The Den
View from the North stand.
Former names	The New Den Senegal Fields The New London Stadium
Location	Zampa Road Bermondsey London, England SE16 3LN
Coordinates	51°29′9.43″N 0°3′3.42″W / 51.4859528°N 0.05095°W / 51.4859528; -0.05095Coordinates: 51°29′9.43″N 0°3′3.42″W / 51.4859528°N 0.05095°W / 51.4859528; -0.05095
Built	1992/93
Opened	4 August 1993
Surface	Grass
Scoreboard	Yes
Construction cost	£16 million
Capacity	20,146
Field dimensions	105 x 68 yards (344 × 223 ft)
Tenants
Millwall F.C. (1993-present)

The Den (previously called The New Den) is a football stadium and the home of Millwall Football Club.^[1] It is situated in South Bermondsey, South East London, almost directly adjacent to the railway line between London Bridge and New Cross Gate, and the SELCHP incinerator. It is under a quarter of a mile away from the original Den. Built on a previous site of housing, a church and the Senegal Fields playing fields, it has an all-seated capacity of 20,146, with the average attendance for the 2010-11 season being 12,438. The Den is the sixth ground that Millwall have occupied since their formation as a football club in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in 1885.

History[link]

The Den was the first new all seater stadium to be completed after the Taylor Report on the Hillsborough disaster. It was designed with effective crowd management in mind (given Millwall's crowd problems at the Old Den), with the escape routes being short and direct. After chairman Reg Burr decided that it would not be viable to redevelop The Den as an all-seater stadium, he announced during 1990 that Millwall would be relocating to a new stadium in the Senegal Fields area. Originally, it was planned to have a seating capacity of between 25,000 to 30,000. Millwall however, could not meet the additional cost.^[2]

View from the West lower stand against Charlton Athletic during a 4-0 win in the 09-10 season.

Millwall played their final game on 8 May 1993 at The Den after 83 years, and moved to the new 20,000 all-seater stadium a quarter of a mile away from Cold Blow Lane.

The £16 million Den was opened by John Smith MP (leader of the Labour Party and Opposition at the time) on 4 August 1993 prior to a prestigious friendly against Sporting Lisbon which Sporting won by 2-1.^[3] The Den was the first new football stadium constructed for a professional team in London since 1937.

Millwall have experienced mixed fortunes since relocating to The Den. Their first season at the stadium (1993-94) saw them finish third in Division One—their highest finish since relegation from the top flight four years earlier. However, their dreams of Premier League football were ended by a defeat in the playoffs and they were relegated to Division Two in 1996, not winning promotion from that level until 2001.

They came close to reaching the Premier League again in 2002, finishing fourth but once again losing in the playoffs. The Lions reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 2004, and despite a 3-0 defeat by Manchester United they qualified for a European competition for the very first time (although their UEFA Cup campaign was short lived). Relegation from the newly-named Football League Championship (second highest division in England) followed in 2006. They were promoted back to the N-Power Championship, via a 1-0 win against Swindon Town at Wembley in 2010.

Stands[link]

On 20 January 2011 the East Stand of The Den was renamed the Dockers Stand, paying tribute to Millwall's earlier history and supporter base of dockers.^[4] The South stand is known as the Cold Blow Lane stand, which was a name of the road which led into the old Den. The North stand is for away supporters and the West stand houses Millwall's family enclosure, press box and executive seats. On 25 May 2012, the board of Millwall FC announced that this stand will be renamed The Barry Kitchener stand in memory of the legendary Millwall player who passed away in March 2012.

A panorama view of The Den from the Dockers Stand. Directly opposite is the West stand, to the left is the Cold Blow Lane stand and to the right is the North stand.

Average attendances[link]

Other events[link]

In 1994, a boxing match was held at The Den. Local boy Michael Bentt lost his WBO World Heavyweight Championship to Herbie Hide. The fight was Bentt's last after being rushed to the hospital and told he could never fight again, after suffering brain injuries in the loss.^[5]

On 1 May 2006, The Den hosted the FA Women's Cup Final between Arsenal L.F.C. and Leeds United L.F.C.. Arsenal Ladies won the Cup 5–0.

Two international matches have been hosted at The Den.

• Ghana 1–1 Senegal (21 August 2007)

• Jamaica 0–0 Nigeria (11 February 2009)

In drama[link]

The Den doubles as The Dragon's Lair, home ground of Harchester United in the TV series Dream Team. It also appeared in an episode of the ITV show Primeval.

