U-matic is an analog recording videocassette format first shown by Sony in prototype in October 1969, and introduced to the market in September 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various Reel-to-Reel or open-reel formats of the time. Unlike most other cassette-based tape formats, the supply and take-up reels in the cassette turn in opposite directions during playback, fast-forward, and rewind: one reel would run clockwise while the other would run counter-clockwise. A locking mechanism integral to each cassette secures the tape hubs during transportation to keep the tape wound tightly on the hubs. When the cassette is loaded into the videocassette recorder (VCR) or player, the mechanism releases the hubs, permitting the hubs to spin. A spring-loaded tape cover door protects the tape from damage; when the cassette is inserted into the VCR, the door is released and is opened, enabling the VCR mechanism to spool the tape around the spinning video drum. Accidental recording is prevented by the presence of a red plastic button fitted to a hole on the bottom surface of the tape; removal of the button disabled recording.

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18, 1926) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, with lyrics focusing on teen life and consumerism and utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.

Born into a middle class family in St. Louis, Missouri, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School. While still a high school student he served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947. On his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at an automobile assembly plant. By early 1953, influenced by the guitar riffs and showmanship techniques of blues player T-Bone Walker, he was performing in the evenings with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. His break came when he traveled to Chicago in May 1955, and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Leonard Chess of Chess Records. With Chess he recorded "Maybellene"—Berry's adaptation of the country song "Ida Red"—which sold over a million copies, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart. By the end of the 1950s, Berry was an established star with several hit records and film appearances to his name as well as a lucrative touring career. He had also established his own St. Louis-based nightclub, called Berry's Club Bandstand. But in January 1962, Berry was sentenced to three years in prison for offenses under the Mann Act—he had transported a 14-year-old girl across state lines.

Terry Francis (born 28 July 1966) is a British Tech House DJ and producer. Francis won Muzik Magazine's "Best New DJ" award in 1997. In October 1999, at the club's inception, he started a residency at London's Fabric, which has continued ever since.

He has worked as a producer under his own name and as Housey Doingz (with Nathan Coles). He has released several mix albums, including two volumes of Architecture and the second volume of the Fabric mix series, Fabric 02.

Safety Scissors is Matthew Patterson Curry, a minimal techno artist born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for a short while in order to attend San Francisco Art Institute. Curry then decided to focus more on music and eventually joined Belief Systems/Context Records where he began working with Kit Clayton, Sutekh, and Twerk. Curry also performs with Seth Horvitz (aka Sutekh) under the name Moron. In 2000, he moved to Berlin.

Curry has released three full length albums, Parts Water in 2001, Tainted Lunch (released on Stefan Behnke's ~scape label) in 2005, and Pigeon Funk Presents!!! with Sutekh. Parts Water was described by CMJ New Music Monthly as "a perfect headphone record", including what reviewer Tim Haslett called "possibly the first attempts by a techno artist to write pop tunes".

He also collaborated with Kit Clayton on an EP entitled Ping Pong, which sped through three dozen tracks in less than twenty minutes. Ping Pong was part of Carpark Records' sports-FAN series, so named because each release was pressed on a Fan CD.