FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE

Florence and the Machine

Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band, consisting of lead singer Florence Welch, Isabella Summers, and a collaboration of other artists who provide backing music. The band's music received praise across the music media, especially from the BBC, before they gained mainstream success. Specifically, the BBC played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of BBC Introducing.

The band's debut album, Lungs, was released on 6 July 2009, and held the number-two position for its first five weeks on the UK Albums Chart. On 17 January 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for twenty-eight consecutive weeks. As of October 2010, the album had been in the top forty in the United Kingdom for sixty-five consecutive weeks, making it one of the best-selling albums of 2009 and 2010. The group's second studio album, Ceremonials, released in October 2011, debuted at number one in the UK and number six in the US.

Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul. Lungs won the MasterCard British Album award at the 2010 BRIT Awards. At the 53rd Grammy Awards, Florence and the Machine were nominated for Best New Artist. Additionally, the band performed at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, and the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert.

Origin: London, England

Genres: Indie rock, indie pop, baroque pop, art rock, soul

Years active: 2007–present

Labels: Moshi Moshi, IAMSOUND, Island

Associated acts: Kid Harpoon, The xx, The Big Pink, Lightspeed Champion, The Horrors, Drake, The Weeknd, Calvin Harris, Dizzee Rascal

Members: Florence Welch, Robert Ackroyd, Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Isabella Summers, Tom Monger, Mark Saunders, Rusty Bradshaw.

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Florence + The Machine - Royal Albert hall on 3.4. 2012. 

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THE WHO

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey (lead vocals, harmonica and guitar), Pete Townshend (guitar, keyboards and vocals), John Entwistle (bass guitar, brass and vocals) and Keith Moon (drums and percussion). They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction. The Who have sold about 100 million records, and have charted 27 top forty singles in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as 17 top ten albums, with 18 Gold, 12 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone.

The Who rose to fame in the UK with a series of top ten hit singles, boosted in part by pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline, beginning in January 1965 with "I Can't Explain". The albums My Generation (1965), A Quick One (1966) and The Who Sell Out (1967) followed, with the first two reaching the UK top five. They first hit the US Top 40 in 1967 with "Happy Jack" and hit the top ten later that year with "I Can See for Miles". Their fame grew with memorable performances at the Monterey Pop, Woodstock and Isle of Wight music festivals. The 1969 release of Tommy was the first in a series of top ten albums in the US, followed by Live at Leeds (1970), Who's Next (1971), Quadrophenia (1973), The Who by Numbers (1975), Who Are You (1978) and The Kids Are Alright (1979).

Moon died at the age of 32 in 1978, after which the band released two studio albums, the UK and US top five Face Dances (1981) and the US top ten It's Hard (1982), with drummer Kenney Jones, before disbanding in 1983. They re-formed at events such as Live Aid and for reunion tours such as their 25th anniversary tour (1989) and the Quadrophenia tours of 1996 and 1997. In 2000, the three surviving original members discussed recording an album of new material, but their plans temporarily stalled upon Entwistle's death at the age of 57 in 2002. Townshend and Daltrey continue to perform as The Who, and in 2006 they released the studio album Endless Wire, which reached the top ten in the UK and US.

The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, their first year of eligibility; the display describes them as "Prime contenders, in the minds of many, for the title of World's Greatest Rock Band." Time magazine wrote in 1979 that "No other group has ever pushed rock so far, or asked so much from it." Rolling Stone magazine wrote: "Along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who complete the holy trinity of British rock." They received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988, and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001, for creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. In 2008 surviving members Townshend and Daltrey were honoured at the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors. That same year VH1 Rock Honors paid tribute to The Who where Jack Black of Tenacious D called them "the greatest band of all time."

Origin: Shepherd's Bush, London, England

Genres: Rock, hard rock, power pop, art rock

Years active: 1964–82, 1985, 1988–89, 1996–present

Labels: UK: Brunswick, Reaction, Track, Polydor; US: Decca, MCA, Warner Bros., Universal Republic

Associated acts: Plastic Ono Band, Thunderclap Newman, The Small Faces, The Faces, Deep End, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, The RD Crusaders, No Plan B

Members: Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey

Past members: John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Kenney Jones.

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The Who at The Concert For New York City

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The Who - Quadrophenia Full Album

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PATTI SMITH

Patti Smith

Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.

Called the "Godmother of Punk", her work was a fusion of rock and poetry. Smith's most widely known song is "Because the Night", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. In 2005, Patti Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2010, she won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids. She is also a recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize.

