Look up mills in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:

• Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
• Mills (fictional agent), a fictional British secret agent created by Manning O'Brine
• Another name for the board game Nine Men's Morris

Places

• Mills, Nebraska
• Mills, New Mexico
• Mills County, Iowa
• Mills County, Texas
• Mills Township, Midland County, Michigan
• Mills Township, Ogemaw County, Michigan
• Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario;
• Moiles Mills, Ontario
• Mills (crater), a crater on the Moon

See also[link]

• Mills & Boon, a British publisher of romance novels
• Mills Blue Rhythm Band, an American big band
• Mills bomb, a popular name for a series of British hand grenades named after William Mills
• Mills Brothers, an African-American jazz and pop vocal group
• Mills College, a women's college in Oakland, California
• Mills' constant, a mathematical constant named after W. H. Mills
• Mills Corporation, a major developer of shopping malls in the United States
• Mills Cross Telescope, a type of telescope named after Bernard Mills
• Mills Mess, a juggling pattern named after Steve Mills
• Mills Novelty Company, a defunct manufacturer of coin-operated machines in the United States
• Mills Violano-Virtuoso, a celebrated machine manufactured by Mills Novelty Company that played automatically a violin and piano

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 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. (October 2008)

For the TV series character, see Stephanie Mills (All in the Family).

Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.

Career[link]

Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times. The victory led to her being cast in her first Broadway role, the orphaned child of a runaway slave in the musical Maggie Flynn.

In 1973, Mills' musical recording career was launched when she was signed to Paramount records by Michael Barbiero, and her first single "I Knew It Was Love" was released. She was later signed to Motown. Her first two albums there failed to generate a buzz as the label could not find Mills' sound and she left the label in 1976.

Mills' career took a rise when she portrayed Dorothy in an African American adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz entitled The Wiz, where she began dating Michael Jackson. Filled with a more urban style of music and scenery, The Wiz made Mills a star particularly because of her stellar performance of the song "Home". It would become her signature tune for years, and would be covered later by Diana Ross for the big-screen adaptation three years later and by Whitney Houston for her dramatic musical performance debut on TV in the early 1980s. ‎"Mills was the teen-age star of the Broadway stage production of The Wiz. When she sang "Home", the musical's answer to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", her theatrical delivery thrilled audiences and marked her as a talent to watch. One of her most appreciative fans was Michael. By his own count he saw The Wiz eight times, in part because of the up-coming film version but also because he and Stephanie had become friends. Like Michael, and Tatum O'Neal, she was a teen star burdened with adult pressures and popularity. Those close to the young star she was quite infatuated with Michael. At cabaret appearances around New York, Stephanie sang "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and used Jacksonesque stage mannerisms. But for Michael she was a good friend, nothing more. Later in her career she often sang a quite passionate version of "He's Out Of My Life", a female version of "She's Out Of My Life"." - The Michael Jackson Story, Nelson George

Musical success was elusive until 1979, when signed under the 20th Century Fox Records record label, Mills found her breakthrough in disco music, recording songs such as "Put Your Body In It", "You Can Get Over", and "What Cha' Gonna Do With My Lovin'". The resulting album, What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin', was Mills' first gold record.

She quickly followed the success with 1980's Sweet Sensation, which featured Mills' biggest hit to date, the Reggie Lucas-produced "Never Knew Love Like This Before". The single became a #12 R&B and #6 Pop hit in 1980, as well as reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] 1981's Stephanie featured a top hit for her and Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Two Hearts", while her 1983 album, Merciless, featured her hit cover of Prince's "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?", as well as the #3 dance chart hit "Pilot Error", which was her first dance hit in the U.S. In 1984, Mills had her third UK hit with "The Medicine Song" (#29),^[1] which also reached #1 on the U.S. dance chart.

Success for Mills had peaked until 1985, when her version of the Angela Winbush-penned "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love", hit #1 on the R&B singles chart. Mills truly returned, however, with her next release, If I Were Your Woman in 1987 under MCA Records, which she was now signed. The hits from the album include the title track, originally a hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1971; a three-week #1 R&B hit, "I Feel Good All Over" (a song her label mate Patti LaBelle did not wish to cover); and "You're Puttin' a Rush on Me", to name a few of the songs released. The album reached platinum status. That same year, she appeared in the NBC TV special, Motown: Merry Christmas along with other musical artists and actors, performing the song, "Christmas Everyday", which was written by actor/comedian Redd Foxx.

