4Minute were a South Korean girl group formed in 2009 by Cube Entertainment. Cube announced on May, 2009 that they would be debuting a girl group and had also released the two identities of two of the members: Nam Jihyun (the leader) and Kim Hyuna, who was a former member of Wonder Girls. On June […]
Bill Bailey
Bailey was born in Bath and he spent most of his childhood in Keynsham. His father was a medical practitioner and his mother a hospital ward sister. His maternal grandparents lived in an annexe, built on the side of the house by his maternal grandfather who was a stonemason and builder. He was educated at […]
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York and active until 1991. The band was composed of David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Waymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as “one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the ’80s,” the group helped to pioneer […]
Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She grew up in the small Stirlingshire town of Banknock and had an interest in music from an early age. She has described her whole family as being interested in music and one of her brothers, Steven, is also a professional musician who plays guitar in the Karine Polwart […]
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. The band’s music has remained an eclectic blend of swamp rock, rock and roll, blues, boogie and country. They were recommended to me by a friend who knew that I […]
John The Revelator
This being the season of Advent the church lectionary turns its thoughts to prophecies of the end of the world. The greatest and perhaps the most impenetrable account of the end times is to be found in the Book of Revelation. This put me in mind of the old song, John The Revelator, which is […]
Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Glennie is a Scottish percussionist. Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire. Her father was Herbert Arthur Glennie, an accordionist in a Scottish country dance band. The indigenous musical traditions of north-east Scotland were important in her development as a musician. Her first instruments were the mouth organ and the clarinet. She studied at […]
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish dream pop band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) andWill Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their distinctive ethereal sound and the soprano […]
Lena Meyer-Landrut
Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut, also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer-songwriter. She grew up as an only child, and started taking dancing lessons at the age of five; initially doing ballet and later practising various modern styles, including hip-hop and jazz dance. Lena grew fond of singing and appeared as an extra […]
Julie Fowlis
Julie Fowlis is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Fowlis grew up on North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, in a gaelic speaking community. Her mother was a Gaelic-speaking islander from a family of fishermen and crofters which originated on the remote island of Heisgeir, while her father hailed […]