Birth name: Patricia Lee Smith

Born: December 30, 1946 (age 65) Chicago, Illinois, USA

Origin: New York City, New York

Genres: Protopunk, punk rock, art rock

Occupations: Singer-songwriter, poet, artist

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, clarinet

Years active: 1971–present

Labels: Arista, Columbia

Associated acts: Tom Verlaine

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Patti Smith Group - Live at Rockpalast Grugahalle Essen 1979

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Patti Smith - Horses Full Album

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PJ HARVEY

PJ Harvey

Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, harmonica, and most recently, the autoharp.

Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automatic Dlamini, whose vocalist and saxophone player, John Parish, would become her long-term collaborator. In 1991, she formed an eponymous trio and subsequently began her professional career. The trio released two studio albums, Dry (1992) and Rid of Me (1993) before disbanding, after which Harvey continued as a solo artist. Since 1995, she has released a further six studio albums with collaborations from various musicians including John Parish, former bandmate Rob Ellis, Mick Harvey, and Eric Drew Feldman and has also worked extensively with record producer Flood.

Among the accolades she has received are the 2001 and 2011 Mercury Prize for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) and Let England Shake (2011) respectively—the only artist to have been awarded the prize twice—eight BRIT Award nominations, six Grammy Award nominations and two further Mercury Prize nominations. Rolling Stone awarded her 1992's Best New Artist and Best Singer Songwriter and 1995's Artist of the Year, and listed Rid of Me and To Bring You My Love (1995) on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the NME Awards

Birth name: Polly Jean Harvey

Born: 9 October 1969 (age 42), Bridport, Dorset, England

Origin: Yeovil, England

Genres: Alternative rock, indie rock, experimental rock, folk rock, art rock, punk blues

Occupations: Musician, singer-songwriter, composer, artist

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, organ, keyboards, autoharp, saxophone, trumpet, violin, harmonica, percussion

Years active: 1988–present

Labels: Too Pure, Island

Associated acts: Automatic Dlamini, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Tricky, Sparklehorse, Thom Yorke, John Parish, Desert Sessions, Marianne Faithfull, Mark Lanegan, Mick Harvey

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PJ Harvey - Live-Coachella Festival 17.04.2011, full concert

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PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (Full Album)

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PJ Harvey - Interview 1995 - Toronto

SERJ TANAKIN

Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian (Armenian: Սերժ Թանգեան [ˈsɛɾʒ tʰɑnˈkʰjɑn]; born August 21, 1967) is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional live rhythm guitarist of the rock band System of a Down.

During his musical career, Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down, one with Arto Tunçboyacıyan (Serart), as well as two solo albums Elect the Dead and Imperfect Harmonies and a live orchestral version of the former incorporating the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra named Elect the Dead Symphony. In 2002, Tankian and Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello co-founded a non-profit political activist organization, Axis of Justice. Tankian also founded the music label Serjical Strike Records.

Tankian is ranked 26th in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.

On August 12, 2011, Tankian was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the advancement of music.

Birth name: Serj Tankian

Born: August 21, 1967 (age 44) Beirut, Lebanon

Genres: Heavy metal, experimental, alternative metal, progressive rock, nu metal, alternative rock, art rock, classical

Occupations: Musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, poet, political activist

Instruments: Vocal, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, sampler, theremin, guitar, bass guitar, violin, harmonica, melodica, bouzouki, dulcimer[disambiguation needed ], drums

Years active: 1992–present

Labels: Serjical Strike, Reprise, American, Columbia, Axis of Justice

Associated acts: System of a Down, Axis of Justice, The F.C.C.

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LOU REED

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed (born on March 2, 1942) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades. Though the Velvet Underground were a commercial failure in the late 1960s, the group has gained a considerable cult following in the years since its demise and has gone on to become one of the most widely cited and influential bands of the era. As the Velvet Underground's principal songwriter, Reed wrote about subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined so openly in rock and roll, including sexuality and drug culture.

After his departure from the group, Reed began a solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", although he subsequently lacked the mainstream commercial success its chart status seemed to indicate. Reed's work as a solo artist frustrated critics wishing for a return of the Velvet Underground. In 1975 Reed released a double album of feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which he later commented: "No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive."

In 2008, Reed married performance artist Laurie Anderson.

Birth name: Lewis Allan Reed

Born: March 2, 1942 (age 69), Brooklyn, New York, United States

Genres: Rock, experimental rock, art rock, protopunk, noise music, drone music, psychedelic rock, folk rock, glam rock, blue-eyed soul, spoken word

Occupations: Musician, songwriter, producer, photographer

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, ostrich guitar, bass, synthesizer, keyboards, piano, harmonica, drums, percussion

Years active: 1964–present

Labels: Matador, MGM, RCA, Sire, Reprise, Warner Bros.

Associated acts: The Velvet Underground, John Cale, Nico, David Bowie, The Killers, Mick Ronson, Gorillaz, Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Metallica.

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