Music - Albums - Videos

Geoff Tate (born Geoffrey Wayne Tate, January 14, 1959, in Stuttgart, West Germany) is an American singer and musician, best known for his work with the progressive metal band, Queensrÿche. Hundreds of modern, popular artists cite him and his band as a major influence.

Shortly after his birth his family relocated to Tacoma, Washington. Geoff states his influences are Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. His aunt is a classical trained opera singer. Geoff started off his musical career with progressive band Myth, on lead vocals and keyboards, along with Kelly Gray (who later was Queensrÿche's first attempt at a replacement for guitarist Chris DeGarmo). He joined Queensrÿche (then called The Mob) in 1981. The band already had a full demo of songs, but there was one still left without lyrics. "The Lady Wore Black" became Geoff's first penned song with the band. In 1983 the band released their self produced and self titled debut EP. His 4-octave range of A1-A5, unique tone and intense expressiveness have placed him among the finest vocalists in the heavy metal genre. Tate has also separated himself from many other artists of his genre by writing with a social conscience as "the thinking man's metal band." Lyrics with these socially conscious themes were present on Operation: Mindcrime, developed more on Empire, and really came to fruition on the divergent work Promised Land.
In 2002, Tate released his first (self-titled) solo album on Sanctuary Records. It has been rumoured for quite a while that Tate would be involved in a project with Judas Priest lead singer, Rob Halford (with whom he previously collaborated on Hear 'n Aid), and Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, in a metal project resembling The Three Tenors. The project was to be called The Three Tremors. However, other than a few live performances, the project has not seen the light of day.
On January 22, it was reported that Tate would make his acting debut in an upcoming horror movie House of Eternity, alongside Candice Night of Blackmore's Night fame. He is also working on a documentary about subliminal messages in media.
Geoff has three daughters: Miranda, Bella, and Emily.

Genesis are an English rock band formed in 1967. With approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, Genesis are among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time. In 1988, the band won a Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video.

The longest-tenured members of Genesis are Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks. Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips and Steve Hackett were also members of the band in its early days. Genesis began as a 1960s pop band playing moody, simple keyboard-driven melodies. During the 1970s, they evolved into a progressive rock band, incorporating complex song structures and elaborate instrumentation, while their concerts became theatrical experiences with innovative stage design, pyrotechnics, elaborate costumes and onstage stories. This second phase was characterised by lengthy performances such as the 23 minute "Supper's Ready" and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the 1974 concept album. In the 1980s, the band produced accessible pop music based on melodic hooks; this change of direction gave them their first number one album in the United Kingdom, Duke, and their only number one single in the United States, "Invisible Touch".
Genesis has changed personnel several times. Founding member Anthony Phillips left the band in 1970 due to stage fright. In 1975, Collins, then the band's drummer, replaced Gabriel as lead singer after a lengthy search for a replacement. To facilitate Collins's move to lead vocals during concerts, Bill Bruford, and later Chester Thompson, played drums for the band, with Collins joining in briefly during lengthy instrumental passages. After Phil Collins left the band in 1996, Genesis recruited Ray Wilson (formerly of Stiltskin), who appeared on the 1997 album Calling All Stations. As a result of the commercial failure of Calling All Stations, the band announced an indefinite hiatus. However, in 2007, Banks, Collins and Rutherford reunited for a 20-city tour of Europe and North America, which included a free concert at Rome's Circo Massimo in front of 500,000 fans.

Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter. He was also an accomplished guitarist, pianist, drummer and skilled sound engineer. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed considerable success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic. As a performer, he charted 16 Top 40 hit singles in the U.S., four of which reached the Top Ten. In the UK, the figures were even more impressive: 22 top 40 hits, and 11 Top Tens. As a songwriter, he also penned the big early 1960s hits "He's a Rebel" by The Crystals, and "Hello Mary Lou" by Rick Nelson. Pitney was among a small group of early 1960s American artists and acts such as Roy Orbison, Bobby Vinton, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, Jay and the Americans, The Beach Boys, and The Supremes that continued to enjoy big radio hits after the British Invasion arrived in the United States in 1964.

Gene Loves Jezebel is a gothic rock band from the early 1980s founded by twin brothers, Michael and Jay Aston (born John Peter Aston). Originally called Slav Aryan, Gene Loves Jezebel began in 1980 with the Aston brothers, guitarist Ian Hudson and a drum machine. The Astons grew up in Porthcawl, Wales, making the move to London in 1981. With a new home, and shortly thereafter, the new name, the trio played several live shows and were signed by Situation Two. In May 1982, the label released Gene Loves Jezebel's demo single Shaving My Neck. The band then added bassist Julianne Regan followed, briefly, by a keyboardist, Jean-Marc Lederman.

Regan left within a year to form All About Eve, leaving Ian Hudson briefly playing bass until Stephen Marshall joined. This line up went on to perform some 100 gigs and recorded the first album Promise, along with their first John Peel Session and the beautifully bizarre B-side Stephen, often considered to be an homage to the man himself. Peter Rizzo joined in 1984. Gene Loves Jezebel underwent a dozen or so line up changes between 1981-1985.
The band released two more singles in 1983 before Promise peaked at number 8 in the UK Indie Chart. In 1984, the group recorded a John Peel radio session for BBC and toured America with fellow Welsh artist John Cale. The second album, Immigrant, was released in mid-1985. However, during an agonizing American tour for Immigrant, founding member Ian Hudson left the band and was replaced by former Generation X and Chelsea guitarist James Stevenson (who later also played rhythm guitar on tour with The Cult). During 1986, the group moved its contract to Situation Two's parent company, Beggar's Banquet Records and distribution rights in USA to Geffen Records. The subsequent promotion increased pop-chart success for the group. The single Sweetest Thing briefly hit the Top 75 in UK and the album Discover reached number 32 in UK Albums Chart. At this time, the group also found heavy rotation on college and countercultural radio stations across America. The band had slowly turned their attention to dance music. The slick and catchy guitar hooks of singles Desire and Heartache leapt to #6 and #72, respectively, on Los Angeles' New Wave station, KROQ. Later that year, former Spear of Destiny member Chris Bell became the band's fifth drummer.

Gene was a British alternative rock quartet that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s. Formed in 1993, they were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew comparisons to The Smiths because of their Morrissey-esque lead singer, Martin Rossiter. Gene's music was influenced by The Jam, The Small Faces, The Style Council and The Clash.

Gene's origins lie in a previous band first called The Go Hole, named after a fictional "Beat" club in John Clellon Holmes' novel Go, and later renamed Spin. Vocalist/rhythm guitarist and songwriter Lee Clark, bassist John Mason, lead guitarist Steve Mason, and drummer Matt James were original members.
The band was formed by Clark (vocals/guitar) and Daz Walton (bass). John Mason took over playing bass and James joined on drums. A few years later, Clark, Mason and James recruited Mason's brother Steve Mason to play lead/rhythm guitar and free Clark's vocal style, which was limited by his mediocre guitar playing.
After performing in Woolwich, London for several years, Spin became a promising Stone Roses-like band that was involved in a serious road accident. John Mason suffered a serious head injury and went into an 11-day coma. Their road manager Walton retired as a result of the crash. The day prior to the accident, Clark (the main songwriter) had offered his resignation in a letter to the rest of the band, due to his dissatisfaction with the way the band and the record label Foundation were guiding its course. "The final straw for me," stated Clark, "was calling the Spin album In Motion - a play on word-association which was so naff, that it beggared belief."
Albums
* 1995 Olympian - #8
* 1996 To See The Lights - #11
* 1997 Drawn To The Deep End - #8
* 1999 Revelations - #25
* 2000 Rising For Sunset
* 2001 As Good As It Gets: The Best Of
* 2001 Libertine - #92
* 2006 The Collection
* 2006 The John Peel Sessions

Paul Mazzolini (born February 18, 1960; stage name Gazebo), is an Italian musician. He has a legend status among the fans of the "italo-disco" music style, a variation of 1980s eurodance (also known as eurodisco). Mazzolini was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of an Italian diplomat and an American singer. Reportedly, he learned to play the guitar aged 10 to impress a German girl in his class.

