Tarmac (short for tarmacadam, or tar-penetration macadam) is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901. The term is also used, with varying degrees of correctness, for a variety of other materials, including tar-grouted macadam, bituminous surface treatments and even modern asphalt concrete.

The first known city to have its streets paved with tar was in the 8th century AD. More than 1,000 years later, John Loudon McAdam invented a road construction method called macadamisation. These roads were adequate for use by horses and carriages or coaches, but they were very dusty and subject to erosion with heavy rain. Later on, they did not hold up to higher speed motor vehicle use. Methods to stabilise macadam roads with tar date back to at least 1834, when John Henry Cassell, operating from Cassell's Patent Lava Stone Works in Millwall, patented "Pitch Macadam". This method involved spreading tar on the subgrade, then placing a typical macadam layer and then sealing the macadam with a mixture of tar and sand. Tar-grouted macadam was also in use well before 1900, and involved scarifying the surface of an existing macadam pavement, spreading tar and re-compacting. Although the use of tar in road construction was known in the 19th century, it was little used and was not introduced on a large scale until the motor car arrived on the scene in the early 20th century.

Vincenzo Nibali (born November 14, 1984 in Messina) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who rides UCI ProTeam Liquigas-Cannondale. Born near the Strait of Messina, Nibali's nickname is the "shark of the strait" or simply "the shark." His first major win came at the 2006 GP Ouest-France, where he beat an impressive field on a tough course. However, experts such as Michele Bartoli have said Nibali is most suited to competing in multi-stage races. Nibali's biggest win to date is the overall in the 2010 Vuelta a España.

Vincenzo Nibali was born in 1984 on November 14, the son of Salvatore and Giovanna. In order to become a cyclist, he left his hometown Messina and moved to Tuscany at the age of sixteen. For ten months of the year, he lived in the house of his ex-directeur sportif, Carlo Franceschi, in Mastromarco, near Lamporecchio, where he still lives.

Nibali finished third at the Junior World Time Trial Championship in 2002 and also third at the U-23 World Time Trial Championship in 2004. He turned professional in 2005 with Fassa Bortolo. In 2007, Nibali rode the Giro d'Italia for the first time and finished 19th overall. 2008 saw Nibali finish 10th in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and record top-20 finishes in both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

Georges Brassens (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ bʁasɛ̃s]), 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981), was a French singer-songwriter and poet.

Brassens was born in Sète, a town in southern France near Montpellier. Now an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and articulate, diverse lyrics; indeed, he is considered one of France's most accomplished postwar poets. He has also set to music poems by both well-known and relatively obscure poets, including Louis Aragon (Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux), Victor Hugo (La Légende de la Nonne, Gastibelza), Jean Richepin, François Villon (La Ballade des Dames du Temps Jadis), and Guillaume Apollinaire, Antoine Pol (Les Passantes).

During World War II, he was forced by the Germans to work in a labor camp at a BMW aircraft engine plant in Basdorf near Berlin in Germany (March 1943). Here Brassens met some of his future friends, such as Pierre Onténiente, whom he called Gibraltar because he was "steady as a rock." They would later become close friends.

Gaëtan Roussel (born October 13, 1972 Rodez, Aveyron) is a French singer, songwriter and composer. Roussel is the former lead vocalist for the bands, Louise Attaque and Tarmac.

Roussel embarked on a solo career and began recording an album in 2009. He released the his debut solo album, Ginger, which was released on March 15, 2010.Ginger featured the lead single, Help myself (Nous ne faisons que passer) and the second single, Dis-moi encore que tu m’aimes.