Mills' success continued with 1989's Home album. The hits from that album include "The Comfort of a Man", the title track, a cover of her old standard from The Wiz and another song penned by Winbush titled "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel". It became another platinum record for Mills.

Mills would record one more album (1992's Something Real) and a Christmas album before being released from her contract with MCA in 1992. Mills released a live gospel recording in 1995 on GospoCentric Records entitled Personal Inspirations. The set was produced by Donald Lawrence and featured a spiritualized retooling of her hit "I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love". Thereafter, Stephanie took a break from recording to care for her son.

Mills returned to musical theater in 1997, playing the lead in a major production of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden in New Jersey, which Schwartz has called "the definitive production" of the show. Mills was heavily featured in the soundtrack CD that resulted from this production.

In 2000, Mills began a comeback with singles recorded with BeBe Winans and rapper DMX to name a few. She made a comeback in independently-releasing Born For This (released on Expansion Records in the UK) on 3 August 2004. Her first single in over a decade, "Can't Let Him Go", garnered buzz at urban contemporary radio. Mills is currently touring. A 2-disc, career-spanning greatest hits compilation entitled Gold was released by Hip-O/Universal Music earlier last year. Mills just finished production of a live DVD recorded at BB Kings in New York which will be sold online and at her shows.

Mills made an appearance in the 2007 gospel TV series Sunday Best and was recently featured in a live interview on The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, where she mentioned that she now has her own record label (JM Records).

Mills performed prior to Pope Benedict XVI celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York on April 20, 2008.

In a recent interview Mills stated that she would be releasing her Live CD during the end of this year and that Live CD will include two new tracks.

Her new album entitled Breathless is set to be released soon. Her New Single "Yesterday" is available for download on iTunes.

Personal life[link]

Stephanie is the fifth of six children. She was born and raised predominantly in Brooklyn, New York. Mills claims that she was romantically involved with Michael Jackson for a short period of time while she was doing The Wiz.^{[citation needed]}

In 1992, Ebony magazine reported that Mills had been married in the 1970s for a brief period, to Jeffrey Daniel from the soul group Shalamar and again in the mid 1980s to Dino Meminger^[2] but that both marriages had ended in less than two years.^[3] "I also wanted to know why my relationships never made it to two years. I knew it was me," says Mills. "You can't blame it on another person. That's where a lot of women go wrong... carrying over from a bad relationship to a new relationship."

Mills married a third time to Charlotte, North Carolina radio program manager Michael Saunders in 1993 in a wedding ceremony performed by Minister Louis Farrakhan.^[4] The couple divorced sometime later.^[when?]

In an interview with Soul Music in 2002, Mills said that she had a son, Farad. Mills would not comment on the identity of Farad’s father, other than to say that she is not married, and that her ex-husband Michael Saunders is not Farad's father.^[5] Mills added that giving birth “was the best thing I’ve ever done. It was amazingly wonderful and I wish I had started earlier. I might have had two or three before but I had some problems before in being able to have children. But things work out when they’re supposed to... now I’m a single working parent and loving it!"

In an interview with Windy City Times in 2010, Mills said that she presently makes her home in Charlotte, North Carolina and that her son, Farad has Down's Syndrome.^[6] "The Shriners are celebrating their 88th anniversary, and they have 22 hospitals nationwide," says Mills. "And what I love is even my son — I have a child with Down's syndrome — can get access to the best spinal-cord doctors in the country."

Discography[link]

• Movin' in the Right Direction – 1974
• For the First Time – 1975
• What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin' – 1979
• Sweet Sensation – 1980
• Stephanie – 1981
• Tantalizingly Hot – 1982
• Merciless – 1983
• I've Got the Cure – 1984
• Stephanie Mills – 1985
• If I Were Your Woman – 1987
• Home – 1989
• Christmas – 1991
• Something Special – 1992
• Personal Inspirations – 1995
• Born for This – 2004
• Breathless – 2010

Awards[link]

• 1974 – nominated for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress – Musical ("The Wiz").
• 1979 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues.
• 1980 – won Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance – Female ("Never Knew Love Like This Before").
• 1980 – nominated for an American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues
• 1980 – nominated for Young Artist Awards: Best Young Musical Recording Artist – Female ("Two Hearts").
• 1981 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance – Female (Stephanie).
• 1981 – won American Music Award for Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues
• 1983 – nominated for a Grammy Award: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance – Female ("Merciless").
• 1989 – nominated for American Music Award: Favorite Female Artist – Soul / Rhythm & Blues