As a rather cosmopolitan teenager Mazzolini began a career in a variety of jazz, rock and punk bands before meeting Rome based producer Paul Micioni. The first release, Masterpiece, was a minor hit in 1982. His footnote in charts history is his 1983 release "I Like Chopin", popular opinion notwithstanding, the piano motif herein is not a Chopin composition. The follow-up song "Lunatic" and the eponymous album also entered the Top 20 across Europe. Since then Mazzolini has released more albums, not counting the occasional hit compilation with all his best track called Portrait & Viewpoint. In autumn 2006 he released a new single called "Tears for Galileo", which achieved constant radio airplay on Italian RAI Radio2 and peaked at #1 in the Euro dance chart. Recently Gazebo released a new single, "Virtual Love" after "Ladies!", from his upcoming new album The Syndrone.
Albums
* Gazebo (Baby Records, 1983)
* Telephone Mama (Baby Records, 1984)
* Univision (Carosello, 1986)
* The Rainbow Tales (Carosello, 1988)
* Sweet Life (Carosello, 1989)
* Scenes From The Broadcast (Lunatic, 1991)
* Portrait (Giungla-BMG Italy, 1994)
* Viewpoint (Softworks, 1997)
* Portrait & Viewpoint (Softworks, 2000)
* Ladies ! (iTunes Softworks, 2007)
* The Syndrone (Softworks, 2008)

Jonny McGovern (born July 12, 1975), also known by his character name The Gay Pimp, is an American stand-up comedian, musician and podcaster. He has recorded three albums as comedic singer The Gay Pimp, and is also a cast member of Logo's The Big Gay Sketch Show.

McGovern stated that he was inspired to create his signature comedic character, The Gay Pimp, after listening to rap songs and interviews by Eminem. McGovern has said, It started off with Eminem. I was appalled by him ripping on fags and talking mad shit. People were protesting, but how could you protest a pop star? I figured my best way of protesting was to write a big, flashy, glamorous, funny show... called The Wrong Fag to Fck With: The Gay Pimp vs. Eminem. It was where the Gay Pimp was a pop star/superhero who came out at the MTV awards to battle Eminem. Of course it did end with Eminem getting it up the butt and being humiliated while all the gay teens were set free. After the songs from the show began to get heavy rotation in New York City nightclubs, McGovern was approached about making a music video for one of his songs, "Soccer Practice". The video for "Soccer Practice", which received heavy rotation in dance clubs as well as notoriety on the Internet, featured McGovern in a shirt that was emblazoned with the sequined words "Gay Pimp." In it, he cavorted and simulated sex with scantily-clad men.
The success of the single garnered attention for McGovern, and he contributed commentary on a variety of VH1 shows (such as Best Week Ever, Totally Gay, and 40 Dumbest Celebrity Quotes) as well as earned a slot on Comedy Central's all-gay comedy show Out on the Edge, hosted by Alan Cumming. McGovern also became a year-long correspondent for The Ricki Lake Show. A second single, "Lookin' Cute/Feelin' Cute," continued to endear him to his largest fan base of gay teenagers, despite missing the heavy exposure of "Soccer Practice."

Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958) is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Numan is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature style combines gloomy themes of depersonalisation and alienation accompanied by energetic synthesizer work.

Born in Hammersmith, West London, Gary Webb's father was an airline driver based at Heathrow Airport. Webb was educated at Town Farm Junior School Stanwell, Ashford County Grammar School, Middlesex, Slough Grammar School and Brooklands Technical College. He had an early ambition to be an airline pilot, but did not gain any academic qualifications; however, he did go on to join the Air Training Corps as a teenager. He then briefly did various jobs including fork lift truck driver, air conditioning ventilator fitter and clerk in an accounts department. A guitar was purchased for him at an early age and he began writing songs when he was about 15 years old. He played in various bands, including Mean Street and The Lasers, before forming Tubeway Army with his uncle, Jess Lidyard, and Paul Gardiner. His initial pseudonym was "Valerian", probably in reference to the hero in French science fiction comic series Valérian and Laureline. Later he picked the name "Numan" from an advert in the "Yellow Pages".

Garland Jeffreys (born 1943/44 in Brooklyn, New York) is an African-American and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter. His music is a unique blend of rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul.
Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Jeffreys majored in arts at Syracuse University where he met Lou Reed before The Velvet Underground became active. In 1966, Jeffreys played in Manhattan nightclubs. Grinder's Switch, a group founded by him in 1969, released one album before breaking up in 1970. In 1973, he released his first solo album, Garland Jeffreys, on Atlantic Records.

Around the same time Atlantic also released a 45 RPM single of a song called "Wild in the Streets" that was not included on the LP. The track received airplay on progressive FM album-oriented rock stations and has become one of his best-known songs. Later, in 1977 when Garland recorded his Ghost Writer album for A&M Records, the Atlantic version of "Wild In The Streets" was included on side 2.
"Wild In The Streets" has been covered by several artists, including:
* The Circle Jerks, from the album Wild In The Streets
* Chris Spedding, from the album Hurt
* British Lions, from the album British Lions
* Hot Water Music, from the album Til the Wheels Fall Off
Jeffreys is featured in the 2003 documentary Soul of a Man, directed by Wim Wenders as the fourth installment of the documentary film series "The Blues" produced by Martin Scorsese. The film explores the musical careers of blues musicians Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson and J. B. Lenoir.
He was featured on the cover of Beyond Race magazine in February 2007.
Jeffreys is currently touring again and has been very active on MySpace, communicating personally with his extensive fanbase.

Garbage is an American rock group formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1994. The band consists of Scottish vocalist Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig, and has counted worldwide album sales of over 14 million units. Garbage released a string of increasingly successful singles in 1995–1996, including "Stupid Girl". Their debut album, Garbage, was an unexpected smash, selling over 4 million copies and certified double platinum in the UK, USA and Australia. Garbage won the Breakthrough Artist award at the 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Garbage spent two years working on follow-up album, Version 2.0, which topped the charts in the UK upon its 1998 release and the following year was nominated for two Grammy Awards, Album of the Year and Best Rock Album. Version 2.0 went on to match the sales of its predecessor. Garbage followed this up by performing and co-producing the theme song to the nineteenth James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough.
Despite being named one of Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of The Year, Garbage's 2001 third album Beautiful Garbage failed to match the commercial success achieved by its predecessors. Garbage quietly disbanded in late 2003, but regrouped to complete fourth album Bleed Like Me in 2005, peaking at a career-high #4 in the U.S. The band cut short their concert tour in support of Bleed Like Me announcing an "indefinite hiatus", emphasizing that they had not broken up, but wished to pursue personal interests. In 2006, Vig returned to producing while Manson recorded a solo album. Garbage ended their hiatus in 2007, and released greatest hits retrospective Absolute Garbage, with a view to record its fifth studio album in 2008.
Other Albums
* 2002: Special Collection – EP
* 2007: Absolute Garbage – Best Of Compilation

Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill. In 2004, the original line-up reunited and stayed together until 2008.