The Base^{[clarification needed]} is often used by the TV and film industries. It was used to film an episode of The Bill during the home game against Leyton Orient in March 2008 (aired on ITV in June 2008). Sportswear giant Nike filmed their Take It To The Next Level advertistment over a period of three days and nights at The Den, also in March 2008. In 2010, Kit Kat made their own 'Cross your Fingers' advert using clips from Arsenal, West Ham and also Millwall's Den.^[6]

Celebrity Soccer Sixes[link]

The Den hosted the Samaritans Celebrity Soccer Sixes on 18 May 2008. Film and Television stars played at The Den, the first time the event has not been hosted by a Premier League Club. Babyshambles failed to retain the trophy, losing 3-2 to dance act Faithless.^[7]

The winners of the women's trophy were Cansei de Ser Sexy. Around 150 celebrities took part including McFly, Tony Hadley, Amy Winehouse and ex-Millwall fan favourite Terry Hurlock to raise money for the charity.^[8]

Transport connections[link]

View of The Den from South Bermondsey railway station.

The Den is served by the National Rail station South Bermondsey, which is a five-minute walk away from the ground. Away supporters have their own walkway link, which is available to them on match days. If unable to travel by train, it's recommended away supporters travel to the ground by official coach. There are no official car parking facilities for supporters.

The P12^[9] bus stops closest to the ground in Ilderton Road, just a two-minute walk away. The 21, 53 and 172 buses all stop on the Old Kent Road, a ten-minute walk away from the ground.

The closest tube stations to The Den are Surrey Quays^[10] (East London line) and New Cross Gate (London Overground), both are a 15 minute walk from the stadium. The Jubilee line station Canada Water is a 20 minute walk away.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Den

• Millwall's official site
• The Den at Football Ground Guide
• Picture Gallery Den on londonfootballguide.com

Joey Youngman, better known by his stage name Wolfgang Gartner, is a Grammy-nominated American house music producer and DJ. Much of his music prior to 2010 was released through his own record label, Kindergarten,^[1] but he signed with Ultra Records in 2010 and Ministry of Sound in the UK in 2011.^[2]

Background[link]

Youngman created the Wolfgang Gartner name in late 2008 after establishing a moderately successful name as a Deep House DJ. Not wanting to be criticized for such an abrupt departure in style, Youngman created the name anonymously. Gartner's identity was revealed officially in July 2008.^[3] Youngman took the name from the coach of the Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team.^[4] The Wolfgang Gartner logo was created in 2010 by New York graffiti artist Eric Haze who created logos for the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and EPMD.

Gartner hosted the first episode of MTV's dance music show "Clubland" which aired on September 22, 2011. ^[5] A portion of the episode was filmed at his home in Los Angeles, where he gave a tour of his studio and introduced music videos.

Music[link]

A total of eight of Gartner's songs have held the #1 position on the Beatport Top 10 Chart.^[6] His single "Wolfgang's 5th Symphony" was the highest selling song on Beatport.com in 2009. Gartner received a Grammy nomination for his remix of Andy Caldwell's "Funk Nasty" in the Best Remixed Recording (Non Classical) Category in 2010.

On September 20, 2011 Gartner released his first full length album Weekend in America. The album featured vocal cameos from Omarion, Jim Jones & Cam'ron, will.i.am and Eve. It peaked at #2 in iTunes' dance chart and #1 in Beatport's album chart. Gartner also collaborated with Deadmau5 on "Animal Rights" and with Skrillex on "The Devil's Den." These collaborations were released on Deadmau5's 4x4=12 album and Skrillex's Bangarang, respectively.

Gartner's music has been featured in a number of video games including the racing game Midnight Club: Los Angeles ("Squares" and "Montezuma"), snowboarding game Stoked ("Circles"), and as downloadable content for Activision's DJ Hero ("Wolfgang's 5th Symphony"). His music has also been featured in the TV shows Teen Wolf ("Illmerica") and The Secret Circle ("Get Em"), and in the movie Limitless ("Hook Shot").

Gartner was nominated for four International Dance Music Awards in January 2011, including Best Electro/Tech House Track, Best Progressive Track, Best Breakthrough DJ and Best Breakthrough Artist.^[7] That same month Gartner announced a new video for the single Illmerica.^[8] Forever, a collaboration with will.i.am, was released on April 12, 2011. The music video received regular rotation on MTV UK, MuchMusic (Canada), and AMtv in the USA. The single received virtually no commercial radio airplay in America, while reaching A-List rotation on BBC Radio 1 in the UK.