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stephanie Mills official website
• Stephanie Mills at Wenig-LaMonica Associates
• Stephanie Mills at Allmusic
• Stephanie Mills at the Internet Movie Database
• Stephanie Mills at the Internet Broadway Database

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (December 2011)

Robert Williams (born May 6, 1987), better known by his stage name Meek Mill, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was briefly signed to T.I.'s label Grand Hustle Records and in February 2011 signed to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. In March 2011, Mill was included in XXL's "Freshman Class of 2011".^[1]

In 2011, he released his debut single, "Tupac Back", featuring Rick Ross, from his label's compilation album Self Made Vol. 1. That same year he released another single from the album, "Ima Boss", also featuring Ross. The song was later remixed, featuring T.I., Birdman, Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled Swizz Beatz and Ross. The remix charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #51. "Ima Boss" is so far Meek Mill's most successful song, peaking at #20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

In February 2012, MTV listed Meek Mill as the #7 hottest MC in their annual "Hottest MCs in the Game" list.^[2]

On May 7, 2012, Mill released the second fresh installment in his Dreamchasers series. The mixtape features guest appearances from Drake, Jeremih, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz and more.^[3] Mill has stated his favorite tracks off the tape are "Amen," "A1 Everything" and "Racked Up Shawty" with French Montana and Fabolous.^[4] On May 10, it was announced Meek Mill signed to Roc Nation management.^[4]

Discography[link]

Collaborative albums[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• BloodHoundz – Grimey, Thirsty, Starving, Hungry (2005) (with Mel Love, Dat NIG*A LiL & Young Pooh) +
• BloodHoundz – Blood in Blood Out (2005) (with Mel Love, Dat NIG*A LiL & Young Pooh)
• The Real Me (2007)
• The Real Me 2 (2008) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers (2008) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers 2: Hottest In The City (2009) (Hosted by DJ Difference)
• Flamers 2.5: The Preview (2009) (Hosted by DJ Cosmic Kev)
• Flamers 3: The Wait Is Over (2010) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Mr.Philadelphia (2010) (Hosted by DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar)
• Dreamchasers (2011) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Dreamchasers 2 (2012) (Hosted by DJ Drama)
• Same Dream (2012) (with Ace Hood)

Singles[link]

As lead artist[link]

As featured artist[link]

Other charted songs[link]

Guest appearances[link]

References[link]

Leslie Roy Mills CNZM, MBE
36th Mayor of Auckland City
In office 1990–1998
Preceded by	Catherine Tizard
Succeeded by	Christine Fletcher
Personal details
Born	(1934-11-01) 1 November 1934 (age 77) New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealand

Leslie ("Les") Roy Mills CNZM, MBE, (born 1 November 1934 in Auckland) is a retired New Zealand athlete, who represented New Zealand at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games over two decades. He competed in shot put, discus and weightlifting events. At the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he achieved his best result, a gold medal in discus.

After retiring from active competition, Mills became a gym owner in 1968 and a businessman. He was Mayor of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, from 1990 to 1998. He gives his name to Les Mills International, a company founded by his son Phillip Mills.^[1]

Athletics career[link]

Medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for  New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
Gold	1966 Kingston	Discus
Silver	1958 Cardiff	Discus
Silver	1966 Kingston	Shot put
Silver	1970 Edinburgh	Discus
Bronze	1970 Edinburgh	Shot put

• 1952: Wins New Zealand Junior Shot and Discus
• 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: Discus, Silver Medal
• 1960 Summer Olympics: Captain and Flagbearer for the New Zealand Team. Placed 11th in Shot Put, and 28th in Discus.
• 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: 5th place Discus, 6th place Shot.
• 1964 Summer Olympics: 7th place Shot.
• 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games: Gold Medal Discus, Silver Medal Shot Put
• 1968 Summer Olympics: Competed injured, 11th place Shot
• 1970 British Commonwealth Games: Discus Silver Medal, Shot Put Bronze Medal.
• 1972 Summer Olympics: 14th place Discus, 23rd Shot Put.
• 1974–1976 National Sports Director of Papua New Guinea.
• 1977–1979 First Director of Coaching in Athletics for New Zealand.
• 1978 Commonwealth Games New Zealand Coach.

