark Was The Night").

Controversy[link]

In 2008, his cover of The Spencer Davis Group song "I'm a Man" appeared on a television advertisement for Volkswagen Polo. The ad featured a dog miming the words to the track,^[8] and was banned after complaints from the RSPCA and over 750 viewers.^[9][10]

Personal life[link]

Winston was born to parents Jeff and Julie Gleave.^[11] At an early age he moved to Bungay, Suffolk where his parents owned the King's Head Hotel.^[12] His older brother, Tom Baxter,^[13] and younger sister, Vashti Anna, are also musicians and all use their middle name as a stage surname. Charlie Winston lives in Paris, France.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

¹ Digital Downloads

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Charlie Winston on Myspace
• Charlie Winston - Live pictures in Paris (Olympia)
• Personal Interview with Charlie Winston