They play a stripped-down mix of punk rock, with strong elements of funk music, minimalism and dub reggae and an emphasis on the social and political ills in society. Gang of Four's later albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-funk and disco. Their debut album, Entertainment!, ranked at #490 in Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. David Fricke in Rolling Stone 1980 said "Gang of Four are probably the best politically motivated dance band in rock & roll."
Studio Albums
* Entertainment! (EMI, 1979) - UK #45
* Solid Gold (Warner Bros., 1981) – POP #190, UK #52
* Songs of the Free (Warner Bros., 1982) – POP #175, UK #61
* Hard (Warner Bros., 1983) – POP #168
* Mall (Polydor, 1991)
* Shrinkwrapped (Castle, 1995)
Live albums
* At the Palace (Mercury, 1984)
* Solid Gold (Warner Bros., 1995)
Compilation albums
* A Brief History of the Twentieth Century (Warner Bros., 1990)
* The Peel Sessions (Dutch East India, 1990)
* 100 Flowers Bloom (Rhino, 1998)
* Return the Gift (V2, 2005)

Gallon Drunk are an English band formed in London in 1988. Their sound is characterised by what has been called 'swamp rock' and is noted for its dark subject matter. The lead vocalist is James Johnston, who is also a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, he has played and toured with the Bad Seeds since 1993's Let Love In album and contributed organ (a trademark element of the Gallon Drunk sound) to the Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus album and tour (2004).

The band's popularity and visible profile arguably peaked in 1992/1993 with the release of their second album From The Heart of Town, which saw the band play enormous venues in the US, such as the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Gardens in New York, as a guest of Morrissey. The band share a variety of influences, from punk to jazz and the novels of Derek Raymond (especially I Was Dora Suarez). The band continue to record and tour, the latest release being The Rotten Mile album on Fred.
Singles/EPs
* "Snakepit" (1988) Gallon Drunk
* "Ruby" (1990) Clawfist
* "Draggin' Along" (1991) Clawfist
* "The Last Gasp" (1991) Clawfist
* "Some Fool's Mess" (1991) Clawfist
* "Bedlam" (1992) Clawfist
* "You Should Be Ashamed" (1993) Clawfist
* "Known Not Wanted" (1993) (b-side by Tindersticks)
* Savage Soundtracks For Swinging Lovers EP (1993) Blue Eyed Dog (with Barry Adamson)
* Traitor's Gate EP (1995) Gallon Drunk
* "Two Clear Eyes" (1996) City Slang
* "To Love Somebody" (1997) City Slang
* "Hurricane" (1998) Itchy Teeth (12"/CDS released under the name J.J. Stone, featuring Johnson, White, and Edwards)
* "Blood Is Red" (2000) FM
* "Things Will Change" (2001) Sweet Nothing

The Future Sound of London (often abbreviated to FSOL) are a prolific British electronic music band composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. The duo are often credited with pushing the boundaries of electronic music experimentation and of pioneering a new era of dance music.

Although often labelled as ambient, Cobain and Dougans usually resist being typecast into any one particular genre. Their work covers most areas of electronic music, such as ambient techno, drum and bass, trip-hop, ambient dub, acid techno and often involves extreme experimentation; for example they have, since the turn of the millennium, experimented with psychedelic rock under their Amorphous Androgynous alias.
The artists have been fairly enigmatic in the past but have become more candid with their fanbase in recent years with social websites like Myspace, Youtube, their forum and many interviews in which Cobain almost always speaks for them both. In addition to music composition, their interests have covered a number of areas including film and video, 2D and 3D computer graphics, animation in making almost all their own videos for their singles, radio broadcasting and creating their own electronic devices for sound making.
Specials & promos
* (1997) ISDN Show (A promo recording of a live netcast.)
* (2003) The Otherness (Bonus 14-track album on "The Isness & The Otherness", a 2-CD special limited edition.)
* (2007) A Gigantic Globular Burst Of Anti-Static (Soundtrack for an art exhibition held at the Kinetica Art Museum, London in 2006.)
* (2008) FSOL Digital Mix (A free mix CD with Greek music magazine "Freeze".)

Future Bible Heroes is one of several musical groups led by Stephin Merritt, best known for his work with The Magnetic Fields. He shares vocal duties with Claudia Gonson, who sings on the entirety of 2002's Eternal Youth. In contrast to much of Merritt's work with other groups, the Future Bible Heroes work largely on electronica-based disco, with music provided by Chris Ewen, formerly of Figures on a Beach.

Albums
* Memories of Love (1997)
* Eternal Youth (2002)
EPs
* Lonely Days (1997)
* I'm Lonely (And I Love It) (2000)
* The Lonely Robot (2003)

The Fun Lovin' Criminals (often referred to by their initials, FLC) are an American alternative rap / alternative rock group from New York City. Their musical style is eclectic, covering such styles as hip hop, rock, blues and jazz. Their songs often deal with life in a city, often explicitly New York City, but just as often urban life in general.

They cover such issues as organized crime, drugs, violence, poverty and politics. Their songs are often gritty or existentialist in nature but are just as often humorous or satirical. They are probably best known for their hit Scooby Snacks which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino. In their native US they have something of a cult following. However the band gained a large following internationally, notably in northwest Europe, especially around the release of their first two albums in the late nineties. Their success has waned in recent years, their last album only reaching #57 in the UK charts, but they are still active and a new album is due out later this year. The band was formed in 1993 by Hugh Morgan, Brian Leiser and Steve Borgovini after Leiser, who was already friends with Borgovini, met Morgan at the club where they both worked. They started playing together and would provide the entertainment for the club when a booked act failed to show up. It was during one of these stand-in gigs that they came to the attention of EMI and they were offered a record deal. Their debut album, Come Find Yourself, was released in 1995 and while it was a commercial flop in the US it sold very well internationally, reaching #7 in the UK album charts. It was thanks to their success in the UK that they weren't dropped from their record label and instead, while still touring extensively, recorded their second album, 100% Colombian. However this also performed poorly in the US and they were subsequently dropped from their domestic contract but retained internationally.

Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful English band which ran from 1981 to 1983 and was formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials.