He also has trained New Zealand throwers, such as Beatrice Faumuina.

Personal bests[link]

Mills's personal best for the shot put was a New Zealand national record for 44 years, until 16-year-old Jacko Gill broke it on 23 April 2011 with a throw of 20.01 m^[2]

Mills is only one of two people to have the rare honour of twice being the New Zealand flag bearer at Olympic Games, the other being Arthur Porritt.^[3]

Mayor of Auckland City[link]

Mills served as the Mayor of Auckland City between 1990 and 1998.^[4] His Mayoral term commenced with a by-election in 1990 after the resignation of Dame Catherine Tizard, who had been appointed Governor-General. The new council had been formed following local body amalgamation in 1989 which saw many of the district borough councils merged into one larger city. Mills' first term oversaw the merger of these many district boroughs into one city. The Aotea Centre was also opened at the beginning of his term. Other initiatives which commenced on Mills' watch as Mayor included the introduction of the green "wheelie bins", metered user charges for water use, council assets like golf courses were leased to private management, and the city also quit some assets that no longer were of priority, like its abattoir.

Other major events during Mills' tenure included work commencing on the America's Cup Village at the Auckland viaduct, the commencement and opening of the Sky Tower and Casino complex that now dominates the Auckland skyline, the redevelopment of the Civic theatre, and refurbishment of the Auckland Town Hall.

During this period, the 1998 Auckland power crisis occurred, which shut down most of the inner city. Mills' Britomart Transport Centre plans also came under some criticism as being too focused on property development and not enough on transport. His successor Christine Fletcher led plans for a scaled down Britomart Station without the large property development plans.

Mills was defeated in a three way contest between himself, businessman Richard Holden and eventual winner Christine Fletcher in 1998. Mills himself was absent for most of the election campaign, leading the New Zealand team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, and mentoring the gold medal winning discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Les Mills Fitness Programs
• Les Mills International (USA) homepage
• Les Mills International (Australia) homepage
• Les Mills in the UK
• Les Mills International (China) homepage
• Profile at New Zealand Commonwealth Games website

Scott Mills
Scott Mills performing a DJ set
Born	(1973-03-28) 28 March 1973 (age 39) Eastleigh, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
Residence	London
Occupation	DJ, Radio presenter
Employer	BBC
Known for	The Scott Mills Show
Salary	£130,000 (estimated)[1]

Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973^[2]) is a British radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor, best known for presenting The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1.^[3][4] As of the 2011 Contest, Mills commentates for the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest on BBC Three with fellow BBC Radio DJ Sara Cox.^[5]

Early radio career[link]

Mills began his career at the age of 16 as a DJ on his local Hampshire commercial radio station, Power FM, after barraging the station with demo tapes.^[3] Mills was given an opportunity to present a week worth of shows, and based on the success of this, he was immediately offered the 'graveyard slot' of 1:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. (six nights a week),^[6] making him the youngest permanent presenter on the mainstream commercial radio.^[3] Mills' popularity led to a quick move to the coveted late afternoon 'drive time'.^[7]

Mills moved from Power FM to GWR FM, staying with the station for two years,^[3] before joining Piccadilly Key 103 in Manchester where he again moved quickly from the late night slot to the mid-morning show.^[3] In 1995, Mills began to work for the new London station Heart 106.2.^[8]

Mills has provided various voice-overs, including the voice of the specialist of the in-store radio station Homebase FM,^[9] the voice-over for Blockbuster Inc.'s in-store infomercial channel Blockbuster TV, and recently the voice-over for The VH1 Album Chart on the UK television channel VH1.^[10]

BBC Radio 1[link]

Mills joined BBC Radio 1 in 1998 to present The Early Breakfast Show which broadcasts between the hours of 4am and 7am. In January 2004, Mills shifted to a weekend afternoon slot for just over 6 months, but in July 2004, he moved over to the weekday early-evening slot, initially covering for Sara Cox, who was on a maternity leave.^[11] As she did not return, the slot became The Scott Mills Show.^[8] Mills also provides holiday cover for other slots including The Chris Moyles Show as well as also regularly covering Reggie Yates on the official chart show.

