Coordinates: 51°02′20″N 4°14′46″W / 51.039°N 4.246°W / 51.039; -4.246

Westward Ho!
Westward Ho!  Westward Ho! shown within Devon
OS grid reference	SS426291
District	Torridge
Shire county	Devon
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BIDEFORD
Postcode district	EX39
Dialling code	01237
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Torridge and West Devon
List of places: UK • England • Devon

Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Saunton Sands and Braunton Burrows.

Name[link]

Road sign marking the entrance to the village

The village name comes from the title of Charles Kingsley's novel Westward Ho! (1855), which was set in nearby Bideford. The book was a bestseller, and entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to develop tourism in the area. The Northam Burrows Hotel and Villa Building Company, chaired by Lord Portsmouth, was formed in 1863, and its prospectus stated:

"This Company has been formed for the erection of a Family Hotel, on an Estate purchased for the purpose immediately contiguous to Northam Burrows, and of Villas and Lodging Houses for Sale or Lease. The want of such accommodation has long been felt, and as no attempt to supply it has hitherto been made by individuals, it is deemed to be a legitimate project to be undertaken by a Company. The salubrity and beauty of the North of Devon have long been known and appreciated. Sir James Clark has placed it in the highest position for health-giving qualities; and the recent publication of Professor Kingsley's "Westward Ho" has excited increased public attention to the western part, more especially, of this romantic and beautiful coast. Nothing but a want of accommodation for visitors has hitherto prevented its being the resort of families seeking the advantages of sea bathing, combined with the invigorating breezes of the Atlantic...."

The hotel was named the Westward Ho! Hotel, and the adjacent villas were also named after the book. As further development took place, it also acquired the name of Westward Ho!^[1][2] The exclamation mark is therefore an intentional part of the village's name. It is the only such place name in the British Isles;^[3] Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Quebec, shares the distinction of having an exclamation mark in its name.

Development[link]

Development of the village began ten years after the 1855 Kingsley novel was published, in order to satisfy the Victorians' passion for seaside holidays.^[4] The United Services College was founded in the village in 1874.

Shell middens and a submerged forest that date to the Mesolithic period have been excavated on the shoreline at Westward Ho!^[5]

The village has become more residential as holiday camps closed and houses and flats were erected. One former camp was Torville Camp. The two major holiday camps still running are Surfbay Holiday Park and Braddick's Holiday Centre.

Westward Ho! Beach, looking north towards the Taw and Torridge estuaries

Geography[link]

Westward Ho! is known for its surfing seas and the long expanse of clean sand backed by a pebble ridge and grasslands which extends for about three miles. It has two churches, Westward Ho! Baptist Church and Holy Trinity Church.

The seaward part of the village lies within the North Devon Coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Geology[link]

The rocks on the coastline of Westward Ho! are of Upper Carboniferous age. The rocks were tilted during the Variscan Orogeny, in the present day they dip at 50-70 degrees north and south. The wave-cut platform is an example of a multi-scale fault system, with the phases of tectonic activity exposed at low tide.

Transport[link]

A railway served Westward Ho! from 1901 to 1917. The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway was a standard gauge railway which ran between these places, but had no connection with the rest of the railway system, though there was a pedestrian ferry link from Appledore to Instow which was connected to the rest of the rail network of Britain. A section of the trackbed is used as part of the South West Coast Path.

Bus Services:

• First 1 - The Atlantic Connection = Westward Ho! - Northam - Bideford - Instow Quay - Fremington - Bickington - Barnstaple Bus Station
• Stagecoach 21- The North Devon Wave = Westward Ho! - Northam - Bideford - East the Water - Instow Anstey Way - Fremington - Bickington - Railway Station - Barnstaple Bus Station.

Both services run right through the day at half hourly intervals, 4 buses an hour overall.

National Express Coaches also serve Westward Ho!

The Charles Kingsley statue in nearby Bideford

Sports[link]

It is also known for the Royal North Devon Golf Club, the oldest golf course in England and Wales. Other attractions of the village include the arcades, a go-kart track and the Rock Pool a tidal lido.