They dispensed with the darker, moody sound and demeanour which they and Jerry Dammers had crafted with great success in the ska revival of the late 1970s and went into a much brighter, poppier phase with this new band, though maintaining savagery and wit within the lyrics and Hall's wholly expressionless persona. Together they set about making music which covered a variety of genres. The band enjoyed six UK Top 20 hits, including the jungle drum inspired "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" and the brassy, cynical anthem "Tunnel of Love" and created two albums of which the eponymous Fun Boy Three was the most successful. The trio's last UK hit was the song "Our Lips Are Sealed" from album Waiting, co-written by Terry Hall and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Gos, who had scored a U.S. hit with the song a year earlier. They then toured the United States and split afterwards.
They were also credited with helping launch the career in 1982 of Bananarama, whom Hall first saw in The Face magazine. The three women provided credited chorus vocals on the hit "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)"; the Fun Boy Three later sang on the Bananarama song "Really Saying Something".
Hall went on to create the short-lived project The Colourfield, who had one hit in 1985, before forming less successful bands Vegas and Terry, Blair & Anouchka. He also embarked on a solo career and maintains respect from musicians and fans alike, with many acts citing him as an influence.

The Fugees were a critically-acclaimed New Jersey hip hop group that rose to fame in the mid-1990s, whose repertoire included elements of soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group are rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel.

Deriving their name from the term refugee, Jean and Michel are Haitian Americans, while Hill is African American. The group recorded two albums one of which, The Score (1996), was a multi-platinum and Grammy-winning success before disbanding in 1997. Hill and Jean each went on to successful solo recording careers; Michel focused on soundtrack recordings and acting, though he found commercial success with his song "Ghetto Supastar". The trio released their first LP, Blunted on Reality, in 1994. The album spawned two underground hits, "Nappy Heads (Mona Lisa)" and "Vocab", but failed to live up to the reputation of the group's live shows and gained little mainstream attention. The Score became one of the biggest hits of 1996 and one of the best-selling hip hop albums of all time.
The Fugees gained attention for their cover versions of old favorites, with the group's reinterpretations of "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley & the Wailers and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack, the latter being their biggest pop hit. The album also included a re-interpretation of The Delfonics' "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love)" in their hit single, "Ready or Not", which featured a prominent sample of Enya's Boadicea without the singer's permission. This prompted a lawsuit resulting in a settlement where Enya was given credit and royalties for her sample. The Fugees have continuously thanked and praised Enya for her deep understanding of the situation, for example in the liner notes for The Score. The Fugees won two 1997 Grammy Awards with The Score (Best Rap Album) and "Killing Me Softly" (Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group).

Fugazi is an American punk band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band's continual members were guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty. Fugazi are noted for their DIY ethical stance and manner of business practice. Fugazi has been on hiatus since 2002.

After the punk group Minor Threat dissolved, Ian MacKaye (vocals and guitar) was active with a few short-lived groups, most notably Embrace. MacKaye decided he wanted a project that was "like the Stooges with reggae," but was wary about forming another band after Embrace's break up. MacKaye recalled, "My interests were not necessarily to be in a band [per se], but to be with people who wanted to play music with me." MacKaye recruited ex-Dag Nasty drummer Colin Sears and bass guitarist Joe Lally, and the trio began practicing together in September 1986. After a few months of rehearsals, Sears returned to Dag Nasty and was replaced by Brendan Canty (earlier of Rites of Spring). One day Canty's Rites of Spring bandmate Guy Picciotto dropped by during a practice session to see how his friend was getting along; he later admitted he secretly harbored the idea of joining the group. But Picciotto was disappointed that there seemed to be no place for him; he said, "It seemed really completed already. It had a completely different feel from what I'd been doing with Brendan. It seemed just solid and done."
Studio albums
* Repeater (1990)
* Steady Diet of Nothing (1991)
* In on the Kill Taker (1993)
* Red Medicine (1995)
* End Hits (1998)
* Instrument Soundtrack (1999)
* The Argument (2001)

Fuel is an American hard rock band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" and "Bad Day" from Something Like Human, and "Falls on Me"

Fuel was originally formed in 1989 in Kenton, Tennessee by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions joined the group after Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania bars and nightclubs. Their first EP Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer." The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton the following year.
Upon signing to Sony, the band entered Longview Farm recording studios in Massachusetts, along with producer Steven Haigler and session drummer Jonathan Mover. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet," "Jesus or a Gun," and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.
Members
* Toryn Green - lead vocals (2006-present)
* Carl Bell - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1989-present)
* Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar (1989-present)
* Tommy Stewart - drums, percussion (2006-present)

Frou Frou (pronounced /ˈfruːfruː/) were a British electronic music duo composed of Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth. They released their only album, Details, in 2002. They both write, produce and play instruments on the tracks, while Heap also provides the vocals. Frou Frou disbanded (amicably) in 2003 to go their separate ways musically and have denied the possibility of another Frou Frou album.

Heap and Sigsworth met in the mid 1990s on the London music scene Sigsworth coming to the attention of Heap and her record label due to his writing/production/keyboard-playing work with Seal and Björk. Their first work together consisted of Heap providing extra vocals for Sigsworth's band Acacia. She subsequently contributed to the live Acacia lineup at several concerts, became a significant "floating member" of the band (although never a full member) and sang on all but one track on Acacia's ill-fated debut album Cradle.
Sigsworth subsequently contributed to Heap's debut album, i Megaphone, which was released on the now-defunct Almo Sounds in 1998. Together they wrote the first single to be taken from i Megaphone, the angst-ridden "Getting Scared," which Sigsworth also produced, and the B-side to the album's second single, "Shine," entitled "Airplane."

Friska Viljor are a Swedish indie rock band from Stockholm. Their debut album 'Bravo!' was released in the UK in 2007, and they have a forthcoming album called 'Tour de Hearts', due to be released on the 21st of May 2008.

The band has toured internationally, and performed at the Rock am Bach Festival in Neuhofen an der Ybbs, Austria in 2007.
Albums
* 2006: Bravo!
* 2008: Tour de Hearts
Singles
* 2008: Old Man

Friends of Dean Martinez is an instrumental rock band featuring members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. Beautiful ambient rock a la Unwed Sailor.

In a nutshell, FoDM is a combination of bits of electronic static intertwined with surf guitar inspired leads, reminiscent of pre "dark side" Pink Floyd, all droning to the beat of Nick Mason-esque drums, stretched over 30 minute intervals. The band was originally formed in Tucson, Arizona as an experimental side project by various members of Giant Sand, Calexico and Naked Prey. Originally called "The Friends of Dean Martin," they were forced to change their name after Dean Martin refused to give his blessing. It worked out for the best, as "Martinez" provided a south-western spin to their retro lounge sound, with their debut album, "The Shadow of Your Smile," released with Sub Pop in 1995.
The band has evolved several times since then. They've gone through a variety of line-ups, moved to Los Angeles, and have now settled in Austin, Texas. Currently the trio includes Bill Elm on steel guitar and organ, Mike Semple on guitar, and Andrew Gerfers on drums. Originally a guitar player, Elm first started experimenting on the steel guitar with the formation of "Friends". Pushing beyond the instrument's country twang traditions, he pioneered a distinctive new sound for the pedal steel guitar. By using an e-bow it acts more like a voice rather than merely a background instrument.

Playing dance-oriented music with the feel of indie pop but the insistent pulse of disco, Friendly Fires hail from St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England. Featuring Ed Macfarlane on vocals and keyboards, Edd Gibson on guitar, and Jack Savidge on drums, all three members of Friendly Fires were in their early twenties when they began making a splash on the U.K. music scene in 2006. After winning a following for their live work, they released their debut recording, an EP titled Photobooth, through the independent People in the Sky label near the end of 2006.

