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. (January 2011)

James Devlin,^[1] better known by his surname Devlin, is an English rapper from Dagenham, England signed to Island Records. Part of Grime collective 'O.T Crew' with Dogzilla, Deeperman, M. Eye, Benson, Kozy, Syer Bars and Daze.^[2] Devlin was also a member of The Movement, consisting of himself, Wretch 32, Scorcher, Ghetts, Lightning, Mercston and DJ Unique but has since left for reasons unknown.^[3][4] Devlin was named on the BBC Sound of 2010 list, and was nominated for a MOBO and Virgin Music Award.

Career[link]

Beginning[link]

Devlin started working with a collective of Grime Mc's called The Movement. Members included friend and east london Grime MC Ghetts and North London's Wretch 32 and Scorcher. In December 2006 The Movement released their first and only release entitled Tempo Specialists. Devlin's music began to reach commercial radio stations. He made appearances on Kiss FM ^{[disambiguation needed ]} and BBC Radio 1Xtra with Dj's Logan Sama, Tim Westwood and Cameo. Devlin released his second solo mixtape The Art of Rolling^[5] in 2008. US rap star Kanye West posted a video on his blog of Devlin's appearance on Grime DVD Practice Hours when he was aged 15. www.mtv.co.uk/news.

In 2009 Devlin's first video was aired on Channel AKA. "London City" spent 10 weeks at no.1 on the channel's official video chart. Other videos followed including Community Outcast and Giant.

In December 2009, Devlin was announced on the long list for the BBC Sound of 2010. Devlin signed to Island Records in March 2010, and began working on his first studio album Bud, Sweat and Beers.

[edit] 2010-2011: Bud, Sweat and Beers

His debut album, Bud, Sweat and Beers was released on Island Records in 2010. The first single from the album was "Brainwashed", which was released on August 8, 2010 in the UK and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 31, and number 11 on the UK R&B Chart. The second single, "Runaway", was released on 24 October 2010, where it debuted at number 15, marking Devlin's most successful single to date. The single was succeeded by the release of the debut album, Bud, Sweat and Beers, which was released on 1 November 2010 and debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart. "London City" entered the UK chart at number 181 following strong digital downloads from the album.^[6] The third single released from the album was "Let It Go" featuring British-producer Labrinth. The track, which was released on 31 January 2011,^[7] charted at number 59 in the UK based on downloads alone. In January 2011, Devlin appeared on Jessie J's UK version of "Price Tag".

Devlin featured on Tinchy Stryder's Game Over with Giggs, Professor Green, Tinie Tempah, Example and Chipmunk.

2012-present: My Moving Picture[link]

Devlin stated on an interview with Tim Westwood on BBC Radio 1Xtra that his 2nd album will be released in October 2012, and it will be called My Moving Picture.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Crew Discography[link]

The M.O.V.E.M.E.N.T

• Tempo Specialists (2008)

O.T Crew

• Left 2 Rot (2009)
• Broad Street Stories (2007)
• Shot City (2007)
• The London Borough Of Barking & Dogenham (2006)

Singles[link]

As featured artist[link]

Other charted songs[link]

Other appearances[link]

Music videos[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Devlin on Myspace

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2010)

This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (April 2012)

Chase & Status are an Electronic music production duo consisting of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, MC Rage & Andy Gangadeen also make up the live band. The duo hail from London and formed in 2003 after meeting at university in Manchester. The duo have since released two studio albums as well as collaborating with major artists such as Cee Lo Green, Rihanna, Example and Tinie Tempah.

History[link]

2003-2005[link]

Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (The Status) originally met in Manchester, England whilst studying at the cities universities, reminiscent of past music groups such as the Chemical Brothers. Milton went to the Victoria University of Manchester and studied History of Art while Kennard studied English and Humanities at Manchester Metropolitan. Both decided to drop out of university to pursue a music career.^[2]

They released some material on various labels dealing with drum and bass music, including Renegade Hardware. In particular, the tracks "Barbarians" and the remix of Future Cut's "20/20" were received well by the scene. They released an EP called "Ten Tonne EP", and they had some collaborations with other artists in the scene.