DJ Career[link]

Gartner has performed at a number of music festivals including Coachella 2010, Electric Daisy Carnival 2010 and 2011, Ultra Music Festival 2010, 2011, and 2012, Parklife (Australia) 2011, Creamfields (UK) 2011 and tours extensively around the world. In 2010, Gartner debuted as a featured guest on BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix series, hosted by DJ/producer Pete Tong.^[9] He is ranked #7 in the "America's Best DJ" poll and #56 in the "DJ Mag Top 100" poll.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

2011[link]

• Weekend in America

Singles & EPs[link]

2007[link]

• Shapes EP

2008[link]

• Candy EP
• Play Dub
• Hot For Teacher EP
• Killer / Flam Mode
• Montezuma / Frenetica
• Bounce / Get It
• Emergency
• Hook Shot
• Flashback (feat. MC Flipside)

2009[link]

• Montezuma – Remixes
• Yin / Yang (with Francis Preve)
• Push & Rise
• Wolfgang's 5th Symphony / Grey Agenda
• Fire Power / Latin Fever

2010[link]

• Undertaker
• Conscindo (with Mark Knight)
• Animal Rights (with Deadmau5) (UK chart peak: #72)^[10]
• Illmerica (UK chart peak: #158)^[11]
• Space Junk

2011[link]

• Forever (feat. will.i.am) (UK Chart Peak #43)
• Hell Yeah! (with Mark Knight)
• Ménage à Trois
• The Devil's Den (with Skrillex)
• Still My Baby (feat. Omarion)

2012[link]

• There and Back
• We Own The Night (With Tiësto feat. Luciana)
• Redline
• Flexx

Remixes[link]

2008[link]

• Cold Act Ill (Wolfgang Gartner's Monster Mix, and Club Mix) – Classixx
• Helium (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Bass Kleph & Anthony Paul
• Funk Nasty (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Andy Caldwell
• Cruel World (Wolfgang Gartner Kindergarten Slam Mix) – Ron Reeser & Dan Saenz
• Me & Myself (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Ben DJ (feat. Sushy)
• Play (Wolfgang Gartner Remix, and Dub) – Jin Sonic & Dive

2009[link]

• Heartbreaker (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – MSTRKRFT (feat. John Legend)
• I Will Be Here (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Tiësto & Sneaky Sound System
• Cruelty (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Alaric
• 3 (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Britney Spears
• Morning After Dark (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Timbaland (feat. Nelly Furtado & SoShy)
• Imma Be (Wolfgang Gartner Club Mix) – The Black Eyed Peas

2010[link]

• Blame It On The Girls (Wolfgang Gartner Remix, and Dub) – Mika

2012[link]

• Paddling Out (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – Miike Snow
• Sorry For Party Rocking (Wolfgang Gartner Remix) – LMFAO

References[link]

1. ^ Kindergarten – CD's and Vinyl @ Discogs.
2. ^ Rimmington, Stephen. (2011-05-27) Wolfgang Gartner signed to Ministry of Sound? (Update: Yes) | Nothin' Gonna Change. Nothingonnachange.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-30.
3. ^ Wolfgang Gartner – Bio, CD's and Vinyl at Discogs.
4. ^ Holbrook, Natalie. (2011-11-03) Constant Gartner | Vegas Seven. Weeklyseven.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-30.
5. ^ http://www.mtv.com/videos/calvin-harris/676133/bounce.jhtml#id=1671000
6. ^ Wolfgang Gartner | AM Only.
7. ^ List of IDMA Nominations.
8. ^ "Illmerica" Video.
9. ^ Essential Mix Playlist.
10. ^ [singlechart|UK|72|artist=Deadmau5|song=Animal Rights|date=2010-10-02]
11. ^ CHART: CLUK Update 16.07.2011 (wk27)

External links[link]

• Wolfgang Gartner on Facebook
• Wolfgang Gartner on Twitter

Armin van Buuren
Van Buuren performing on Queensday in Amsterdam, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Armin van Buuren
Also known as	Gaia, AVB
Born	(1976-12-25) 25 December 1976 (age 35) Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands[1]
Origin	Koudekerk aan den Rijn, South Holland, Netherlands
Genres	Trance Progressive Trance Uplifting Trance Neo-trance
Occupations	Remixer, Producer, DJ, Composer, Musician, Pianist, Songwriter
Instruments	Synthesizer, drum machine, equalizer, personal computer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Armada Music (2003–present), Vandit (Co-Joined), Ministry of Sound Australia
Associated acts	Alibi, Dark Matter, Electrix, Lilmotion, Major League, Monsieur Basculant, Red & White, Technology, Triple A, Wodka Wasters, Nadia Ali,[2] Christian Burns,[2] Ferry Corsten,[2] Adam Young,[2] BT,[2] Sophie Ellis-Bextor,[2] Guy Chambers[2]
Website	arminvanbuuren.com

Armin van Buuren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑr.mɪn vɑn ˈby.rə(n)]), OON (born 25 December 1976 in Leiden, Netherlands)^[1] is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. Between 2007 and 2010, he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs.^[1] In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries,^[3] which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at #1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976,^[1] but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14.^{[citation needed]} He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre.^{[citation needed]}

He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University. While studying law, Van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003.

