Kirsty Lang (born 1962) is a British journalist and broadcaster working for the BBC. She has also been a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York. Lang was raised in various parts of the world; her family were evacuated from Nigeria at the time of the Biafran war in 1967.

Lang was educated at a number of private schools in various countries including Nishimachi International School in Tokyo, Lauriston Girls' School in Melbourne, Dartington Hall School in Devon, England and the International School of Geneva. She first joined the BBC as a graduate trainee in 1986, having gained an MA in Journalism from City University, London following a degree in International Relations and an MSc in Government and Politics from the London School of Economics. In 1989 she became a Central European correspondent for the World Service and later a reporter on the BBCs Newsnight.

After a spell as Paris correspondent for The Sunday Times, she became a co-presenter/reporter for Channel 4 News (1998-2002). She returned to the BBC when the digital channel BBC Four was established in 2002 and has presented The World, an evening news programme (now replaced by World News Today).

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.

Jimmy Page is viewed by critics, fans and fellow musicians alike as one of the most influential and important guitarists and songwriters in rock music.Rolling Stone magazine has described him as "the pontiff of power riffing & probably the most digitally sampled artist in pop today after James Brown." In 2010, Jimmy Page was ranked No.2 in Gibson's list of "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time" and, in 2007, No.4 on Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". Page was ranked third in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of The Yardbirds (1992), and once as a member of Led Zeppelin (1995).

Barry Manilow (born June 17, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. He is best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."

In 1978, five of his albums were on the best-selling charts simultaneously, a feat equalled only by Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Mathis. He has recorded a string of Billboard hit singles and multi-platinum albums that have resulted in his being named Radio & Records number one Adult Contemporary artist and winning three straight American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Between 1974 - 1983 Manilow had three number 1 singles and 25 that reached the top 40. Several well-known entertainers have praised Manilow, including Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s saying, "He's next." In 1988, Bob Dylan stopped Manilow at a party, hugged him and said, "Don't stop what you're doing, man. We're all inspired by you."

As well as producing and arranging albums for other artists, including Bette Midler and Dionne Warwick, Manilow has written songs for musicals, films, and commercials. From February 2005 to December 30, 2009, he was the headliner at the Las Vegas Hilton, performing hundreds of shows before ending his relationship with the hotel. From March 2010, he has headlined at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. He has sold more than 80 million records worldwide.

Nick McCarthy (born Nicholas John McCarthy, 13 December 1974) is an English musician. He is the guitarist, backing/lead vocalist, and keyboardist of the Glasgow based band Franz Ferdinand as well as a member of the band Box Codax.

Nick McCarthy was born in Blackpool, England and grew up in Vagen near Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

He was trained classically as a pianist and double bassist at the Munich Conservatory.

Whilst residing in Germany, McCarthy was a member of a band called Kamerakino. He also played double bass, cello and Arabic lute in a band called Embryo, whose music is described as a 'fusion of jazz, rock and ethnic world music.' After extensively touring internationally with Embryo, McCarthy decided it was time for somewhere new, returned to the UK and, on a friend's suggestion, moved to Glasgow.

There, McCarthy broke into Glasgow's underground cultural scene as a member of the jazz band Scatter, shortly after he met Alex Kapranos, now of Franz Ferdinand fame.

McCarthy met vocalist and co-guitarist Alex Kapranos at a party. McCarthy was classically trained on the piano and double bass but initially tried to play drums. The two met up with Paul Thomson who had played drums with Yummy Fur. Thomson was originally going to play guitar because he wanted to try something other than drums. With the addition of Robert Hardy, the band became Franz Ferdinand.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/ STE-fə-nee jurr-mə-NAH-tə; born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.

Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album Born This Way (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.