2006–2009: More Than a Lot[link]

Chase & Status have had three number one tracks on the UK Dance Chart in 2007 with the double A-side "Hurt You"/"Sell Me Your Soul", and in 2008 with "Take Me Away"/"Judgement (Informer)". On 5 October 2008, they reached number 70 on the national singles chart and number one on the UK Dance Chart again with their single "Pieces" featuring vocals by Plan B. In 2009, they made number 45 with "Against All Odds" which featured UK rapper Kano.

Chase and status changed their style from more Liquid Drum and bass songs such as "Take you there" and became more commercialized and mainstream after they moved their genre to Club/Dance music. Chase & Status' first album, More Than a Lot, debuted in the UK album charts at number 49 on 19 October 2008 and entered the UK dance album chart at number 2.

Their album More Than a Lot received the Best Album Award at the 2009 Drum and Bass awards, Birmingham, UK.

2009–2011: No More Idols[link]

Soon afterwards they quickly began working on the album. On 8 November 2009, the duo entered the UK Top 40 for the first time with the track "End Credits". The track was released on 2 November 2009 and featuring British musician Plan B managed to reach a peak of number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was written for the movie Harry Brown,^[3] which also starred Ben Drew, aka. Plan B.

The duo then released "Let You Go" on 15 August 2010, revealing it to be the second official single to be released from their second studio album, named No More Idols according to posters outside their album launch show at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town on October 21. The single featured vocals from Mali and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 11; marking the duo's second consecutive Top 40 hit. "Hypest Hype" featuring Tempa T was confirmed in October 2010 to be the third single from the album and was released as a free download from their website on 8 November 2010; meaning it did not qualify to chart. The fourth single from the album is the dubstep-flavoured "Blind Faith", which features Nottingham-born soul singer/songwriter Liam Bailey and was released on January 24, 2011. The album also contains a new song "Heavy" with Dizzee Rascal.^[4] The album debuted at number 2 in the UK and was certified Gold in the first week of sales by the BPI.

2012–present: New Album[link]

The duo are currently working on their third studio album due for release in 2012. In contrast to More Than Alot and No More Idols, the new album will have a darker sound.^[5] The duo have been confirmed to sub-headline Friday night at Download Festival 2012, provoking an outcry from regular Download enthusiasts (the festival is recognized as a rock/metal festival), not least due to them being higher on the bill than fan favourites Machine Head, who had been subject to an internet campaign to headline the festival.^[6]

Chase & Status have also announced that they will headline electronic music festival South West Four hosted on London's Clapham Common.

In an Email Newsletter to members of the Chase & Status Mailing List, they announced a Chase & Status: Live At Brixton CD/DVD, featuring appearances from Tinie Tempah, Liam Bailey, Mali & Delilah, for release on April 2nd 2012

Remixes and productions[link]

They have also created a remix version of "Invaders Must Die" for The Prodigy. The remix reached 53 in the Australian Aria Singles Chart and 7 in the Aria Dance Chart. They have also produced for Bajan singer Rihanna numerous times, on her fourth album Rated R and her sixth album Talk That Talk, as well as for British singer Alexandra Burke's album Overcome. Other remixes include Black Canvas' 'Broken Dreams', Dizzee Rascal's 'Sirens', Nneka's 'Heartbeat' and Capleton's 'Who Dem', renamed 'Duppy Man'. Chase & Status also produced a track for singer Example for his second album "Won't Go Quietly" and again for his third album "Playing In The Shadows".