On 18 September 2009, Van Buuren married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete, and had been together for nine years prior to the marriage.^[5][6]

On 12 January 2011, Van Buuren announced the pregnancy of his wife Erika on Twitter.^[7] He hoped the baby, due that summer, would be his "best production ever."^[7] Their daughter, Fenna, was born on 24 July 2011.^[8]

Career[link]

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

1995–1999: Early career and success[link]

In 1995, Van Buuren had his first major success with a track called "Blue Fear", which was released under the Cyber Records label; he was 19 years old at the time. This track, which was produced in the "Euro Trance" mold, made it onto the UK Chart. Another successful track, "Communication" was released under the same label, and became popular in Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Chart at No. 18 in 2000.

Armin van Buuren at Lizard Lounge, Dallas, Texas, 9 August 2008

Van Buuren began his DJ career at club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, which were regularly six to seven hours per set.^[9] During school holidays he played more than four times a week. In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States.^[9] His career accelerated, entering the DJ magazine Top-100 in November 2001 at Number 27.^[9] He has played in more than 25 different countries and can often be found on the main stage at big summer festivals. Van Buuren played a record-breaking twelve and a half hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (the Netherlands).^[10][11] In the United Kingdom he performs regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Peach and Golden.

In the beginning of 1999, Van Buuren started his label Armind together with United Recordings. The first release, Gig – "One," was well received. The second release "Touch Me," under the name Rising Star was signed to Ministry of Sound in the UK, before the record was released.

By the time of his third release, Gimmick – "Free" was signed to R&S Records, Van Buuren had managed to make his label popular very quickly. Under the surname Gaia he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner Brothers. Teaming up with Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings and Alibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together with Ferry Corsten, Van Buuren recorded a riff-classic titled "Exhale" for the System F. album. Released as a single, this track reached gold status in less than a month.

[edit] 2000–2004: A State of Trance and 76

In 2000, Van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive house,and vocal trance music styles. His first compilation album, A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weekly A State of Trance radio shows), sold more than 10,000 copies and contains Van Buuren's well known remix of Moogwai, "Viola." His second album, Basic Instinct featured a new track: "Perpetuous Dreamer" – "The Sound of Goodbye." This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. Later in the year, the track hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The third album, In Motion was released 6 August 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the United States. A fourth album, Transparence, followed in 2002. In 2003, he worked with such artists such as DJ Seth Alan Fannin throughout a global tour on Dance Revolution in Europe, selling out to crowds of 20,000 people in Armin's home country of the Netherlands.

In March 2001, Van Buuren started his own radio show on ID&T Radio (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitled A State of Trance, he plays the latest popular trance music tracks. His show and the artists he features are popularized by publishing the artists and track titles on his website. This radio-show/website combination has proven popular internationally. When ID&T Radio changed genres in 2004, Van Buuren left and took A State of Trance with him. The show then moved to Fresh FM, a Dutch radio station. It is now a weekly feature on SLAM!FM, another Dutch radio station, DI.FM, an online radio station, and on XM Satellite Radio, channel 80 in the United States and Canada. A complete list of stations that broadcast A State of Trance can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website. Also in 2004, Van Buuren remixed the 24 theme song into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam and subsequently aired on radio. The 250th (eight hour) anniversary episode was celebrated in Club Asta in The Hague, Netherlands, featuring Van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno de Jong.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C.,^[9] and he has played all across North America in San Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Edmonton, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Seattle and at The Necto (nightclub). He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, Van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJ's. The following year, he jumped up to the No. 3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next three years. His work left him at the No. 2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk in the 2006 polls, and, in 2007, Armin reached #1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100. He was voted No. 1 again in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2003, Van Buuren released his debut studio album, 76, a 76-minute album divided into 13 tracks.^[12]

Armin Van Buuren performing at Avalon, Boston, Massachusetts 2007

[edit] 2005–present: Shivers, Imagine and Mirage

On 8 August 2005, Van Buuren released his second studio album, Shivers. On the album Van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani-American singer Nadia Ali, English singer Justine Suissa and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden.

On 11 November 2006, he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy Rotterdam for the second time (after 12 November 2005) with a nine hour solo set, where he performed to over 11,000 fans.

In the summer of 2007, Van Buuren recorded and released a live set at Amnesia, Ibiza. Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live from Amnesia at Ibiza was released on 28 September 2007 as a mix compilation on Armada Records and in the US as "Universal Religion 2008" on Ultra Records on 4 December 2007.

On 17 April 2008, Van Buuren released his third studio album, Imagine. It features collaboration with singers such as Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation and Jacqueline Govaert of Krezip. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart. Since the release of Imagine, Van Buuren has been working with Benno de Goeij and DJ-RA of Rank 1 on solo productions and remixes.^{[citation needed]}

19 April 2008 saw the 3rd edition of Armin Only, this time in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands. The event was attended by 16,000 fans and (partly) broadcast live on Dutch National TV. During the second half of 2008, Van Buuren took this show abroad, with visits to Australia, Romania, Poland, Belgium, and a special New Years Eve 2008 show at Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S.