World War II[link]

Adapted Bailey Bridges were tested at Westward Ho! as part of the Mulberry Harbour project.^[6]

Notable residents[link]

Rudyard Kipling spent several of his childhood years at Westward Ho!, where he attended the United Services College (later absorbed by Haileybury College, which is now in Hertfordshire). His collection of stories, Stalky & Co, published in 1899, was based on his experiences at the College.

The view inland

Twin towns[link]

Westward Ho! is twinned with Mondeville in France, and Büddenstedt in Germany.

See also[link]

• North Devon Coast AONB

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Westward Ho!

• Westward Ho! at the Open Directory Project
• Information from BBC site
• North Devon AONB website
• Westward Ho! travel guide from Wikitravel

v t e Towns, villages and hamlets in the Torridge District of Devon, England Alfardisworthy · Appledore · Bideford · Bradworthy · Buckland Brewer · Bucks Mills · Bulkworthy · Clovelly · Dolton · Great Torrington · Halwill · Hartland · Holsworthy · Huntshaw · Langtree · Little Torrington · Newton St Petrock · Northam · Milton Damerel · Peters Marland · Petrockstowe · Pyworthy · Quoditch · Stibb Cross · Tetcott · Welcombe · Westward Ho! · Woolfardisworthy

Westward Ho can refer to:

Fiction[link]

• Westward Ho (play), a 1604 play by John Webster and Thomas Dekker
• Westward Ho! (novel), an 1855 novel by Charles Kingsley
• Westward Ho (1935 film), a 1935 film starring John Wayne
• Westward Ho! (1940 film), a British public information film
• Westward Ho (1942 film), one in a series of western films known as The Three Mesquiteers
• Westward Ho!, 1832 novel by James Kirke Paulding

Places[link]

• Westward Ho!, a town in the UK, named after the Kingsley book
• Westward Ho!, an alternative name for the course at Royal North Devon Golf Club
• Westward Ho!, the original name for the University Golf Club (near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
• Westward Ho (Phoenix), landmark hotel in Phoenix, Arizona
• Westward Ho Hotel and Casino a defunct Las Vegas hotel and casino
• Westward Ho, Alberta

Transportation[link]

• Westward Ho! (clipper), an 1852 California clipper
• Westward Ho was one of the GWR 3031 Class locomotives that were built for and run on the Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1915
• Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway

Other uses[link]

• Westward Ho, the popular name for a painting by Emanuel Leutze in a stairway in the Capitol in Washington D.C.
• "Westward Ho", a song performed by Westside Connection on the album Bow Down
• "Westward Ho", a song by John Parr from the 1990 film Go Trabi Go

See also[link]

• Westward Ha!, a 1948 collection of miscellaneous pieces by S. J. Perelman.
• Worstward Ho, a Samuel Beckett text
• Westward Ho, the Wagons! 1956 film
• Westward Ho, a sculpture in Muskingum Park, Marietta, Ohio, by Gutzon Borglum, who created the Mount Rushmore monument

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

Westside Connection was an American gangsta rap supergroup formed by Ice Cube, WC and Mack 10. The group's debut album, Bow Down, reached the number 2 position on the Billboard 200 in 1996, going platinum that year.

Biography[link]

Westside Connection began performing together in 1994, appearing on Mack 10's self-titled debut album, Mack 10, on the song "Westside Slaughterhouse". A few months later, the group again joined forces, this time appearing on WC's album, Curb Servin', on the song "West Up!". Around this time the group began working on their debut album, Bow Down, which was released October 22, 1996.

Individually, Ice Cube, DUBC and Mack 10 continued working on solo projects in between group albums. Together, as Westside Connection, they produced several songs released on film soundtracks and compilations including "Bangin'" (from West Coast Bad Boyz II), "Let It Reign" (from Thicker than Water) and "It's The Holidaze" (from Friday After Next).

On December 9, 2003 the group released their second album Terrorist Threats, hallmarked by the lead single "Gangsta Nation" Produced by Fredwreck and featuring Nate Dogg.

In 2005 Mack 10 left the group due to a conflict between him and Ice Cube.^[1]

Discography[link]

• Bow Down (1996)
• Terrorist Threats (2003)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official web site

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. (March 2009)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: ad hoc, unencyclopedic prose and randomly added fragmentary thoughts. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (March 2009)

John Parr (born 18 November 1954, Worksop, England) is an English musician, best known for his 1985 US #1 hit single "St. Elmo's Fire". Parr has sold 10 million albums worldwide.^[1]

Biography[link]

Parr's first entrance in to music was when he was 12 years old and formed a band with two fellow schoolmates named The Silence. The band had considerable success. They eventually became professional and started to tour Europe.

