The Nocturnes, Op. 9 are a set of three nocturnes for solo piano written by Frederic Chopin between 1831 and 1832, published in 1832, and dedicated to Madame Marie Pleyel. These were Chopin’s first published set of nocturnes. The second nocturne of the work is often regarded as Chopin’s most famous piece. Nocturne in B-flat […]
Come Together
“Come Together” is a song by the British rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon-McCartney. In July 1969, during sessions for the Beatles’ album Abbey Road, Lennon used the phrase “come together” from the Leary campaign song to compose a new song for the album. Based on the 1956 single […]
String Driven Thing
String Driven Thing are a Scottish folk rock band, formed in Glasgow in 1967. They were led by married couple Chris and Pauline Adams, with guitarist John Mannion. After paying their dues on the Scottish folk circuit they put out an eponymous album on the independent Concord label (copies of which are collectable and difficult […]
Rock Follies
Rock Follies (together with its sequel, Rock Follies of ’77) is a musical drama that was shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline follows the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the Little Ladies, as they struggle for recognition and success. The series was made on a small budget […]
Tony Rose
Folk song and Tony Rose met and fell for each other at Oxford University in the early 1960s, when he was reading modern languages and taking his turn as President of the Heritage Society, the university folk club. He moved to London to teach, but was offered so many gigs that in 1969 turned full-time […]
Dave Cartwright
Dave Cartwright was a British singer, songwriter, guitarist and author. Born in Haslemere, Surrey, he grew up in Amblecote, West Midlands where, on lead guitar and vocal, he formed his first rock and roll group, The Crossfires, in 1959. He then joined the Kidderminster outfit The Clippers, before ‘discovering’ folk music in 1964. His subsequent […]
Lullaby of Birdland
“Lullaby of Birdland” is a jazz standard and popular song composed in 1952 by George Shearing with lyrics by George David Weiss, who used the pseudonym B Y Forster to get around the rule which at that time forbade collaboration between ASCAP and BMI composers. George Shearing wrote “Lullaby of Birdland” in 1952 for Morris […]
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei is a Japanese indie rock band from Wakkanai, Hokkaido. They were formed in 2007 by singer and guitarist Yuki Ozaki, guitarist Sōhei Funaya, bassist Hitoshi Sakō, and drummer Kazuki Ozaki. They debuted in 2008 after winning the teenage audition festival “Senkou Riot”. In 2009, The band signed with SME Records and released their […]
Casta Diva
“Casta Diva” (Chaste Goddess) is the most famous aria of Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma” (1831). It is sung by the title character, a Druidess or priestess of the Gauls, in the first act. The opera takes place in Gaul between 100 and 50 BC when the Romans were occupiers. The Gauls want Norma to declare war […]
Alison Balsom
Alison Balsom, Lady Mendes, is an English trumpet soloist, arranger, producer, and music educator. Balsom was born in Hitchin, in October 1978. She attended Tannery Drift First School in Royston, where she started taking trumpet lessons from the age of seven, also playing in the Royston Town Band from ages 8 to 15. She played […]