On 29 September 2008, Armin won the DJ Award for "Best Trance DJ" at Ibiza along with other nominees, that of Tiësto, Ferry Corsten and Paul van Dyk.

On 12 January 2008, Van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.

In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren, a music game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and Van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 exclusively for the Wii console.^[13]

He has collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, in such venues as Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 album Imagine.

On 3 March 2010, Van Buuren was awarded with the prestigious Golden Harp, for his musical work and contribution to Dutch music, by the music collecting society BUMA/STEMRA at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum, the Netherlands.^[14][15]

On 23 June 2010, it was announced that Van Buuren's fourth studio album, Mirage was due to be released on 10 September.^[16] The first single "Full Focus", was released through iTunes Store on 24 June at midnight.^[17] The song peaked at number sixty in the Netherlands. One of the confirmed tracks from the album is a collaboration with English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor called Not Giving Up On Love, which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth studio album, Make a Scene.^[18][19] Armin also wrote a song for English singer Seal, but due to the release of his greatest hits album, Hits, the collaboration never came together.^[20]

On 12 September 2010, Van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio ^[21]

On 20 October 2010, Van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.^[22]

On 27 October 2010, Van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ, and thus prolonging his title as 'Most Popular DJ in the World'.^[23]

The 2010 edition of Armin Only: Mirage kicked off on 13 November 2010, in Utrecht, Netherlands, with more shows coming in Saint-Petersburg, Kiev, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beirut, Poznań, Moscow and Bratislava .^[24]

On 27 November 2010, Van Buuren made his third appearance in Shanghai, China.

On 2 February 2012, Van Buuren mentioned a new studio album in the works on episode #546 of his radio show, "A State Of Trance".

A State of Trance 500 (ASOT 500)[link]

To mark the 10 year anniversary and 500th episode of his weekly radio show A State of Trance, Van Buuren performed at five shows across five continents over five consecutive weeks along with various artists.

The first show was held on 19 March 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa at the MTN Expo Center. In addition to Armin, Blake Jarrell, Protoculture, Lange, Leon Bolier, and Jorn van Deynhoven were performers. Super8 & Tab were to be part of the South African show, however a flight cancellation caused them to be absent for the event. The event was attended by over 20,000 people.

Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival on 27 March, and part of the show were Marcus Schossow, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten, ATB, and Sander van Doorn.

Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 in club G.E.B.A Buenos Aires, with Heatbeat, Jochen Miller, Dash Berlin, Markus Schulz, John O'Callaghan and W & W. It was the only of the five ASOT 500 celebrations that was held outdoors. Van Buuren recorded a live video with his cell phone and uploaded it to Twitter while playing his live set.

ASOT 500 was celebrated in the Netherlands in Den Bosch. Accompanied by more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world, the event was attended by over 30,000 people. DJs present included Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold and Sean Tyas. The event was radio broadcast live to over 30 countries.^{[25][dated info]}

The final show was held in Sydney, Australia on 16 April at Acer Arena in Olympic Park. It was a sold out event weeks before the night. Artists present included Shogun, tyDi, Menno de Jong, Aly & Fila, and Alex M.O.R.P.H. Van Buuren played for three hours.

A State of Trance 550 (ASOT 550)[link]

In March 2012, Van Buuren performed in six shows across three continents as part of ASOT 550. He began his tour on March 1 in London, continued on to Moscow on March 7, and to Kiev, Ukraine on March 10. Then, he traveled to the United States to host his show at the Beyond Wonderland festival in Southern California. A week later on March 25, he closed out Ultra Music Festival 2012 for the 5th edition. This was followed by the final show in the Brabanthallen of Den Bosch, the Netherlands.

A State of Trance sponsored a tent at the Electric Daisy Carnival at Met Life stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 19, 2012, which by all accounts could be considered an unofficial extension of ASOT 550. ^[26]

Discography[link]

• 76 (2003)
• Shivers (2005)
• Imagine (2008)
• Mirage (2010)

Year Mixes[link]

Van Buuren is well known for his annual "Year Mix" which incorporates clips and custom mashups from the year's most popular trance tracks. Each year-mix consists of about 85 individual releases, edited into a two hour mix which is released on double CD as well as aired on his weekly radio show at the end of each year. According to Van Buuren, each year-mix takes several months to make, including thousands of digital audio edits and hundreds of audio plugins.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Armin van Buuren

• Official website
• Artist Page on ArmadaMusic.com
• Armin van Buuren on Myspace
• Armin van Buuren at Allmusic
• Armin van Buuren discography at Discogs
• Armin van Buuren discography at MusicBrainz
• Armin van Buuren at the Internet Movie Database
• Armin van Buuren's profile on Trancepedia
• Armada Music – the record label of Armin van Buuren
• Armin van Buuren – A State of Trance episodes
• *Flowd - artist channel on *Flowd network.