The initial limited-edition pressing soon sold out, and demand for the record prompted a re-press by the time their second EP, Cross the Line, appeared in the summer of 2007. The acclaimed indie label Moshi Moshi Records picked up Friendly Fires for their third release, the single "Paris" b/w "Ex-Lover," issued on October 12, 2007. Thanks to a stylish video directed by Price James and a number of enthusiastic reviews, "Paris" became a hit, and the band landed a high-profile touring slot opening for Interpol on their U.K. tour. XL Recordings, one of England's biggest and most influential independent labels, signed the group to a recording contract; while working on their debut album, the band played New Musical Express' 2008 New Noise Tour. Friendly Fires arrived later that year.

Mixing French pop with modern day dance, Barbara Alcindor (aka French Affair) has found success in her native land of Europe. Born in Paris but a resident of London, England, Alcindor's began her career as a fashion model, before giving dance music a shot.

After signing with the BMG record label and teaming up with the Dreyer Brothers production team, French Affair scored a pair of sizeable hit singles in 2000 "My Heart Goes Boom (La Di Da Da)" and "Do What You Want" denting the charts in France, the U.K., Italy, and Germany. 2001 saw the release of French…

The British disco/funk band Freeez formed in the late '70s, featuring members Paul Morgan (drums), Peter Maas (bass and vocals), Andy Stennett (keyboards), and John Rocca (percussion and vocals).

The quartet issued four albums from the early to mid-'80s, including such titles as 1981's Southern France, 1983's Gonna Get You, 1984's Anti Freeze, and 1985's Idle Vice.

Roy Kerr, aka The Freelance Hellraiser, is one of the most respected creators of the UK bootleg scene.
He gained fame with a mash-up called "A Stroke of Genius", which combined an instrumental edit of The Strokes' track "Hard To Explain" with Christina Aguilera's pop hit "Genie in a Bottle". Although originally greeted by a cease and desist order by RCA (the label which both Aguilera and The Strokes are signed to), The Freelance Hellraiser went on to remix Aguilera's single "Fighter", as well as tracks for Placebo and ex-The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft.

In 2004 he was commissioned by Paul McCartney to remix some lesser-known McCartney tracks as preshow entertainment for his tour of that year. Those tracks, and several more, were released under the name Twin Freaks.
In 2006 he made his album Waiting for Clearance, featuring such artists as Jan Hammer Iain Archer and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody.

Fredo Viola is an American singer/songwriter and multi-media artist. He was born in London, England but has resided in the US for most of his life. He currently lives in Woodstock, NY. He graduated from Tisch Film school at NYU - but has always been most passionate about music. Viola lists some influential artists as Shostakovich, Britten, Bartok, Stravinsky, and Belle & Sebastian to name a few.

He became an internet hit on youtube with "The Sad Song" in 2004. In 2007 he signed with French label Because Music and plans on releasing his debut album late 2008. In late 2007, Fredo devoted his attention to a long series of live to digital performances he called "cluster videos," releasing one per month on his website. "Cluster Videos"
In late 2008, working in collaboration with a Flash design team in Spain ("Aer visual studio",) he released an interactive web site which also serves the function of displaying his new interactive videos. The videos come in unusual shape (circular, hexagonal) as well as widescreen rectangular, and can be turned during playback. "The Turn Website"

Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2002. Named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the band comprises Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals).
The band first experienced chart success when their second single "Take Me Out" reached #3 in the UK Charts, followed by their debut album Franz Ferdinand which debuted on the UK album chart at #3.

The band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act. NME named Franz Ferdinand as their Album of the Year. From the album, three top-ten singles were released, "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée" and "This Fire".
Studio albums
* Franz Ferdinand (2004)
* You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)
* Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood (FGTH) was an English dance-pop band that were extremely popular in the mid 1980s. The Liverpool group was fronted by Holly Johnson (vocals), supported by Paul Rutherford (vocals, keyboards), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guitar) and Brian Nash (guitar).

The group's debut single "Relax" was famously banned by the BBC while at number six in the charts, and subsequently topped the UK singles chart for five consecutive weeks, going on to enjoy prolonged chart success throughout 1984 and ultimately becoming the seventh best-selling UK single of all time (as of May 2006). Following the follow-up success of "Two Tribes" and "The Power of Love", FGTH became only the second act in the history of the UK charts to reach number one with their first three singles; the first being Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1964.
Band members
* Holly Johnson - lead vocals (1980–1987)
* Mark O'Toole - bass (1980–1987, 2004–2007)
* Jed O'Toole - bass, guitar (1980–1982, 2005–2007)
* Peter Gill - drums (1980–1987, 2004–2007)
* Brian Nash - guitar (1980–1987)
* Paul Rutherford - backing vocals, dancing (1980–1987, 2004–2007)
* Ryan Molloy - lead vocals (2004–2007)

Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV on April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, where he performed under the stage name Black Francis.

Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with 4AD, he left the label and formed a backing band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He reformed the Pixies in 2004, and continues to release solo records and tour as a solo artist, having re-adopted his current stage name in 2007. His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodical style in his solo career. In a recent interview on CBC's The Hour, Black described his musical transformation: "Pixies were quite abstract in their repertoire, it was kind of surrealist, kind of drop-out lyrics, but instinctively I knew I wasn't going to sing about all of my 'hard times' or whatever because it wouldn't have rang true. Now I've had a good life, I've had some ups and downs like everybody and so you feel you could be a little more Leonard Cohen or something." His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest and Biblical violence, along with dam collapses, science fiction and surf culture. His use of atypical meter signatures, loud-quiet dynamics and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording in his career as a solo artist give him a more specific style in alternative rock.
As frontman of the Pixies, his songs (such as "Where Is My Mind?" and "Debaser") received praise and citations from contemporaries, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Cobain once said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt at trying to "rip off the Pixies." However, in his solo work and records with the Catholics, he received fewer popular and critical accolades.

France Gall (born Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall on 9 October 1947 in Paris) is a popular French yé-yé singer. Gall was married to, and had a successful singing career in partnership with, French singer-songwriter Michel Berger.

The first airplay of France's first single "Ne sois pas si bête" ("Don't Be So Stupid"), occurred on her 16th birthday. It was released in November and became a hit. Serge Gainsbourg, whose career was faltering although he had released several albums and written songs for singers including Michèle Arnaud and Juliette Gréco, was asked by Bourgeois to write songs for Gall. Gainsbourg's "N'écoute pas les idoles" ("Don't listen to the idols") became Gall's second single; it reached the top of the French charts in March 1964. At the same time, Gall made her live debut, opening for Sacha Distel in Belgium. She teamed up with Distel's business manager, Maurice Tézé, who was also a lyricist. This allowed her to create an original repertoire, unlike the majority of her contemporaries ("yéyés") who sang adaptations of Anglophone hits. However, under the influence from this team of music veterans, Gall struggled to defend her personal choice of material. In addition to songs written by her father, Gall's success in the 1960s was built on songs written by some of the biggest names among French composers and lyricists: Gérard Bourgeois, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, Vline Buggy Pierre Cour, Joe Dassin, Jacques Datin, Pierre Delanoë, Jean Dréjac, Alain Goraguer, Hubert Giraud, Georges Liferman, Guy Magenta, Eddy Marnay, Jean-Michel Rivat, Jean-Max Rivière, Frank Thomas, Maurice Vidalin, André Popp, Gilles Thibaut, and Jean Wiener.
Gall's songs often featured lyrics based on a stereotypical view of the teenage mind. Elaborate orchestrations by Alain Goraguer blended styles, permitting her to navigate between jazz, children's songs, and anything in between. Examples of this mixed-genre style included "Jazz à gogo" (lyrics by Robert Gall and music by Goraguer) and "Mes premières vraies vacances" (by Datin-Vidalin). Gall and Gainsbourg's association produced many popular singles, continuing through the summer of 1964 with the hit song "Laisse tomber les filles" ("Forget the girls") followed by "Christiansen" by Datin-Vidalin.