Ponders End[link]

When Parr left the band, he joined a group called Ponders End who were hailed as the 'best live act around' in Newcastle, along with Dire Straits. In the end they did not secure a recording contract and the band's chapter in history was closed.

Work with Meat Loaf[link]

Parr secured a publishing deal with Carlin Music in 1983 and in the same year Meat Loaf asked him to write some songs for his new album. That led to the fateful meeting with John Wolfe (tour manager of The Who). Foreseeing the initial demise of The Who, Wolff was looking for a new venture and Parr seemed to be the one. 1984 saw Parr's first trip to America. He worked with Meat Loaf on Bad Attitude while Wolff struck Parr's solo Atlantic recording deal in New York.

Solo and 'The Business'[link]

"Naughty Naughty" was Parr's first U.S. Top 40 hit record, hitting No. 23 and No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart. 1985 saw Parr on the road with his band "The Business" supporting Toto, and playing 10,000-seater venues across America.^{[citation needed]} By the end of the tour, John had a call from one of the world's most successful record producers, David Foster. He requested Parr to record a song for the film "St. Elmo's Fire". Parr and Foster wrote a song in honor of wheelchair athlete and activist Rick Hansen, the song was called "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" which also became the theme for the film St. Elmo's Fire (a "Brat Pack" film unrelated to Hansen's life or achievements).^[2] The song became a number one hit for Parr around the world and garnered many awards, including a Grammy nomination. Parr went on to tour with Tina Turner^[2] on "The Private Dancer" tour and also with Heart and The Beach Boys. In his charity work with The David Foster foundation, Parr has shared the stage and the sports field with many stars of stage and screen including John Travolta, Michael J. Fox, Celine Dion, Paul Anka and Rob Lowe.

Parr later wrote "Under a Raging Moon" for Roger Daltrey,^[2] a song that paid tribute to Keith Moon and told the story of The Who. The album became Daltrey's biggest solo success in America. Parr's last concert in the U.S. was a duet of the song with Daltrey at Madison Square Garden, joining them on stage were Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon, John Entwistle and Zak Starkey.

Parr was soon singing with Marilyn Martin on the song "Through the Night", from the Quicksilver soundtrack (1986). Parr wrote and produced further tracks for Martin's debut album, including the hit "Night Moves". A year after, he wrote and sang the title songs "The Minute I Saw You", from Three Men and a Baby soundtrack, and the power ballad "Running Away With You", from The Running Man soundtrack (this song was re-released on "Man With a Vision" album, with the title "Restless Heart"). After the success of Meat Loaf's album, Parr contributed to the next album with the hit duet "Rock & Roll Mercenaries". From there he began work with Albert Magnoli (director of Purple Rain) on the film American Anthem for which he wrote and performed the main theme "Two Hearts". Parr's other film credits include "Naughty Naughty" from the cult horror film Near Dark and "Love Grammar" from the Karen Black movie Flight of the Spruce Goose. He has also written songs for Tom Jones, The Monkees, Tygers of Pan Tang, Romeo's Daughter and Bucks Fizz.

The Pepsi Company and Jack Calmes Satellite TV Corporation wanted to try something new - a gig from London beamed live across America, Japan & Australia on the college Satellite Network. Parr was the featured act, having done two similar shows (one from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where the flame was lit for a special performance of "St. Elmo's Fire", and was beamed live for Japan, and the New Year Christmas Show from London). The show was a great success, reaching almost 50-million people and making broadcast history for the network. That same year Parr was signed by US clothing designer "Chams De Baron" to promote their sports leisure range - features in leading fashion magazines followed and a national poster campaign saw Parr's image splashed across America's major city busses for the summer. Later that year, again via satellite, Parr co-presented the UK leg of the "American Music Awards" with Phil Collins.

Another dream came true for Parr in 1988 when he was offered the opportunity to collaborate with one of the most successful record producers ever, "Mutt" Lange; (co)producing an album for Romeo's Daughter.