Sharon den Adel
Background information
Birth name	Sharon Janny den Adel
Also known as	Sharon den Adel
Born	(1974-07-12) 12 July 1974 (age 37)
Origin	Waddinxveen, South Holland, Netherlands
Genres	Symphonic metal, symphonic rock, gothic metal, doom metal
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, fashion designer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Roadrunner, DSFA, Gun
Associated acts	Within Temptation
Website	Within Temptation official

Sharon Janny den Adel (born 12 July 1974, in Waddinxveen, South Holland, Netherlands) is a Dutch singer and composer, best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters in the Dutch symphonic metal/rock band Within Temptation. She has performed with various bands since she was 14, including a blues rock band called Kashiro,^[1] before forming Within Temptation with Robert Westerholt in 1996.^[2]

Within Temptation[link]

Together with her partner, Robert Westerholt, den Adel is one of the founding members of Within Temptation. She has defined their work as epic and cinematic.^[3] Her vocals play a major role in the band's sound, despite having never received formal vocal training.^[4] Den Adel sings in the mezzo-soprano range but her vocal quality is light and lyric despite her range.^[5] Before Within Temptation became famous, she worked for a fashion company, leaving after the band found success with their hit single "Ice Queen". She utilises her fashion expertise by designing her stage costumes and the band's merchandise.^[6] About.com described den Adel as a "versatile and skilled singer who is equally adept at singing powerfully with a full orchestra and choir as she is at singing quietly and emotionally with just a piano."^[7]

Collaborations with other artists[link]

Sharon den Adel has performed on-stage and in the studio with several notable bands, including Armin van Buuren, After Forever, De Heideroosjes, Oomph! and Delain. She sang the part of Anna Held in Tobias Sammet's Avantasia projects, and the part of the Indian on Ayreon's rock opera Into the Electric Castle. She sang the vocals of one Timo Tolkki song, "Are You The One?", co-wrote and provided the vocals for the track "In And Out Of Love" from Armin van Buuren's 2008 album Imagine, and sang on the track "No Compliance" for Delain's album Lucidity, as well as working with the band Voyage on the track "Frozen" (not to be confused with the Within Temptation song of the same title).

Personal life[link]

Sharon den Adel and long-term partner Robert Westerholt have a daughter, Eva Luna, who was born on 7 December 2005, and with whom she was pregnant during The Silent Force tour. They currently live near Hilversum, Netherlands. On 22 February 2009, den Adel announced that she was pregnant with her second child,^[8] Robin Aiden Westerholt, whose birth was announced on the band's official website on 1 June 2009. Going by the name of Aiden, he was born premature at 32 weeks and 6 days.^[9] On 26 November 2010, den Adel announced that she was expecting another child which, due to complications with her previous pregnancies, meant that the band's 2011 tour dates would be rescheduled from spring till autumn. The birth of her son, Logan Arwin, was announced on 31 March 2011.^[10]

Discography[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sharon den Adel

• Within Temptation official website
• Official Website profile
• Discogs Profile

Interviews[link]

• Interview with Live-Metal.net
• Interview with About Heavy Metal
• Ask The Artist
• Interview with Sharon den Adel

Chuck Norris
Norris signing a T-shirt for a Marine on a stop on his tour of Al Anbar Governorate (Iraq) and Kuwait
Born	Carlos Ray Norris (1940-03-10) March 10, 1940 (age 72)[1] Ryan, Oklahoma, United States
Occupation	Actor, martial artist
Years active	1968–present
Spouse	Dianne Holechek (1958–88) Gena O'Kelley (1998–present)
Website
www.chucknorris.com

Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940)^[1] is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do. As a result of his "tough guy" image, an Internet phenomenon began in 2005 known as Chuck Norris facts, ascribing various implausible or even impossible feats to Norris.

Norris appeared in a number of action films, such as Way of the Dragon in which he starred alongside Bruce Lee, and was The Cannon Group's leading star in the 1980s.^[2][3] He next played the starring role in the television series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 2001.