Frameless, a popular and modern five piece music band form Luxembourg. Frameless got together early 1999 quite by chance when the first three band members discovered that they had a passion to play music together. First they played alone in the privacy of their own home until they decided it would be fun to play in front of an audience. Wolfgang VAN HOOFF played acoustic and electric guitar and provided vocals; Romeo MORUZZI played the accordeon as well as keyboards with Tracy JONES as the lead singer of the band.

We first started to perform live in front of an audience in Steinsel on the traditional Fete des Fraises in 1999. We discovered our interest to cover folk and rock music but we quickly realised that there was a need to find our own style of music. Therefore, we started to work on our own music in early 2000. Our compositions are based on rhythm emphasising on melodies and riffs from guitar and keyboards. The lyrics are founded on realistic day-to-day events, as well as real life experience. Eventually, our audience approached us asking for a "Frameless CD". This made us decide to record our first seven tracks CD - Mist on the Horizon in September 2000. In 2001, we presented our new CD and continued playing gigs in and around Luxembourg. We participated in the Emergenza 2001 edition which made year 2001 become a major turning point for Frameless. We took the decision to expand.
We were busy to find the guys that would fit into the concept of Frameless and luckily our bassist Jacques SINNES had joined towards the end of 2002. Shortly afterwards, we could welcome the drummer David Gavlic to the band. We played with our new members and friends gigs early January in 2002.

Country: Netherlands
Members
Bert Tamaela - Guitar & Vocals
Silhoutte Musmin - Keyboards, Vocals
Robbie Brans - Drums (only in 1983) (ex Boozy, D’men)
Henny Dolsma - Vocals, Background Voclas (only in 1983)(ex Please; Rocking Tigers)
Gino Jansen - Bass (1984-1985) (ex New Laid)
Kier Van Der Werf - Guitar (1984-1985)
Roy Kuschel - Keyboards,Flute (1984-1985)
Tjalling Bos - Drums (1984-1985)

Kieran Hebden (born 1977 in Putney, London, England, United Kingdom) is a post-rock and electronic musician. Hebden first came to prominence as a member of the band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist under the moniker of Four Tet.

Hebden's music typically eschews the traditional pop song format in favor of a more abstract approach his sound and melodies incorporate elements of hip hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk music with live instrumentation. Alongside recording his own material, Hebden has also performed remixes for a number of artists including Aphex Twin, Explosions in the Sky, Super Furry Animals, Radiohead, Matthew Dear, Sia, Nathan Fake, Bloc Party, Andrew Bird, Kings of Convenience, Battles, Madvillain, and Black Sabbath. Hebden's recent work includes a number of improvisational collaborations with veteran jazz drummer Steve Reid.
Albums (as Four Tet)
* Dialogue (Output Recordings, May 1999)
* Pause (Domino Records, 28 May 2001)
* Rounds (Domino Records, 5 May 2003)
* Everything Ecstatic (Domino Records, 23 May 2005); #59 UK chart
* Remixes (Domino Records, 25 September 2006)
* Ringer (Domino Records, 21 April 2008)

Fools Garden is a German pop group formed in 1991 under the name Fool's Garden (with apostrophe), comprising singer Peter Freudenthaler, guitarist Volker Hinkel, bassist Thomas Mangold, keyboardist Roland Röhl and drummer Ralf Wochele. They debuted in 1991 with the eponymous album Fool's Garden, the next (1993) was album Once in a Blue Moon. Two years later Fool's Garden issued their third album Dish of the Day, scoring a massive European and Asian chart hit with "Lemon Tree".

Go And Ask Peggy For The Principal Thing followed in 1997, along with three albums in 2000, 2003 and 2005. In 2003 three members left the band and were replaced by Dirk Blümlein (bassist), Claus Müller (drummer) and Gabriel Holz (2nd guitarist), and the name of the band changed to Fools Garden (no apostrophe). Gabriel Holz left the band in the middle of 2007.
Albums
* 1991: Fool's Garden
* 1993: Once in a Blue Moon
* 1995: Dish of the Day
* 1997: Go and Ask Peggy for the Principal Thing
* 2000: For Sale
* 2003: 25 Miles to Kissimmee
* 2005: Ready for the Real Life

Foo Fighters is an American rock band formed by singer/guitarist/drummer Dave Grohl in 1995. Grohl formed the group as a one-man project after the dissolution of his previous band Nirvana in 1994. Prior to the release of Foo Fighters in 1995, Grohl drafted Nate Mendel (bass), William Goldsmith (drums), and Pat Smear (guitar) to complete the group. Goldsmith left during the recording of the group's second album The Colour and the Shape (1997), soon followed by Smear. They were replaced by Taylor Hawkins and Franz Stahl, respectively, although Stahl left prior to the recording of the group's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999).

Chris Shiflett joined as the band's second guitarist after the completion of There is Nothing Left to Lose. The band released its fourth album One by One in 2002. The group followed that release with the two-disc In Your Honor (2005), which was split between acoustic songs and harder-rocking material. Foo Fighters released its sixth album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace in 2007. Over the course of the band's career, three of its albums have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album, and all six have been nominated for Grammys. Dave Grohl joined the band Nirvana as the group's drummer in 1990. In order to occupy himself during tours, he took a guitar with him and wrote songs. Grohl held back these songs from the band; he said in 1997, "I was in awe of frontman Kurt Cobain's songs. And intimidated. I thought it was best that I keep my songs to myself." Instead, Grohl occasionally booked studio time to record demos, and even issued a cassette of some of those songs called Pocketwatch under the pseudonym "Late!" in 1992.
Band members
* Dave Grohl – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, bass guitar, drums (1995 – present)
* Nate Mendel – bass guitar (1995 – present)
* Taylor Hawkins – drums, backing vocals (1997 – present)
* Chris Shiflett – lead guitar, backing vocals (1999 – present)

The Flying Pickets is a British a cappella vocal group, that had a surprise Christmas number one hit in 1983 in the UK singles chart, with their cover of Yazoo's track "Only You". The name 'Flying Pickets' refers to mobile strikers who travel in order to join a picket. The band of six was founded by Brian Hibbard in 1982 from a group of actors who had been active with him in John McGrath's "7:84 Theatre group", a fringe theatre organisation who had sung a cappella in their production of the 1981 play One Big Blow.