In 1989, Parr played the lead role in "Paris", an epic rock opera – stage musical and soundtrack album written by Dave Mackay and John English. An epic love story of Paris and Helen set against the Trojan wars – where he performed with the London Symphony alongside Harry Nilsson, Demis Rousos. Francis Rossi and Barry Humphries. The album went on to win many awards around the world.

2000s[link]

After ten years out of the music business Parr returned in 2006. An unconnected dance remix of "St. Elmo's Fire", entitled "New Horizon" went Top 40 that same year.

In 2007, Parr joined Canadian pop-rock artist Bryan Adams on his tour.

On 26 March 2007, Parr released "Walking Out of the Darkness", a tribute to Doncaster Rovers F.C. ahead of the club's appearance in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 1 April 2007.

In May 2007 Parr returned to Canada to perform at the Man in Motion 20th anniversary. Parr's song "St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" was wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen's anthem, helping him wheel 25,000 miles around the globe and raising awareness and money for spinal research. To date the Rick Hansen foundation has raised $200 million and helped build the world's leading research center ICORD in Vancouver.

In June 2007 Parr wrote and recorded the main title for Sony Pictures The Brothers Solomon, directed by Bob Odenkirk. In July 2007 Parr and his band opened for Bryan Adams at the Keepmoat Stadium in Parr's home town. Twenty years earlier, Parr joined Adams in his home town where they played to 75,000 at the Canadian Exhibition Center in Vancouver.

In June 2008, Parr was a special guest for the U.S. rock band Journey on their UK Tour.

In May 2011 Parr performed an acoustic set as Special Guest of Richard Marx on his UK Tour.

Parr announced the release of a new double album titled "Letter to America", due for release on June 1, 2011. He is also due to begin touring in America.^[1]

On October 11, 2011, Parr was a guest on ESPN show SportsNation where he sang a special rendition of "St. Elmo's Fire" replacing the words with Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. A reworking of the song's lyrics, sung by Parr and titled "Tim Tebow's Fire", has gone viral on YouTube as of January 13, 2012, with over 841,000 views. The video was uploaded by Denver Fox Network affiliate, KDVR, on January 9, 2012.

(Feb '12) John is currently touring in the show American Anthems - The Spectacular Rock Musical, playing himself. His excellence is there to see playing standards from the eighties as well as his own work.

www.JohnParrAmerica.com

Personal life[link]

One of Parr's sons, Ben, an actor is best known for the role of stripper Freddie in British soap Hollyoaks. His first appearance was in the episode aired on 4 January 2007.^[3] He also appeared in the BBC drama The Curse of Steptoe.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1984 John Parr - #48 U.S., #60 UK
• 1986 Running the Endless Mile
• 1992 Man With a Vision
• 1996 Under Parr
• 2011 Letter to America

• 1989 "Paris" (soundtrack album) a rock opera.

Singles[link]

References[link]

Martin Mull
Performing at the Boarding House in San Francisco, 1976 Photo: David Gans
Born	(1943-08-18) August 18, 1943 (age 68) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Education	New Canaan High School
Alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design (BA)
Occupation	Actor, comedian, painter, musician
Years active	1972–present
Home town	North Ridgeville, Ohio
Spouse	Kristin Johnson (1972-1978), Sandra Baker (1978-?), Wendy Haas (1982-present)
Children	Maggie Hull

Martin Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist. He is a satirist and incorporates his comedic sense into all of his work.

Early years and education[link]

Mull was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved with his family to North Ridgeville, Ohio, when he was two years old. They stayed there until he was 15 years old, when his family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, where he attended and graduated from public high school.^[1] He studied painting and went on to graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in painting.

