Rodney Eric Bainbridge Atkinson (born 1948) is a British Eurosceptic conservative academic, political and economic commentator, journalist and author. Atkinson was formerly a lecturer at the University of Mainz, and has also worked as a merchant banker and government adviser.

He founded The Campaign for United Kingdom Conservatism in 1994 and co-founded with Lynn Riley, the cross-party South Molton Declaration in 1999 (re-launched as the British Declaration of Independence for the 2005 election). He was Referendum Party candidate in North West Durham in the 1997 General Election (5.2%) and the lead United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) candidate for the North East Region in the 1999 European Elections (8.8%).

In 2000, he lost the UKIP leadership election, by 16 votes, to Jeffrey Titford MEP. Atkinson left UKIP shortly afterwards, along with 200 supporters, accusing then Party Chairman Nigel Farage MEP and eurosceptic journalist Christopher Booker of conducting a “dirty tricks” campaign against him. He also accused the party of being “infiltrated by extremists”.

Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the Billboard country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's Honesty, which included the number 4 hit "Honesty (Write Me a List)".

If You're Going Through Hell, his second album, was released in 2006. Its first two singles, "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" and "Watching You", each spent four weeks at the top of the country music chart, and were respectively ranked as the top country songs of 2006 and 2007 according to Billboard Year-End. The album, which has since been certified platinum in the United States, produced two more number 1 singles in "These Are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)". It's America (2009) included the number 1 single "It's America" and the top 5 hit "Farmer's Daughter", which was added to a later reissue of the album. Take a Back Road (2011) produced his sixth number 1 in its title track.

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.