The Scott Mills Show, as it currently features, runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday. Until 24 December 2009, it was co-presented by sport reporter and occasional presenter Mark Chapman (Chappers).^[12] The assistant producer was Laura Sayers until April 2008. The current assistant producer is Rebecca Huxtable, usually called 'Beccy' or 'Wacky Beccy' on air. The regular newsreader is Tulip Mazumdar. The producer of the show is Emlyn Dodd, although he is referred to on air as 'The one who doesn't speak'.^[13]

In 2006, The Sun newspaper reported that Mills' salary was £130,000 a year for his work with Radio 1.^[14]

Features on the show have included Laura's Diary, Flirt Divert, Innuendo Bingo, Rate my Listener and Your Call.^[15] On Fridays, the show is modified with more music, in the form of the two features The Wonder Years, which features a different track from each sequential year to the present day, and Ready For The Weekend? which is an hour of dance music.^[16]

Mills has a number of catch phrases, including "alright, treacle".^{[citation needed]} On Fridays, he opens the show by using another catchphrase "it's only bley Friday" which is usually shouted very loudly in an incoherent manner to a backing of a random piece of classical music. The phrase was originally adopted from the previous afternoon show host, Sara Cox.^{[citation needed]}

On 2 April 2012 he will move to the afternoon slot on BBC Radio 1.^[17]

[edit] Scott Mills: The Musical

On 14 May 2009, it was announced that a musical based on Mills' life would be performed at the Edinburgh Festival 2009. The musical ran for three nights between 11 August and 13 August at the Pleasance One Theatre in Edinburgh.^[18] The musical was born from an internet rumour that Mills would perform in Rick Rolling The Musical as Rick Astley and other 1980s musicians. He denied this rumour on his radio show, and listeners' suggestions to create a musical based on his life became a reality. Some songs for the musical were composed and sent in by listeners to his radio show. The musical is available for viewing on the BBC Radio 1 website.^[19]

Mills did another Edinburgh Fringe show in 2010.^[20] He was challenged to do a one-man show, as was his co-host, Rebecca Huxtable, his producer, The One That Doesn't Speak, and his ex-co-host, Mark Chapman. Mills did his show as 'The Bjorn Identity', the story of Jason Bjorn, essentially, the Bourne Identity to the music of ABBA.

Television work[link]

In addition to his radio work, he has also appeared on various television shows, playing both as a character and as himself. His main acting role was as reporter, Paul Lang in the BBC medical drama Casualty, appearing in episodes in both 2006 and 2007.^[21][22] He also had a cameo in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City after praising the show highly on his radio show.^[23]

Mills has appeared as a contestant or guest on programmes including Mastermind, Supermarket Sweep, Children in Need, Hollyoaks, Most Haunted and Never Mind the Buzzcocks,^[21] and has appeared in the show Identity, hosted by Donny Osmond.^[24]

He narrated the music TV show The Pop Years which, coincidentally, was also narrated by fellow BBC Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman. He has presented high-profile programmes including the Wednesday night National Lottery draw on BBC 1 and his own pilot (featured on the radio show) of Reverse-a-Word.^[21] He also currently narrates Dating in the Dark on Living. In February 2008, he presented Upstaged on the newly re-launched BBC Three.^[25] He currently hosts a BBC Three television show called Radio 1 on Three, which is inspired by his radio show.

In February 2011, Mills presented a documentary for BBC Three called The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?.^[26]

Other work[link]

In February 2011, it was announced that Mills would take part in the BT Charity Trek along with other celebrities as part of the 2011 Comic Relief Red Nose Day campaign. The celebrities spent five days in the Kaisut desert in north Kenya, covering 100 kilometres (62 mi) in temperatures up to 40°C.^[27]

Personal life[link]

Mills' parents are separated,^[11] although both feature in the show at sporadic intervals.^[15]

Mills came out as gay to the press in 2001 to avoid tabloid-style speculation.^[28] Occasionally on the show, deflective comments are made, and Mills often jokes that he "doesn't have much luck with the ladies". In his Guardian interview he explained, "I'd just like to be accepted as a normal bloke who is gay and is on the radio and the television."

Scott appeared at number 12 on the Independent on Sunday's Pink List for 2010.^[29] Mills was the 50th most influential gay person in Britain the previous year.^[30]

Mills was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts from Southampton Solent University on 2 November 2009.^[31]

Mills has supported climate change causes such as Global Cool.^[32]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Scott Mills Radio 1
• BBC Press Office: Scott Mills biography
• Scott Mills at the Internet Movie Database
• Scott Mills on Twitter
• Scott Mills on Facebook
• Scott Mills's channel on YouTube

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