MTA Records[link]

In 2009 Chase & Status founded the independent record label MTA Records, specialising in drum and bass and dubstep music. Artists signed to the label include Cotti, 501, Nero, Redlight, 16bit, KillSonik, Doctor, Sam Wire & Chase & Status themselves.^[7]

Members[link]

• Saul Milton (Chase) – keyboards, programming, DJ, guitar (2003–present)
• Will Kennard (Status) - keyboards, programming, DJ

Live members

• Rage – MC (2009–present)
• Andy Gangadeen – drums (2009–present)

Discography[link]

• More than Alot (2008)
• No More Idols (2011)
• Chase & Status: Live at Brixton (2012)

Tours[link]

• Chase & Status Debut Live Tour (UK, 2009)^[8]
• Live Tour (UK Spring 2010, Autumn 2010)^[9][10]
• No More Idols Tour (UK, Europe, North America 2011)^{[11][12][13][14]}

Awards and nominations[link]

Drum & Bass Awards

NME Awards

Q Awards

UK Festival Awards

Virgin Media Music Awards

Xtra Bass Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chase & Status

• Official website
• Chase & Status on Twitter
• Chase & Status on Facebook
• Chase & Status on Myspace
• Chase & Status discography at Discogs
• Chase & Status's channel on YouTube
• Chase & Status video interview on Virgin Red Room

v t e Chase & Status Discography Studio albums More Than Alot (2008) No More Idols (2011) Singles "Pieces" "Against All Odds" "End Credits" "Let You Go" "Blind Faith" "Time" "Hitz" "Flashing Lights" Collaborators Clare Maguire Cee Lo Green Delilah Dizzee Rascal Kano Liam Bailey McLean Maverick Sabre Plan B Sub Focus Tempa T Tinie Tempah White Lies Related articles Ram Records Mercury Records Category

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

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

Life and career[link]

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

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

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

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

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

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

[edit] 2011–present: + and commercial success

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

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

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

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

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

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

Philanthropy[link]

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

Discography[link]

Album[link]

• + (2011)

Tour[link]

Opening act

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

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

[edit] BRIT Awards

[edit] BT Digital Music Awards

[edit] Ivor Novello Awards

[edit] MOBO Awards

[edit] Q Awards

[edit] UK Music Video Awards

See also[link]

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

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview
• Official website
• Ed Sheeran on Myspace
• Ed Sheeran on Facebook
• Ed Sheeran on Twitter
• Ed Sheeran's channel on YouTube

Matt Devlin (30 April 1950 — 28 December 2005) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer who took part in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike and was later a leading member of Sinn Féin in County Westmeath.

Background[link]

Matt Devlin was born in Ardboe, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on 30 April 1950. He was arrested in 1977, and was taken to Cookstown and Omagh Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) barracks and interrogated for four days.^[1] He was charged with the attempted murder of members of the security forces.

Prison[link]

In October 1977 he was sentenced to seven years for the attempted murder of RUC officers.^{[citation needed]}

Devlin became the 15th republican prisoner to join the Hunger Strike in HMP Maze when he replaced Martin Hurson who died after 46 days on hunger-strike on 13 July, 1981. He had been involved in the prison protests right through from the blanket protest right through until the hunger strikes ended when families began to take their sons off the protest.^[2][3][4]

Electoral politics[link]

In 2004, despite serious illness he stood in local elections in the Republic of Ireland and although failing to get elected is credited for building up the Sinn Féin party in County Westmeath.^[5]

He died on 28 December 2005 at the age of 55, in County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

Senior Sinn Féin member, Martin McGuinness said: "It was a testament to Matt’s determination and courage that even when seriously ill he still put himself forward to stand for Sinn Féin in the last Southern elections. Matt continued to play a key role organising and building the party in Westmeath right up until his untimely death a few days ago."^[6]

He was buried on 31 December, 2005 in his hometown of Ardboe.^[7] A monument and tombstone to commemorate him were unveiled on 1 April, 2007.^{[citation needed]} The ceremony was attended by thousands.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

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