The Flying Pickets came up with the then novel concept of transferring the art of a cappella to the pop music scene. Joining Hibbard in the Group were Rick Lloyd (who also wrote the music to One Big Blow), Gareth Williams, David Brett, Ken Gregson and Red Stripe (real name David Gittins). The members of the group were internationally renowned for their flamboyant appearance: Hibbard's huge sideburns, Stripe's thick eye-liner, and four others showing off gaudy suits and large hats. Two of the other original members, Ron Donachie, Chris Ryan left the band before "Only You".
Albums
* Live at the Albany Empire - 1982
* Lost Boys - 1984
* Flying Pickets Live - 1985
* Best of the Flying Pickets - 1988
* The Original Flying Pickets: Volume 1 - 1994
* Best of the Flying Pickets - 2006 Repack

Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the band's manager. The band's conception was influenced by the members interest in the burgeoning acid house music scene and particularly the work of Cabaret Voltaire and Giorgio Moroder.

The band are noted for their diverse range of electronic styles spanning the house, techno, ambient and blues genres; for their reclusivity, rarely giving interviews; and for lengthy timespans between albums. Many listeners know of Fluke only through the inclusion of their music in many blockbuster film soundtracks, most notably The Matrix Reloaded and Sin City as well as featuring prominently on the soundtracks to the Need For Speed and Wipeout video game series.
To date Fluke have produced five original studio albums, two "best of" compilations and two live albums. Throughout their career they have made several changes to their line-up with credited appearances attributed to Neil Davenport playing guitars, Robin Goodridge on drums and Hugh Bryder as a DJ. When Fluke were touring for Risotto they were joined on stage by Rachel Stewart who acted as a personification of the band's official mascot, a character from the Wipeout video games series named Ariel Tetsuo. Stewart continued as lead female vocalist and as a dancer for all of Fluke's live performances between 1997 and 1999.
After Risotto, Mike Tournier left the group to form Syntax with Jan Burton. Mike Bryant and Jon Fugler went on to produce Fluke's latest studio album without Tournier's help and the pair have subsequently engaged in projects under the name "2 Bit Pie", with their debut album released on September 4 2006. The musical activities of Mike Tournier remain unknown at present.
Albums
* The Techno Rose of Blighty (1991)
* Out (In Essence) (1991)
* Six Wheels On My Wagon (1993)
* The Peel Sessions (1994)
* Oto (1995)
* Risotto (1997)
* Progressive History X (2001)
* Progressive History XXX (2002)
* Puppy (2003)

Flowered Up was a five-man Baggy band originating from Camden in London. After releasing two singles ("It's On" and "Phobia") on Heavenly Records, Flowered Up signed to London Records and recorded their first (and only) album A Life With Brian (1991). The band were unusual in that, musically, they resembled Madchester bands such as the Happy Mondays but, whereas almost all of those bands came from Manchester or the environs, Flowered Up came from London. The group appeared on the covers of both Sounds and NME before releasing any records. This would later become commonplace but was unusual and possibly unique at the time.

A Life With Brian contained many of their popular live songs as well as new versions of the previously released singles. However, the album was said by many not to live up to the promise of their live performances. Not long afterwards, Flowered Up released what some believe to be their creative high point: the 13-minute single "Weekender", again on Heavenly. 'Weekender' which was released with an expensive video directed by W.I.Z. starring Lee Whitlock and Anna Haigh. It was thought by many to sum up the whole 'clubbing' and ecstasy culture that had grown up in the UK in after Acid House. The video, telling the story of a night of debauchery and the comedown afterwards, has become something of a rarity.
The debauchery hinted at in their music was not merely a pose, and after much publicised drug problems with some members of the band, and some more generally unproductive (and unreleased) studio work, the band split up. Keyboard player Tim Dorney went on to form Republica.
A Life With Brian has since been rereleased by London as The Best of Flowered Up and now includes the original version of "Weekender".
Flowered Up tried to reform in 2007 but keyboardist Tim Dorney refused causing the cancellation of a planned reunion tour.

Flipsyde is a rap/R&B/rock band from Oakland, California. Flipsyde consists of band members Steve Knight, Dave Lopez, Jinho "the Piper" Ferreira, and recently Chantelle Paige. They have toured extensively with Fort Minor, The Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg and on the Anger Management Tour. Flipsyde's single, "Someday", was chosen as NBC's theme song for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games held in Torino, Italy.

Their debut album, We the People, also featured three other singles ("Happy Birthday", "Trumpets (Never Be The Same Again)", and "Angel") and was highly lauded by critics, including a review from the Washington Post proclaiming it the best hip hop album of 2006. In 2008, following the addition of Paige to the group, Flipsyde once again had a song of theirs selected as a theme song for the Olympics. This time their song "Champion" has been chosen as the theme for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, as well as the primary song for EA Sports NBA Live 09 video game and as part of the soundtrack for the film Never Back Down. They enjoy touring in India, where their first tour took place in 2005 via VH1's Hip Hop Hustle, and have already performed there twice and may be planning a third trip. Recently it was announced on their MySpace that they had started touring with Akon, promoting their second studio album, State of Survival, produced by Akon and Konvict Muzik. The album will be released on the set date of April 21, 2009 via Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records, and Akon will feature on 3 tracks.

Fleetwood Mac are a British/American rock band formed in 1967 which have experienced a high turnover of personnel and varied levels of success. From the band's inception through the end of 1974, no incarnation of Fleetwood Mac lasted as long as two years.

The only member present in the band from the very beginning is its namesake drummer Mick Fleetwood. Bassist John McVie, despite his giving part of his name to the band, did not play on their first single nor at their first concerts. Keyboardist Christine McVie has, to date, appeared on all but two albums, either as a member or as a session musician. She also supplied the artwork for the album "Kiln House". The two most successful periods for the band were during the late 1960s British blues boom, when they were led by guitarist Peter Green, and from 1975 to 1987, with more pop-orientation, featuring Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The band enjoyed more modest success in the intervening period between 1971 and 1974, with the line-up including Bob Welch, and also during the 1990s which saw more personnel changes before the return of Nicks and Buckingham in 1997, and more recently, the departure of Christine McVie.Nice post thank you.
Fleetwood Mac were formed in 1967 in London when Peter Green left the British blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Green had replaced guitarist Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers, and received critical acclaim for his work on their album "A Hard Road". After he had been in the Bluesbreakers for some time, Green asked if drummer Mick Fleetwood could replace Aynsley Dunbar. Green had been in two bands with Fleetwood "Peter B's Looners" and the subsequent "Shotgun Express" (which featured a young vocalist named Rod Stewart). John Mayall agreed and Fleetwood became a member of the band.

Fleet Foxes are a five-piece Seattle-based band signed to Sub Pop and Bella Union. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes. Both Sun Giant and their eponymous debut album received much critical praise and reviewers often noted their use of refined lyrics and vocal harmonies. The quintet describe their music as "baroque harmonic pop jams".
Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle, and soon became close friends.

The confident character of Pecknold stood in contrast with Skjelset's shy demeanor but the two bonded over a mutual appreciation of Bob Dylan and Neil Young and began making music together. Their parents influenced their musical tastes early on Skjelset's mother was a keen listener of both Bob Dylan and Hank Williams while Pecknold's father was a member of The Fathoms, a local 1960s soul group. The two young Seattleites were ambitious and Pecknold, reflecting on the achievements of Dylan and Brian Wilson, realized the importance of practicing music from a young age.
Members
* Robin Pecknold - lead vocals, guitar
* Skyler Skjelset - lead guitar
* Christian Wargo - bass, guitar, vocals
* Casey Wescott - keyboards, vocals
* Josh Tillman - drums, vocals

Five O'Clock Heroes are a New Wave influenced rock group currently based in New York City. Singer, Antony Ellis, is originally from Northampton in the UK. They first formed in 2003, and to date have released five singles and two albums, Bend to the Breaks and most recently Speak Your Language. Their first single off the album is called "Who", and features vocals from model Agyness Deyn.