Career[link]

Following a period of stand-up comedy performances and comedic song recordings including opening for Frank Zappa at Austin's Armadillo World Headquarters in 1973 and for Bruce Springsteen at the Shady Grove Music Fair in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in October 1974, his first famous role was as twins Garth and Barth Gimble in the television nighttime absurdist soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976), which led to spin-off comedy talk shows Fernwood 2 Night (1977) and America 2-Night (1978), in which he played Barth Gimble as talk show host, opposite Fred Willard as sidekick Jerry Hubbard. In one episode of The Golden Girls, he played a hippie who was afraid of the outside world. In 1979, he appeared in the Taxi episode "Hollywood Calling". In the mid-1980s, he appeared in a series of Pizza Hut commercials. During 1984, Mull starred in a CBS sitcom, Domestic Life, with Megan Follows playing his teenaged daughter. He had a long-running role playing Roseanne Conner's gay boss on the TV series Roseanne. He has appeared as a guest star on the game show Hollywood Squares, appearing as the center square in the show's final season. During 2008 and 2009, Mull guest starred in two episodes of the television series Gary Unmarried as Allison's father.^[2]

Filmography[link]

• FM (1978) as Eric Swan
• Serial (1980) as Harvey Holroyd
• My Bodyguard (1980) as Mr. Peache
• Take This Job and Shove It (1981) as Dick Ebersol
• Mr. Mom (1983) as Ron
• Bad Manners (aka: Growing Pains) (1984)
• Clue (1985) as Colonel Mustard
• O.C. and Stiggs (1985) as Pat Coletti
• Rented Lips (1988) as Archie Powell
• Ski Patrol (1990) as Sam Marris
• Far Out Man (1990) as Dr. Leddledick
• Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) as Justin Gregory
• How the West Was Fun (1994) as Bart Gifooley
• Jingle All the Way (1996) as D.J.
• Relative Strangers (2006) as Jeffry Morton
• Killers (2010) as Holbrook
• Oliver's Ghost (2011) as Clive Rutledge

Television[link]

• Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (as Garth Gimble; 1976–1977)
• Fernwood 2 Night (as Barth Gimble; 1977)
• It's Garry Shandling's Show
• The History of White People in America (as Himself; 1985)
• The Golden Girls (as Jimmy; 1990)
• Roseanne (as Leon Carp; 1991–1997)
• Family Dog (TV series)
• The Simpsons (as Seth)
• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (as Willard Kraft; 1997–2000)
• The Ellen Show
• Reba (2003) as a counselor
• Family Guy episode "If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'" (as Mr. Harris)
• American Dad! (as Father Donovan)
• The War at Home
• Danny Phantom (as Vlad Plasmius/Vlad Masters)
• Arrested Development (as Gene Parmesan)
• Two and a Half Men (as Russell, the pharmacist; 2008–2011)
• The Larry Sanders Show (as himself)
• 'Til Death

During the 1980s, Mull starred in a series of commercials for Michelob and in a series of television and radio commercials for Red Roof Inn (a chain of budget-oriented hotels). He appeared in the Pecos Bill episode of the Shelley Duvall TV series Tall Tales & Legends. Mull voiced the role of The Evil Cad on Freakazoid! He also did the voice of Vlad Masters/Vlad Plasmius, the main villain on Danny Phantom. In late 2004, he portrayed "Gene Parmesan", a private investigator on the TV series Arrested Development.

"Dancing about Architecture"[link]

Elvis Costello attributes the well-known phrase "writing about music is like dancing about architecture" to Martin Mull.^[3][4]

Personal life[link]

Twice divorced, Mull is married to singer Wendy Haas. The two have a daughter, Maggie.

In a 2010 interview on The Green Room with Paul Provenza, Mull identifies himself as an Agnostic Atheist, explaining that "an Agnostic is an Atheist in their late 60's", explaining further by saying "I certainly don't begrudge someone else their choice to follow whatever they do, it's just for me, it doesn't make a lot of sense. I think more harm has come to this planet through organized religion, probably, than any single situation that we've invented." ^[5]

Discography[link]

• Martin Mull (1972)
• "Dueling Tubas" (Single) charted at #92 on Billboard's Hot 100 (1973)
• Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture In Your Living Room! (1973)
• Normal (1974)
• In The Soop With Martin Mull (also with: Ed Wise and Les Daniels) (1974)
• Days Of Wine And Neuroses (1975)
• I'm Everyone I've Ever Loved (1977)
• No Hits, Four Errors- The Best Of Martin Mull (1977)
• Sex & Violins (1978)
• Near Perfect/Perfect (1979)
• Mulling it Over- A Musical Ouvre-View of Martin Mull (1998)

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2007)

External links[link]

• Martin Mull at the Internet Movie Database
• NNDB page for Martin Mull
• Martin Mull on Artnet