Norris is a devout Christian and politically conservative. He has written several books on Christianity and donated to a number of Republican candidates and causes. In 2007 and 2008, he campaigned for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who was running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. In the 2012 election he endorsed former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. ^[4] Norris also writes a column for the conservative website WorldNetDaily.^[5]

Early life[link]

Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma. He is the son of Wilma (née Scarberry) and Ray Norris, who was a mechanic, bus driver, and truck driver.^[6] Norris has said that he has Irish and Cherokee Native American ancestry.^[2][7] Norris was named after Carlos Berry, his father's minister.^[8] He has two younger brothers, Wieland (deceased) and Aaron (a Hollywood producer). When Norris was sixteen, his parents divorced,^[9] and he later relocated to Prairie Village, Kansas, and then to Torrance, California, with his mother and brothers.^[2]

Norris receiving the Veteran of the Year award by the U.S. Air Force in 2001

Norris has described his childhood as downbeat. He was nonathletic, shy, and scholastically mediocre.^[10] Other children taunted him about his mixed ethnicity, and Norris daydreamed about beating up his tormentors. Norris mentioned in his autobiography that his father had a very serious problem with drinking and "wasn't there" a lot for him growing up. Norris admitted that he loved his father but did not like him. However, he professed that he only felt pity for the man because "that was just how he was, and he missed so much."^{[citation needed]}

He joined the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman (AP) in 1958 and was sent to Osan Air Base, South Korea. It was there that Norris acquired the nickname Chuck and began his training in Tang Soo Do (tangsudo), an interest that led to black belts in that art and the founding of the Chun Kuk Do ("Universal Way") form.^[11] He created the education associations United Fighting Arts Federation and "KickStart" (formerly "Kick Drugs Out of America"), a middle school and high school–based program intended to give at-risk children a focus point in life through the martial arts. When he returned to the United States, he continued to act as an AP at March Air Force Base, California. Norris was discharged in August 1962. He worked for the Northrop Corporation and opened a chain of karate schools including a storefront school in his then-hometown of Torrance on Hawthorne Boulevard. Norris' official website lists celebrity clients at the schools; among them Steve McQueen, Chad McQueen, Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond.^[12]

Martial arts career[link]

Norris in 1976

Norris was defeated in his first two tournaments, dropping decisions to Joe Lewis and Allen Steen and three matches at the International Karate Championships to Tony Tulleners. By 1967 Norris had improved enough that he scored victories over the likes of Lewis, Skipper Mullins, Arnold Urquidez, Victor Moore, Ron Marchini, and Steve Sanders. In early 1968, Norris suffered the tenth and last loss of his career, losing an upset decision to Louis Delgado. On November 24, 1968, he avenged his defeat to Delgado and by doing so won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion title, which he held for six consecutive years.^[9] In 1969, he won Karate's triple crown for the most tournament wins of the year, and the Fighter of the Year award by Black Belt Magazine. Chuck Norris retired with a karate record of 183–10–2^{[citation needed]}.

It is occasionally cited that Norris made history in 1997 when he was the first Westerner in the documented history of Tae Kwon Do to be given the rank of 8th Degree Black Belt Grand Master.^[13] However, Norris appears to have been misled about this as there were at least two other U.S. Black Belts (Charles 'Chuck' Sereff and Edward Sell^[14][15]) awarded TKD 8th Dan several years prior. On July 1, 2000, Norris was presented the Golden Lifetime Achievement Award by the World Karate Union Hall of Fame. In 1999, Norris was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum's Hall of Fame [49]

Acting career[link]

Rise to fame[link]

In 1969, Norris made his acting debut in the Dean Martin film The Wrecking Crew.

In June 1970, his younger brother Wieland, a private in the 101st Airborne Division, was killed in Vietnam while on patrol in the defense of Firebase Ripcord.^[16] Norris later dedicated his Missing in Action films to his brother's memory. At a martial arts demonstration in Long Beach, Norris met the soon-to-be famous martial artist Bruce Lee. In 1972 he acted as Lee's nemesis in the movie Way of the Dragon (titled Return of the Dragon in its U.S. distribution), which is widely credited with launching him toward stardom.[49] In Asia, Norris is still known primarily for this role. In 1974, McQueen encouraged him to begin acting classes at MGM.

Norris' first starring role was 1977's Breaker! Breaker!, and subsequent films such as Good Guys Wear Black (1978), The Octagon (1980), An Eye for an Eye (1981), and Lone Wolf McQuade proved his increasing box office bankability. In 1984, Norris starred in Missing in Action, the first of a series of prisoner of war rescue fantasies themed around the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue that were produced by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and released under their Cannon Films banner. Contrary to reports, Norris publicly said he was never offered the part of the Sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo in the film The Karate Kid.

Over the next four years, Norris became Cannon's most prominent star, appearing in eight films, including Code of Silence, The Delta Force, and Firewalker, in which he co-starred with Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr.. Many of the aforementioned films were produced by Chuck Norris's brother Aaron, as were several episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. In 1986, he was involved in the production of the Ruby Spears cartoon Karate Kommandos.