The single was poorly received by NME, giving it only a 2/10. Their name comes from The Jam's song "Just Who Is The Five O'Clock Hero?", which appeared on their album The Gift of 1982. The band cite the likes of Elvis Costello, The Police, Joe Jackson and Dexys Midnight Runners as major influences, and have made a name for themselves, particularly in the UK, through charismatic and energetic live performances. Support slots with The Rakes, Brendan Benson, The Bravery, The Paddingtons, Jet and Albert Hammond Jr. have ensured their music has reached a considerable audience. Signed in the UK to their own label Glaze Records and in Europe and Japan to PIAS, the band have received critical acclaim from the likes of NME, Drowned In Sound and musicOMH.com.

Fischerspooner is an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York. The name comes directly from the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner. Spiking retro electropop tendencies (arguably similar to Kraftwerk, early Depeche Mode, and Gary Numan) Fischerspooner utilizes a modern approach to programming.

Originally a duo formed by classically trained musician Warren Fischer and video-artist and experimental theater performer Casey Spooner for an impromptu rendition of their makeshift track "Indian Cab Driver" at the Astor Place Starbucks, the group grew to over 20 performers, most of whom are dancers and guest vocalists.
Band members
* Warren Fischer (composer)
* Casey Spooner (songwriter/vocals)
* Sam Kearney (Guitar)
* Peanuts, aka Jeremiah Clancy (attendant to Casey/actor)
* Cindy Greene (vocals)
* Lizzy Yoder (vocals)
* Ian Pai (Musical Director/Drums)
* Vanessa Walters (Choreographer/Dancer)
* Stephanie Dixon (Dancer)

Firewater is an indie rock group founded by Tod A. in 1995. He describes them as a "wedding band gone wrong". After Tod left his previous group, Cop Shoot Cop, he quickly regrouped and formed Firewater to explore the styles of music Cop Shoot Cop had only hinted at, including klezmer, cabaret, ska, jazz, and gypsy forms.

More than one source described the original Firewater lineup as an "indie rock supergroup", based on members such as Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, Yuval Gabay of Soul Coughing, Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields, and Hahn Rowe of Foetus. This original lineup proved unable to tour, and Tod recruited new musicians for the band's first tour. While the lineup has changed over the years, with many different musicians appearing on different albums and tours, Tod remains the singer, songwriter, and bassist of Firewater. Firewater has released six albums, and has seen some success, especially in Europe and on United States college radio stations. Their album, Songs We Should Have Written (2004), is a collection of cover songs. It includes songs written by Robyn Hitchcock, The Rolling Stones ("Paint It Black" reinterpreted as a crawlingly slow raga which "shove(s) a few downers down the song's throat to counter the original version's adrenaline-fueled fire"), and a "dark and sweet" take of Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On", described as "10 times more ominous and 20 times more pleasurable" than the original. The album also includes a modern rendition of the Johnny Cash anthem "Folsom Prison Blues".
After recording Songs We Should Have Written, Singer Tod A took an extended, three year sabbatical, travelling through Thailand, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia and chronicling his experiences on his blog "Postcards from the Other Side of the World." During this time, he wrote and recorded The Golden Hour with the help of various local musicians and friends, including Firewater producer Tamir Muskat. The record was released May 6, 2008, through Bloodshot records in USA and Noise-o-lution in Europe.

Finley Quaye (born 25 March 1974, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK) is a British musician. He won the 1997 Mobo Award for best Reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best British Male Solo Artist.
Quaye is the son of Jazz musician, Cab Kaye the brother of noted guitarist, Caleb Quaye and jazz musician Terri Quaye. Born in Edinburgh, Quaye went to school in London, Spurley Hey High School in Gorton, Manchester and Edinburgh.

However, he left school with no qualifications. Before making records he took employment spraying cars, smoking fish, making futons, and as a stage-rigger and scaffolder. Finley's mother, Sharon Mcgowan, died when he was 10 years old, he was named Finley McGowan when he was born! His father was born in London, but considered himself as African. Although known as Cab Kaye his full name was Nii Lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye. Kaye was the son of the pianist Caleb Jonas Quaye a.k.a Mope Desmond, who was born in Accra, Ghana. Kaye did not grow up with his father and only found out, in his twenties, about his father's history as a musician. Mope Desmond, Cab Kaye and Finley Quaye have all played Glasgow's Barrowlands, Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall and London's Cafe d'Paris.
The Band:
Finley Quaye - Vocal
Matthew Phillip - Drums
Lord Eric - Percussion
Winston Lewis - Percussion
Hamlet Luton - Bass
Chris Campbell - Guitar
Joel White - Hammond
Harry Brown - Trombone
Ray Carless - Saxophone
Mark Crown - Trumpet
The band have supported James Brown, Luciano, Weller, The Verve, Ben Harper, Fun Loving Criminals, Robbie Williams & The Stereo MCs.

Fine Young Cannibals were a British band formed in Birmingham, England in 1984, by guitarist David Steele and bassist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat, and singer Roland Gift. They are probably best known for their 1989 hit singles "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing". Their name came from the 1960 film All The Fine Young Cannibals starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood.

The group was formed in 1984 in Birmingham, UK, from the ashes of The Beat, with whom Cox and Steele previously played. The band's eponymous debut album was released in 1985, spawning two UK hit singles, "Johnny Come Home" and a cover of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" featuring additional vocals by Jimmy Somerville. Fine Young Cannibals appeared as the house band in a nightclub in the 1987 comedy film Tin Men, set in Baltimore, Maryland in 1963. Steele and Cox released an instrumental house single under the moniker Two Men, a Drum Machine and a Trumpet in 1988, called "Tired Of Getting Pushed Around", which reached #18 in the UK Singles Chart and was popular on the U.S. dance chart. During this time, Gift appeared in the movie Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. Their highest charting hits were "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing", from the 1989 album The Raw and the Cooked. Both reached number one in the U.S. singles charts. The Raw and The Cooked included three songs the band had recorded for Tin Men (including "Good Thing"), and their cover of the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" recorded for the film Something Wild.
Fine Young Cannibals broke up in 1992, although they briefly returned to the studio in 1996 to record a new single, "The Flame", which would complement their greatest hits compilation The Finest released that year. Gift reactivated the band name and toured in the 2000s as Roland Gift and the Fine Young Cannibals, releasing his debut self-titled solo album in 2002.
Band members
* Roland Lee Gift (singer) - May 28, 1961
* Andy Cox (guitarist) - January 25, 1956
* David Steele (bass and Synth) - September 8, 1960
Albums
* 1985 - Fine Young Cannibals UK: #11, U.S. #49
* 1989 - The Raw and the Cooked UK: #1, U.S. #1
* 1990 - The Raw and the Remix (remix collection)
* 1996 - The Finest (compilation album) UK: #10
* 2006 - The Platinum Collection (compilation album)