[edit] Walker, Texas Ranger

By the close of the 1980s, Cannon Films had faded from prominence, and Norris's star appeal seemed to go with it. He reprised his Delta Force role for MGM, which had acquired the Cannon library after the latter's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Norris went on to make several more largely ignored films before making a transition to television.^[17] In 1993, he began shooting the series Walker, Texas Ranger, which lasted eight years on CBS and continued in heavy syndication on other channels, notably the Hallmark Channel.[49]

On October 17, 2005, CBS premiered the Sunday Night Movie of the Week, Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire. The production was a continuation of the series, and not scripted to be a reunion movie. Norris reprised his role as Cordell Walker for the movie. He has stated that future Walker, Texas Ranger Movie of the Week projects are expected; however, this was severely impaired by CBS's 2006–2007 season decision to no longer regularly schedule Movies of the Week on Sunday night.

Product endorsements[link]

Norris has appeared with Christie Brinkley in a long-running series of cable TV infomercials promoting Total Gym home fitness equipment.

In 2010, Norris appeared in adverts for communications company T-Mobile in the Czech Republic.^[18] In 2011, Norris appeared in adverts for the World of Warcraft video game.^[19]

Chun Kuk Do[link]

A placard outside Norris's karate studio

Norris created the martial art Chun Kuk Do, which is based primarily on Tang Soo Do and includes elements from every combat style he knows. Like many other martial arts, Chun Kuk Do includes a code of honor and rules to live by. These rules are from Chuck Norris's personal code. They are:

1. I will develop myself to the maximum of my potential in all ways.
2. I will forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements.
3. I will continually work at developing love, happiness and loyalty in my family.
4. I will look for the good in all people and make them feel worthwhile.
5. If I have nothing good to say about a person, I will say nothing.
6. I will always be as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
7. I will maintain an attitude of open-mindedness.
8. I will maintain respect for those in authority and demonstrate this respect at all times.
9. I will always remain loyal to my God, my country, family and my friends.
10. I will remain highly goal-oriented throughout my life because that positive attitude helps my family, my country and myself.

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Norris married Dianne Holechek in 1958. In 1963 their first child, Mike, was born. His daughter Dina was born in 1964 to a woman he was not married to.^[20] Then, he had a second son, Eric, with his wife in 1965. After 30 years of marriage, Norris and Holechek divorced in 1988.

In November 1998, he married former model Gena O'Kelley, born in 1963 and 23 years Norris' junior. O'Kelley had two children from a previous marriage. She delivered twins in 2001: Dakota Alan Norris, a boy, and Danilee Kelly Norris, a girl.^[21] The wedding was performed by Lawrence Kennedy, who is featured in Norris' autobiography. ^[22]

On September 22, 2004, Norris told Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart that his daughter Dina was the result of an extramarital affair. He did not meet her until she was 26, although she learned that he was her father when she was 16. She sent a letter to his home informing him of their relationship. After meeting her, Norris said he knew she was his daughter upon seeing her.^[23]

Chuck Norris has six grandchildren, three from his son Mike^[24] and three from his son Eric^[25].

Christianity[link]

An outspoken Christian,^[26] Norris is the author of several Christian-themed books, such as The Justice Riders. He has also been in a few TV commercials promoting Bible study and prayer in public schools, in addition to efforts to reduce drug use. In his WorldNetDaily columns, he has expressed his belief in Biblical creationism,^[27] that those who are troubled should turn to Jesus, and is quoted as saying "true patriots" do not stay clear of discussing religion and politics.^[28]

Norris serves on the board of directors of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, an organization promoting the use of the Bible in public schools, and also speaks on behalf of organizations advocating official prayers in public schools.

Martial arts and personal fitness[link]

Norris has received a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Machado family.^[29]

In his February 15, 2010 WorldNetDaily column, Norris announced that, starting in the fall of 2010, he will begin a second weekly column for Creators Syndicate. This new column, "C-Force", will focus on personal fitness.^[30]

Chuck Norris facts[link]

Protest banner at the University of Bamberg hinting to Chuck Norris facts (German: "Only Chuck Norris manages to achieve a bachelor's degree in scheduled time")

In late 2005, Norris became the object of an ironic internet meme known as "Chuck Norris Facts", which document fictional, often absurdly heroic feats and characteristics about Norris. Norris has written his own response to the parody on his website, stating that he does not feel offended by them and finds some of them funny.^[31]

On November 29, 2007, Gotham Books, the adult division of Penguin USA, released a book entitled The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World's Greatest Human based on the Chuck Norris Facts.^[32] Norris filed suit in December against Penguin USA and author Ian Spector claiming "trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights."^[33] Norris dropped the suit in May of the following year.^[34]

Activism[link]

Philanthropy[link]

In addition to being an action superstar, Chuck Norris is also a philanthropist. He is known for his contribution towards organizations such as Funds for Kids, Veteran's Administration National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, the United Way, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the form of donations as well as fund-raising activities.^[35]